HR Advisory
HR Consulting for International Companies in Germany
HR consulting for international companies in Germany provides specialist support for organizations entering, scaling, or managing operations in the German market. Germany's employment law framework — including works councils, the Kündigungsschutzgesetz, co-determination rights, and the NachwG — is among the most regulated in Europe, requiring local HR expertise that international headquarters are rarely able to supply from abroad.
The Challenge: Germany's HR Framework Is Unlike Any Other Market
International companies consistently underestimate the complexity of HR operations in Germany. The Betriebsverfassungsgesetz grants works councils mandatory consultation and co-determination rights across hiring, dismissal, working time, and organizational change. The Kündigungsschutzgesetz restricts termination significantly after six months of service. Employment terms must be documented in writing within one month under the NachwG. These are not administrative requirements that can be handled generically — they are structural features of the German employment relationship that shape every HR decision. Non-compliance carries legal exposure and reputational risk that generalist HR teams at international headquarters are not equipped to prevent.
Typical Situations
- —Market entry into Germany: building HR operations from the ground up
- —Managing German operations from a non-German headquarters
- —Works council consultation for organizational decisions or restructuring
- —Employment law compliance for a German workforce
- —Cross-border restructuring involving German employees
- —M&A due diligence and integration of German entities
Scope of Advisory Support
- —Employment law compliance: contracts, notice periods, NachwG, working time regulations
- —Works council management: consultation obligations, co-determination, Betriebsvereinbarungen
- —Germany-specific HR policy, process, and governance design
- —Cross-border HR advisory bridging German entity and international headquarters
- —Restructuring support compliant with German labor law
- —Guidance on compensation, benefits, and German labor market norms
Local Knowledge. Senior Experience.
Effective HR consulting for international companies in Germany requires both deep local expertise and the commercial fluency to translate German HR requirements into language that international stakeholders understand. Wexel Consulting bridges this gap — explaining works council dynamics to leadership teams unfamiliar with co-determination, designing HR structures that meet German legal requirements, and navigating the practical realities of the German labor market. All work is delivered in English and German.