Driving, working, groceries: what will change in April?

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April, April can do what he wants.

This old weather rush does not apply to new laws and regulations.

And because the lockdown was extended until well into April, there can be no question of free will - regardless of all of this.

So time enough to deal with what the capricious month brings with it in terms of new laws and regulations.

Driving license without automatic restriction

On April 1st, an annoying restriction for new drivers, which has been in place since 1986, ends: the so-called automatic restriction no longer applies.

In future, anyone who completes their practical test with an automatic vehicle will also be able to drive with a manual transmission.

Condition: During the training in the driving school, the applicant completes an additional ten driving lessons of 45 minutes each on a switching vehicle.

The training concludes with a 15-minute test in the driving school, in which the control of a switching vehicle is demonstrated.

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The tests include starting up on a hill, turning, right-of-way situations or an environmentally friendly driving style.

The successful test only needs to be confirmed by the driving instructor, so it is not part of the driving test.

A similar regulation applied until 1986, but only six hours had to be proven on a switching vehicle.

And if you turned on the light and drove through the villages to the autobahn, you had the requirements “leap hour”, “night drive”, “drive overland” and “autobahn trip” done in one hour.

There was also no separate test.

Since 1986, a further test at the TÜV has been required if the automatic restriction in the driver's license is to be lifted.

According to the Driving Instructors Association of Lower Saxony, two rules will apply from April for holders of older driving licenses with automatic restrictions and the wish to revoke them: You can take the test without special training at the TÜV, or you can be tested at the driving school after ten driving hours.

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The Federal Ministry of Transport is pleased that the new regulation makes traffic safer and more sustainable.

In the end, however, only a corresponding EU directive will be implemented.

The fact is, however, that learner drivers can be more flexible when it comes to choosing a school vehicle.

In the future, you will be able to learn in an “environmentally conscious” way on an e-vehicle, which usually has no gearshift or automatic, but you can also move a twelve-cylinder, switched combustion engine afterwards if you feel like it.

Vaccinations from general practitioners

The doctor's offices should also be able to administer corona vaccinations from April 5.

However, the approximately 50,000 general practitioners' practices initially only receive around 20 doses per week because, according to the federal government, there is not yet enough vaccine available.

For the doctors, the prioritization of the vaccination ordinance would also apply, but they can apply it flexibly.

First of all, the doctors should invite their particularly endangered patients and vaccinate immobile people during home visits.

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Later, specialists and company doctors are also to be included.

At the end of April, three times as much vaccine is to be distributed to the practices.

Money laundering rules are tightening

German laws on money laundering were changed last year because an EU directive stipulated this.

But now the federal government is stepping up again and tightening the regulations.

The criminal offense of money laundering should in future include all criminal offenses as so-called money laundering predecessors.

"A money laundering criminality will take effect much more frequently than before," said the Federal Ministry of Justice.

If it was previously the case that evidence of a serious predicate offense - something from drug dealing, crime or organized crime - had to be provided in order to obtain a conviction for money laundering, money laundering in itself will in future be punishable by law.

Disguising the origin of the money can therefore already be money laundering.

Section 261 of the Criminal Code was amended accordingly and came into effect in mid-March.

Temporary work is prohibited in the meat industry

The Occupational Safety and Health Control Act prohibits temporary employment in the meat industry from April 1st.

However, temporary workers can still be used in the next three years - according to the Federal Ministry of Finance "to a limited extent" - if the labor leasing companies have signed collective agreements.

The hirer is obliged to notify the leasing of workers to the main customs offices in whose district the temporary workers are to be deployed.

There should also be exceptions for companies with fewer than 50 employees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Control Act has already banned work contracts in the meat industry since the beginning of the year.

The trigger for the relatively quick change in the law under Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) was the conditions with many corona infections in companies at the main location of the Tönnies Group in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.

Upper limits for trans fatty acids

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From April 1, there will be an EU-wide upper limit for industrially produced trans fatty acids.

They arise from the incomplete hardening of oils for the production of spreadable fats.

Trans fats are also found in deep-frying fat - the more frequently the fat is reused, the more so.

There are also naturally occurring trans fats in dairy products and ruminant meat.

According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, trans fatty acids are also responsible for cardiovascular diseases.

With the new regulation, only products may be sold that contain less than two percent trans fats in their fat content.

However, the proportion of trans fat has decreased significantly in the last few decades because the production processes have been improved.

In the United States, industrial trans fats have been banned in food since 2018.

In Denmark there were strict upper limits 18 years ago.

The larger part of the EU now has to follow suit.

Home office regulation has been extended

The Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance was extended until April 30, 2021.

Up to this date, employers are obliged to offer their employees to work from home whenever possible.

This regulation was originally valid until March 15th.

It is supplemented by an obligation on employers to create and implement company hygiene concepts.

In view of the pandemic situation, it is still necessary to reduce epidemiologically relevant contacts at work and on the way to work, says Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD).