Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act Passed

After being passed by the Bundestag, the Bundesrat also approved the Fourth Act to Relieve Citizens, Businesses, and Administration from Bureaucracy (Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act, BEG IV) on September 26, 2024.

Selected Individual Measures from the Bureaucracy Relief Act

The Bureaucracy Relief Act includes many individual measures that are important for daily business operations and affect various other laws. Below are some key changes:

Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung)

Employment references can now be issued in electronic form, provided the employee consents (§ 109).
Proof of essential working conditions can also be provided in text form (§ 126b BGB) under certain conditions. Sectors covered by the Law on Combating Illegal Employment are exempt from this adjustment.

Verification Act (Nachweisgesetz)

Employees can request proof of the essential terms of their contract in written form (§ 126 BGB) from their employers.
The right to demand written proof does not begin to expire until the end of the year in which the employment relationship ends.

Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz)

Employers fulfill the obligation to post required information if they make it electronically available using the company’s usual information and communication technology (§ 16 Abs. 1).

Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch)

The word "written" is replaced by "in text form" in several sections (§ 437 Abs. 1, § 509 Abs. 2, § 546 Abs. 1, § 609 Abs. 2).
The retention periods for certain documents are also modified (§ 257 Abs. 4).

Value-Added Tax Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz)

Thresholds for submitting a VAT advance return have been raised (§ 18 Abs. 2, 2a). The de minimis threshold for margin taxation has also been increased (§ 25a Abs. 4).

Federal Notary Code (Bundesnotarordnung)

A clarification allows notaries to submit notifications, make statements, and file applications related to company formations (§ 24 Abs. 1).

Youth Employment Protection Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz)

All written actions, except for § 6 Abs. 4 S. 1 and § 21a Abs. 2 JArbSchG, can also be done in text form.
Employers meet their obligation to post information about the law and supervisory authorities if they provide the information electronically (§ 47). This also applies to information about working hours, breaks, and exemptions from the supervisory authority for specific businesses or departments.

Temporary Employment Act (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz)

The temporary employment contract can now also be concluded in text form (§ 12 Abs. 1).
The hirer's statement to the works council before accepting temporary employees for work can also be submitted in text form.

Federal Parental Benefit and Parental Leave Act (Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz)

A new definition clarifies who is considered employed, even if they are temporarily not working (§ 1 Abs. 6a).
The list of exclusion criteria has been expanded to include sickness benefits received during maternity protection periods and on the day of delivery (§ 2b Abs. 1). This change ensures equal treatment for the self-employed and employees.
Income reductions are no longer checked by the parental benefit office for older children during maternity protection periods or when receiving partnership benefits (§ 2b Abs. 1).
A regulation ensures uniform application of the law regarding wage replacement benefits calculated using the net wage method.
It is clarified that foreign or international benefits comparable to parental leave or maternity benefits can be offset against parental leave benefits.
In some cases, the requirement for written form has been lowered to text form (e.g., requesting part-time work from an employer, § 15 Abs. 7).

Old-Age Pension and End of Employment (SGB VI)

An agreement on the end of the employment relationship with regular old-age pension can now be concluded in text form (§ 41 Abs. 2).

Change to the Seventh Book of the Social Code (SGB VII)

Insured individuals can request the report of an insurance case from the employer in an accessible format (§ 193).
For accidents in companies under occupational safety supervision, the accident insurance carrier must forward the report data to the competent authority. A duplicate report by the company is no longer required (§ 193 Abs. 7).

Care Leave Act (Pflegezeitgesetz)

The notification of taking care leave can be made in text form (§ 3 Abs. 3).

Family Care Leave Act (Familienpflegezeitgesetz)

The notification of taking family care leave can also be made in text form (§ 2a Abs. 1). If additional care leave is taken after family care leave, this can also be communicated in text form (§ 2a Abs. 1).