Negative Tarifvertragsfreiheit im deutschen und europäischen Arbeitsrecht

Under German labour law, only trade union members and employers or members of an employers' association are, as a matter of principle, bound by collective agreements. However, in a number of cases normative provisions apply to non-union workers and to employers that are neither party to the collective agreement nor a member of the employers' association. Some provisions are per se deemed to be valid for all workers of an employer who is bound by the collective agreement. In other cases, collective agreements are declared generally binding by public authorities. Hence the question arises regarding the extent to which the non-member parties to a labour contract are free to create their relationships without the interference of a collective agreement. For his answer, Felix Hartmann draws on a notion of collective bargaining that is based on principles of private law. He also deals with the implications of European labour law and examines the approaches taken by other EU Member States.