Overview
- Volker Görzel, a Cologne labour-law specialist quoted across multiple outlets on Thursday, said private erotic posts are generally protected as part of an employee's private life.
- Employers may intervene if online content allows others to identify the workplace or could damage the company's reputation, with this reputational risk central to any dispute.
- Staff with intensive customer contact or who are publicly known as company representatives face higher risk of employer measures because customers may link the content to the firm.
- Creating or distributing such content on company devices or during working hours is forbidden, and earning money from erotic platforms is treated as secondary employment that must be reported to the employer.
- The reporting stresses this is interpretive guidance, not new law, and outcomes are decided case by case so firms and workers should clarify rules on secondary work, device use, and public representation to avoid conflicts.