The position of managing director within a company is highly respected and is sought after by many employees. Ultimately, you can then run the company as you see fit. But in addition to freedom of choice and his rights, the managing director also has special duties to fulfill. Every GmbH managing director should know exactly his duties and the limits of his freedom of decision in order to be able to exclude personal liability. My expertise as a specialist lawyer for commercial and Corporate Law Munich as well as a specialist lawyer for international business law and my experiences in advising companies and GmbH managing directors in connection with managing director duties are explained below.
The regulations of GmbH law
Jede Geschäftsführerin und jeder Geschäftsführer hat die Geschäfte der Gesellschaft mit der Sorgfalt eines ordentlichen Kaufmanns zu führen. Dies bedeutet, dass sich jeder Geschäftsführer an Recht und Gesetz halten muss. Dies gilt auch dann, wenn er eigentlich zum Wohl der Gesellschaft handeln möchte. Daher ist etwa die Zahlung von Bestechungsgeld, um der GmbH einen Auftrag zu sichern, ein Pflichtverstoß. Die Zahlung von Bestechungsgeldern ist eine Straftat, für die der Geschäftsführer persönlich zur Rechenschaft gezogen und bestraft wird. Zudem haftet die GmbH für das strafbare Verhalten des GmbH-Geschäftsführers; dies ist ebenfalls im Gesetz festgelegt. Straftaten wie Bestechung, Untreue oder Vorenthalten von Sozialversicherungsbeiträgen lassen sich nie rechtfertigen. Dies gilt auch, wenn die Gesellschafter dem Geschäftsführer eine Weisung erteilen. Berechtigte Weisungen muss der Geschäftsführer befolgen, andernfalls verstößt er gegen seine Pflichten. Gesetzwidrige Weisungen darf er dagegen nicht befolgen.
In individual cases, it may be difficult for the shareholder manager and the third-party manager to assess whether a decision, measure or instruction constitutes a breach of duty and triggers the GmbH manager's personal liability. In order to avoid tortious liability or even criminally relevant behavior, it is dutiful and justified to seek legal advice from a lawyer.
As a lawyer and specialist in commercial and corporate law, I am initially interested in the specific behavior, the respective decision or measure in which there is legal uncertainty. My next task is to examine the partnership agreement and the object of the company to see whether the decision or measure is covered by this. It also plays an important role whether the focus of the entrepreneurial activity has shifted to other business areas. This happens very often in practice.
Further liability issues also arise from other provisions of the GmbH Act (GmbHG). In particular, the shareholder-managing director may not “reach into the cash register” through hidden profit distributions. This also applies to one-person GmbHs, although the question of liability usually only arises at the insolvency stage.
The managing director’s duties in detail
At this point I would like to explain to you which managing director duties apply within a company, among other things.
Entrepreneurial decisions
Every shareholder manager or external manager is entitled to make business decisions. In this respect, he has a broad entrepreneurial discretion like any prudent businessman, but this depends on the circumstances of the respective company. What is permitted in one GmbH may be prohibited in another. The managing director must be prepared for this when fulfilling his most important tasks. This is the so-called business judgment rule, which also protects the GmbH managing director. The managing director does not have to compensate for any damage that the GmbH suffers as a result of a decision that subsequently turns out to be disadvantageous if he acted within the scope of his discretion. The regulations of the GmbH Act do not protect the company from all economic damages, but only from those that are based on a breach of duty of care. Whether the GmbH management is therefore subject to liability always depends on the individual case.
Compliance with the regulations regarding representation
When he is appointed, the GmbH managing director should find out how the representation of the company is regulated in the partnership agreement. Individual power of representation or general representation together with another managing director or an authorized representative is common. The partnership agreement often also stipulates how the shareholders' meeting may regulate representation after the GmbH has been founded.
In this context, limited liability company transactions requiring approval must also be taken into account. The partnership agreement or a resolution of the shareholders' meeting often stipulate that certain management measures may only be taken with the consent of the GmbH shareholders. Every external managing director and partner managing director should inform themselves about this when placing their order.
Supervision of other managing directors
Jeder Geschäftsführer ist verpflichtet, die anderen Mitglieder der Geschäftsführung und die leitenden Angestellten zu überwachen. Dies gilt auch für den neuen Geschäftsführer und gegenüber dem Gesellschafter-Geschäftsführer. Dies kann in der Praxis zu schwierigen zwischenmenschlichen Situationen führen, insbesondere wenn die Gesellschaft in eine Krise geraten ist oder ein Fehler bei der Vertretung geschah. Diese Überwachungspflicht besteht im Grundsatz auch dann, wenn der Gesellschaftsvertrag, eine Geschäftsordnung der Geschäftsführung oder eine Entscheidung der Gesellschafterversammlung eine Ressortverteilung vorsieht. Zwar sind dann die Ressort-Verantwortlichkeiten im Alltagsgeschäft klar verteilt. Die übrigen GmbH-Geschäftsführer müssen sich über die jeweils anderen Ressorts informiert halten und falls notwendig, etwa wenn es die wirtschaftliche Lage der Gesellschaft erfordert, einschreiten. Die Ressortverteilung ist kein Freibrief für die other managing director.
