The German government has passed a law allowing new employees to sign work contracts digitally instead of having to provide a handwritten, wet-ink signature.

Digital work contracts will suffice under new German law

From January 1, 2025, employees in Germany will be able to sign a work contract digitally and will not have to provide a wet signature for the contract to be valid.

Under the current Verification Law (Nachweisgesetz) German employers can send their employees a digital version of their contract but a physical copy must also be provided and a wet signature from both parties is required to validate the contract. 

Under the new law, a German work contract will still have to contain the same basic information - the names and addresses of the employee and employer, the employment start date and agreed working hours - but it will be possible to validate the contract with a digital signature alone.

The digital signature will not have to be a qualified electronic signature (QES), the kind of digital signature backed up by showing an ID document, and can be written in plain text.

However, there are some instances where a wet signature is still required. Employee and employer will still have to provide a wet signature for a fixed- or short-term contract and if the employment contract is in the hospitality, logistics or meat processing industries.

Arbeitszeugnisse can be sent electronically

The new law also means that other important work documents can be shared electronically, employers will no longer be obliged to provide certain information or process certain paperwork in physical form.

This includes information about work rotas and breaks, which can soon be shared exclusively electronically. It will also be possible for employees to submit applications for parental leave (Elternzeit) or caregiving leave digitally, and for employers to submit their response digitally.

Once an employee leaves their job, the employer will be able to send an Arbeitszeugnisse, the proof of work certificate, electronically without a physical copy being required.

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