4 - The Impact of Technological Disruption on German Labour Law: Risks and Opportunities

Summary

Technological changes and disruptions are constant companions in the working world. As such they are catalysts for the development and change of labour law. Industrialisation and its disastrous working conditions in factories were reasons for the development of labour law as specific legal protection for employees. Digitalisation is often considered a game-changing technology that is having a tremendous effect on the working world and labour law. Digitisation falls into line with the computerisation in the 1970s and 1980s, the increasing use of the Internet since the 1990s, and the distribution of mobile electronical devices. So far, the impact of digitalisation on the labour market cannot be fully assessed. While there are many speculations about ‘the end of work’, there are also studies that give a more optimistic outlook, expecting only 12 per cent or 25 per cent job losses. At least, the current development as well as the expectations and plans of the legislator and the social partners in Germany can be described and evaluated.