CMS advises E.ON on employment integration of former RWE subsidiary innogy

Munich/Cologne – Energy group E.ON successfully completed the legal integration of the workforce of former RWE subsidiary innogy into the group and its companies at the start of the new year. When innogy was divided up between energy groups E.ON and RWE, the grid network and consumer sides of the business were taken over by E.ON, while the regenerative energy business went to RWE. The transaction was completed in the summer of 2020, accompanied by a squeeze-out of the remaining innogy minority shareholders.

A CMS team headed by lead partners Dr Nina Hartmann and Dr Björn Gaul advised on employment law aspects of innogy’s integration. The first step involved in particular supporting the negotiation of a collective agreement to ensure that integration would be conducted in a socially responsible way. This also covered advising on a large number of transfers in 2020, mainly from innogy SE into various E.ON companies, including by way of business transfers and reorganisations. Some 5,000 employees were affected. Operating structures were also adapted, merged or newly created by way of corresponding collective agreements. As a second step, in 2021 the collective employment conditions of the transferred E.ON and innogy employees (comprising collective agreements and workplace agreements at group, company and local level) were harmonised with those of E.ON with effect from January 2022.

Many years of close cooperation with the inhouse team at E.ON SE as well as with HR contacts in a number of E.ON companies was a major factor in the successful handling of these extremely complex and legally challenging issues. Employment integration of the innogy workforce into various companies in the E.ON group was concluded within the space of just two years after the transaction. The longstanding partnership between management and employees and the invariably constructive negotiations with works councils at all levels and with the trade unions were instrumental in the success of the employment integration process.

CMS Germany

Dr Björn Gaul, Lead Partner, Cologne
Dr Nina Hartmann, Lead Partner, Munich
Dr Andreas Hofelich, Partner, Cologne
Dr Daniel Ludwig, Partner, Hamburg 
Jakob Hinze, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Victoria Kaule, Senior Associate, Cologne
Melanie Wiest, Senior Associate, Munich, all Labor, Employment & Pensions

E.ON SE

Dr Peter Gentges, Transition Manager HR Transition and Harmonization 
Dr Laurenz Voss, Director Employee Relations/Labour Law
Dr Stefan Burghard, Head of Employee Relations & Labour Law Germany
Cornelia Kallen, Head of Employee Relations & Labour Law International
Sabine Borgmann, Vera Fritz, Dr Uta Hölting-Pohl, Carina Kruska, Jörg Mrongowius, Gertrud Porten, Sarah Prinz, Grit Schultz, Judith Witfeld, all Employee Relations & Labour Law Germany
Dr Dietmar Droste, Leading Expert Pensions
Christian Gruschka

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