Obligation to provide information and provide information
Der Geschäftsführer hat jedem Gesellschafter unverzüglich auf entsprechendes Verlangen Auskunft über die Firmenangelegenheiten zu erteilen sowie Einsicht in die Buchführung und andere Schriften zu gewähren. Dieses Recht und damit auch die Aufgabe der Geschäftsführung kann im Gesellschaftsvertrag nicht abbedungen werden. Allerdings darf das Informationsverlangen des Gesellschafters nicht den Interessen der Gesellschaft zuwiderlaufen oder sonst treuwidrig sein. Insbesondere wenn Anzeichen dafür bestehen, dass der Gesellschafter die Informationen benutzt, um Wettbewerb mit der Gesellschaft zu betreiben, ist jeder der einzelnen Geschäftsführer verpflichtet, die Auskunft bzw. die Einsicht zunächst zu verweigern. Der bestellte Geschäftsführer hat vielmehr die Gesellschafterversammlung anzurufen, die über die Verweigerung der Information in der Regel mit einfacher Mehrheit zu entscheiden hat.
The respective managing director is in a tricky situation. Refusal to comply with a legitimate request for information constitutes a reason for the immediate termination of the managing director's employment and his dismissal. He may then also be liable for damages. On the other hand, he may not comply with an unauthorized request for information.
Formal duties
The GmbH managing director must comply with all obligations under the GmbH law. For example, he may not distribute the assets required to maintain the share capital to the shareholders. The managing director must carry out all registrations in the commercial register. The management must immediately report changes to the object of the company, the number of shareholders, the conclusion of company contracts and a new business address to the commercial register. In addition, the managing director is obliged to submit documents to be disclosed to the electronic Federal Gazette.
Formal obligations also exist when founding a GmbH. Only a natural person can be a managing director. When appointed, every new managing director, including third-party managing directors, must, in accordance with the statutory provisions of the GmbHG, swear to the notary that his appointment does not conflict with any criminal convictions at home or abroad. If the managing director provides false information here, he is committing a criminal offense. This can also trigger full liability towards the company.
Tax managing director duties
Since the managing director is the legal representative of the company, he has to comply with all tax obligations of the GmbH. This includes tax payments, the payment of social security contributions, bookkeeping and the filing and correction of tax returns and other reports. He is also responsible for proper bookkeeping, which he may, however, delegate to qualified personnel. However, he must select and monitor these personnel carefully. Violating accounting obligations can also have criminal consequences. A special obligation is the payment of the employee's share of social security contributions. If the managing director does not fulfill this obligation, he is liable to prosecution. This also applies to the new managing director who is just joining the company. He cannot rely on the fact that one of the other managing directors did not pay employee shares due to his gross negligence.
Managing director duties in the event of insolvency
The GmbH managing director also has to check whether the company is or could be in a crisis. If more than half of the share capital has been used up, he must immediately inform the shareholders' meeting. If the GmbH becomes insolvent, the managing director must file for insolvency within three weeks. Otherwise he will be personally liable to prosecution. Even an instruction from the shareholders not to file for insolvency does not change this. Insolvency occurs when you are unable to pay or are over-indebted. If the managing director has signs of at least one of these situations, he must monitor on a daily basis whether insolvency has occurred or not.
Liability risks of the managing director
Die zahlreichen Geschäftsführer Pflichten sind im deutschen Recht nur teilweise klar ausformuliert. Es liegt in der Verantwortung eines jeden Geschäftsführers, den umfangreichen Pflichtenkatalog zur Kenntnis zu nehmen, bei Unklarheiten nachzufragen und jeder darin abgebildeten Pflicht nachzukommen. Nur so kann die persönliche Haftung vermieden werden. Es ist jedoch nicht so zu verstehen, dass der Geschäftsführer bei einer Fehlentscheidung oder Pflichtverletzung stets persönlich haftet und seine Abberufung riskiert. Allein dadurch, dass sich eine unternehmerische Maßnahme nachträglich als fehlerhaft erweist, wird noch keine Schadensersatzpflicht begründet. Die persönliche Haftung besteht nur bei einer sorgfaltspflichtwidrigen Handlung des Geschäftsführers.
In addition to his appointment, each managing director usually also has a dependent employment relationship with the GmbH. The managing director's employment contract often also contains provisions on personal liability, dismissal for good cause, D&O insurance, non-competition clauses and/or post-contractual non-competition clauses. The managing director's contract can therefore also result in far-reaching obligations and further liability risks that supplement the obligations under the GmbH Act (GmbHG).
Managing Director Duties – Conclusion
From the moment of his appointment, the managing director is responsible for numerous rights and tasks, as well as special legal obligations towards the respective shareholder, the company and third parties. His liability arises from the regulations in the GmbHG, in the partnership agreement and his employment contract. Bei Fehlentscheidungen und Pflichtverletzungen, die sich im Nachhinein als pflichtwidrig erweisen, haftet die Geschäftsleitung nicht persönlich. Hat der Geschäftsführer von Anfang an eine bewusste Pflichtverletzung begangen, so haftet er persönlich. Es ist daher jedem Geschäftsführer anzuraten, sich genauestens mit der Rechtslage zu beschäftigen und allen Geschäftsführer Pflichten nachzukommen. If you are interested in personal legal advice, I will be happy to assist you as a specialist lawyer for commercial and corporate law in Munich.
