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JOINT EMPLOYERSHIP

In certain special situations two or more persons can be jointly liable as the employer of an employee. The rights and obligations attaching to legal status as the employer can sometimes lie with several different persons, in which case responsibility for fulfilment of the employer's obligations can be joint. The 1948 Accident Insurance Act contains a special provision on the joint and several liability of two or more employers. Case-law exists on, inter alia, liability with respect to employee pensions. A corporate entity made up of several companies can sometimes either be deemed a joint employer or alternatively what is known as imputed liability can be applied. The factors taken into consideration include whether the employing units form a closely interlinked operational entity, and which person actually exercises the employer's rights and is answerable for the employer's obligations such as the payment of employees' pay. Cf. shared employership.

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