News & Stories

Vienna. The activities of Carinthian Hypo Alpe Adria and Kaerntner Landesholding between 2005 and 2008 are currently keeping courts and political commissions of inquiry busy on various levels.

Offenbach. Employees who are ill over long periods of time can no longer collect their holiday entitlement over the entire period. A recent judgement has created legal certainty for the time being. According to the decision, the period over which holiday entitlements accumulate is now limited to 15 months. Nevertheless, there is still some uncertainty, as the Federal Labour Court and the European Court of Justice have still to decide on the issue.

Hamburg. Hotel ratings remain permitted. Hotel groups cannot seek an injunction to prevent ratings being posted. This was the decision handed down by the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg on Wednesday. The decision came as a further victory for HolidayCheck against A&O hotels.

Strasbourg/Paris. "I don’t know what you are talking about.” That was the first answer from Regis Bulot, while he was interrogated by the police of Strasbourg about the fraud case he is accused of. One day after, obviously failing under pressure, the former president of Relais & Chateaux, eventually confessed, being at the basis of a lucrative corruption scheme which he benefited from during 6 years.

Paris. The former president of Relais & Châteaux, Regis Bulot allegedly betrayed the consortium by half a million Euro.

Offenbach. When time is running out to serve notice of dismissal on an employee, special rules and precautions apply in Germany. Employers who fail to pay attention to organisational risks run the risk of having to hold the employee on its books for a further quarter. The Federal Labour Court also dealt with another nuance of this problem: Does service of dismissal also apply to the wife when the notice is served on her husband, who also works in the company? A summary of the current legal position by hospitalityInside's legal expert, Joachim Jungbluth.

Offenbach. The hotel and catering industry often makes use of fixed-term employment contracts up to two years in duration. However, the German Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act provides that such fixed-term employment contracts are unlawful where a fixed-term or permanent contract was previously concluded with the same employer. The current Federal Government promised to amend this rule. Now, the Federal Labour Court has waded in. Joachim Jungbluth, a solicitor specialising in labour law at Jungbluth Hermann Kron in Offenbach, comments on the recent judgement from an employer's perspective.

Paris. On October the 4th, the Commercial Court of Paris has condemned Expedia to pay around 430 000 Euro to the Synhorcat and two independent French properties, which accused the American giant of disloyal competition.

Brussels/Berlin. From 2012, official occupancy statistics for German hotels will be recorded in terms of rooms and no longer in terms of beds. The industry has the EU to thank for the change after the European Parliament passed legislation to amend the rule governing tourism statistics for the first time since 1995.

Berlin. Yesterday, the Federal Cabinet in Berlin resolved to improve health and safety regulations applicable to sunbeds. Hotels which offer tanning services therefore face increased demands on personnel.