Carnival or Mardi Gras - the fifth season is celebrated in many places - including in companies.
But are you allowed to dress up at all?
Cologne/Munich - When the carnival season begins in the Rhineland, Bützchen - also called Bützje in Cologne - are distributed to the boss, cheerfully celebrated on the company premises and nobody would dare to come to the office without a costume.
Masquerade is simply part of it.
The fifth season knows no limits for die-hard Rhinelanders.
There are even said to be employees who need a holiday after carnival to regenerate.
But be careful, not everything you like about carnival is actually allowed.
This is especially true when it comes to disguise.
It is true that an employee can wear whatever he or she wants at work.
"Accordingly, he may also appear in costume in the office," explains the Cologne specialist lawyer for labor law, Volker Görzel, in the
Deutsche Handwerks-Zeitung
.
But there are also exceptions to this rule: Because certain professions require a mandatory dress code.
This is the case, for example, in a bank.
This generally applies to jobs with frequent customer contact.
But jobs that require protective clothing, such as in a chemical laboratory or in a nuclear power plant, are also excluded.
Mardi Gras or Mardi Gras: Employees should pay attention to details when disguising themselves and refrain from using weapons that are deceptively real
However, there are also situations in which the employer may require the employee to wear a disguise.
For example, if the employees' costumes are part of a marketing campaign and there is a regulation.
"In the case of a carnival celebration in the company, however, I would be very careful with such a requirement," said the legal expert.
If you don't want to celebrate, you have to work normally.
Volker Görzel, specialist lawyer for labor law in the Deutsche-Handwerks-Zeitung
+
Fool time is here again.
There are also celebrations in many companies.
(icon picture)
© imago
A headscarf and a hat covering can of course be part of the disguise of a carnival costume.
However, employees who make their own provisions should make sure that they cannot be associated with extremist disguises or forbidden symbols.
In such cases, the employee would commit a criminal offense according to the
catalog of fines
.
And the fun would be over soon.
Carrying deceptively real weapons is also not permitted.
So-called
According to Section 42a of the Weapons Act, "apparent weapons" may also not be carried.
Violations can result in a fine of up to 10,000 euros.
Carnival or Mardi Gras: Employees should be aware of some of the pitfalls associated with Carnival
The carnival celebration in the company is a tradition in many places.
While some can hardly wait for the fun, others roll their eyes at the thought of the boozy exuberance.
And then there are those who don't feel like celebrating.
Hence the question: Do all employees actually have to take part in the carnival event in the company?
The answer is: Yes, if the employer makes it clear that this is a company-related event organized by him and that it takes place during regular working hours.
"If you don't want to celebrate, you have to work normally," says specialist lawyer Görzel.
Carnival photos of the company party on social media
If an employee has never consented to photos of him/her being used on social media, then the employer may not do so either.
It's also clear that where there's a party, some boundaries fall with the fools - not just late in the evening in the southern part of Cologne.
There is cuddles, kisses and hugs.
Is this cuddling already sexual harassment - like a well-intentioned slap on the bottom of a friend or athletic colleague?
The decisive factor here is whether the “recipient” agrees or not.
A Bützchen is not one of them.
It is part of the carnival tradition, but anyone who understands this as sexual harassment should avoid carnival and carnival.
According to the General Equal Treatment Act, every kiss represents an intrusion into the privacy of the individual - even carnival does not override this.
Even suggestive jokes can be perceived by the other person as crossing borders.
"In such cases, the employer has a duty of care towards his employees and he must take appropriate measures to protect those affected," says the legal expert.
Markus Söder in the craziest carnival costumes over the years
Markus Söder in the craziest carnival costumes over the years
Whether you go out on carnival this year as Winnetou, a clown or as a guard girl is purely a question of taste for every fool.
Not everyone likes Native American costumes, fake police officers, or even sheik uniforms anymore.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder, on the other hand, did almost everything right with his disguise as a tribal elder at the carnival in Franconia.
Because he is only 56 years old and therefore still a long way from the goal of the tribal elder.
List of rubrics: © imago