Many models are contractually bound to an agency - for example because they promise themselves to get more and better jobs.

So did a model at the age of 18, in return for promoting his career, she was supposed to give up 25 percent of the income.

The five-year contract was extended for a further two years because it was not terminated at least nine months before it expired.

The model canceled his contract after a term of around six years - and refused to continue paying the agency.

The in turn sued for further remuneration until the end of the agreed contract period.

Johanna Christner

Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.

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    The Lüneburg district court had dismissed the agency's action, with which the agency sought further remuneration until the end of the agreed contract period.

    With a judgment of April 1, 2021, the 13th civil senate of the Higher Regional Court of Celle rejected the appeal lodged by the agency (Az .: 13 U 10/20): Long-term time limits in pre-formulated agency contracts for models may be ineffective.

    The reason: If the employees are dissatisfied with their agency, they would in fact hardly be able to change it.

    In the event of dissatisfaction, however, the change must be possible.

    The case is unusual in the industry

    As managing director of the Hamburg model agency Modelwerk, Claudia Midolo is known to have such cases. "Unfortunately, it has happened more often recently that models terminate precisely these paragraphs," says Midolo - who thinks that is not okay. Nevertheless, the case is unusual in the industry: For example, a non-terminable contract period of five years is unusually long - and, in their opinion, not only too long, but also dubious. In their agency, contracts are limited to two years when they join and can then be terminated every three months. "Behind the beginning of a modeling career there is a lot of effort for the agency," says Midolo about the two-year contract with Modelwerk. "To say that agencies only sell models is simply not true: before we can even begin to earn anything with a girl, it takes at least a year, depending on the girl's age."

    Initially, an agency does not invest in a young model any differently than a company does in a trainee.

    In numbers, that's around 5,000 to 8,000 euros per model.

    Sometimes, however, the young models don't do things fast enough.

    "But an apprenticeship takes time: If you expect to come here today and be Toni Garrn in four months - that won't happen," says Midolo.

    “Some assume that they can catapult themselves to the top of the world in five minutes without having learned anything.

    But that's not how it works. "

    Missing Hanseatic merchant honor

    It is still difficult to determine whether the model's dissatisfaction is based on the court judgment described. “What I find generally unpleasant in our industry is that everything is turned in the way that suits you and because there is little Hanseatic merchant honor,” says Midolo, however. "If there are orders, then you work them off properly - that is part of a nice togetherness."

    The court in Celle pointed out that in the case described there was a service contract and not an employment contract.

    In principle, this can also be terminated without an important reason and without observing a notice period.

    The prerequisite for this is that it is based on a special relationship of trust and has services of a “higher kind” as its content.

    This includes, for example, the services of doctors, lawyers and consultants, but also of artist and model agencies.

    "Model nomads" and the "really bad cases"

    In the said case, the regulation was excluded by the agreement of fixed contract periods, but in the opinion of the court the exclusion was ineffective: The model was unreasonably disadvantaged by the long periods. Since the initial investment in a young model only pays off as the career progresses, it can be justified to exclude the possibility of termination for a certain period of time. However, if the expectations of his agency are not met, a model must be able to change his agency. The court also stated that it would take into account the fact that the “market for models is getting tighter with age”.

    Claudia Midolo already got to know people in her branch whom she describes as “model nomads” and “the really bad cases”: “They go to an agency, get pocket money, flights and stays abroad financed there - and then simply switch to one other agency. ”It is now easy for you to recognize such characters at an early stage. However, the mood caused by the corona pandemic is different, with “black sheep” pervading it, and models are much easier to contact through social media than was once the case: “Then head bonuses are used to woo away irrational promises to young people Man-made, but whether the other agency does a better job doesn't matter at first, ”says Midolo. But she prefers to invest her time and effort in models anyway,who appreciate their work and support, because customers would also be uncomfortable with shady characters - and then be gone quickly.