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Limits of Pay Transparency: Federal Labour Court Stops Company-Wide Pay Comparisons (8 AZR 83/25)
Federal Labour Court: The right to information under the Pay Transparency Act is limited to the individual establishment and to the last completed calendar year.
Jul 6


Back Pay for Default of Acceptance: Inactivity After Dismissal Costs the Employee the Back Pay (Higher Labour Court of Lower Saxony)
Higher Labour Court of Lower Saxony (judgment of 11 December 2025 – 5 SLa 465/25): Anyone who makes no effort to find work for weeks after a dismissal must accept the imputation of fictitious interim earnings.
Jun 23


Mass Dismissal Notification: Federal Labour Court Seals Zero Tolerance for Procedural Errors (6 AZR 157/22)
Federal Labour Court (judgments of 1 April 2026): A mass dismissal notification filed too late or too early renders all dismissals invalid – there is no cure.
Jun 17


The Two-Week Period under § 626(2) BGB: The Employee's Holiday Does Not Suspend the Deadline (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 55/25)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 4 December 2025): The cut-off period for summary dismissal runs even while the employee is on holiday – employers must pursue the investigation with urgency.
Jun 11


Whistleblower Protection: No "Comprehensive Insurance" Against Dismissal (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 51/25)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 4 December 2025 – 2 AZR 51/25): Protection under § 36 HinSchG requires an actual report and a causal link with the detrimental treatment.
May 31


Missing Inclusion Officer as an Indication of Discrimination (Federal Labour Court, 8 AZR 276/24)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 26 June 2025): Failure to appoint an inclusion officer can establish the presumption of discrimination on grounds of severe disability.
May 28


Registered Mail with Delivery Confirmation (Einwurf-Einschreiben): No More Prima Facie Evidence of Receipt (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 184/25)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 7 May 2026): The postal service's digital delivery record no longer establishes prima facie evidence of receipt – employers must secure service by other means.
May 27


"Bought Sick Notes": Online Certificates Without Any Contact With a Doctor Justify Summary Dismissal (Higher Labour Court of Hamm)
Higher Labour Court of Hamm (case no. 14 SLa 145/25): A certificate purchased via a questionnaire without a medical examination has no evidential value and destroys the relationship of trust.
May 8


Probationary Periods in Fixed-Term Employment Contracts: Federal Labour Court Creates Room for Manoeuvre (2 AZR 160/24)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 30 October 2025): There is no rigid 25 % limit for the appropriateness of a probationary period under § 15(3) TzBfG; the waiting period under the KSchG remains unaffected.
Apr 24


Retaining Skilled Staff: New Flexibility Through the Reform of § 41 SGB VI
Since 1 January 2026, employees drawing an old-age pension can be re-employed on fixed-term contracts without an objective reason; text form suffices for retirement-age agreements.
Apr 16


Blanket Release Clauses Are Invalid (Federal Labour Court, 5 AZR 108/25)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 25 March 2026): "Release at any time" clauses unreasonably disadvantage employees; an unjustified withdrawal of the company car triggers damages.
Apr 11


Severely Disabled Applicants: Failure to Instruct the Employment Agency as an Indication of Discrimination (Federal Labour Court, 8 AZR 123/24)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 27 March 2025): Merely publishing the vacancy on the job exchange is not enough; without a placement request, a presumption of discrimination is looming.
Apr 4


Transfer of Tasks to a Group Affiliate Can Justify a Dismissal for Operational Reasons (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 227/22)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 28 February 2023): If the position ceases to exist as a result of a transfer to a (foreign) group company, the dismissal is socially justified – courts review only for arbitrariness.
Mar 27


No Duty to Wait: Operational Changes During an Ongoing Works Council Election (Higher Labour Court of Baden-Württemberg, 2 TaBV 2/25)
Higher Labour Court of Baden-Württemberg (order of 30 September 2025): Without a works council in office, there is no obligation to postpone restructuring until an initiated election has been completed.
Mar 19


Multiple Voting Rights in Works Council Elections in Matrix Structures (Federal Labour Court, 7 ABR 28/24)
Federal Labour Court (order of 22 May 2025): What matters is the actual integration into the work organisation – employees may be entitled to vote in several establishments.
Mar 13


Pay Rise Only for New Contracts? That Is Not Permissible (Federal Labour Court, 5 AZR 239/24)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 26 November 2025): Signing a new employment contract is not an objective reason for excluding employees with old contracts from a general pay rise.
Mar 10


Equal Pay in Court: One Better-Paid Colleague Is Enough (Federal Labour Court, 8 AZR 300/24)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 23 October 2025): Comparison with a single better-paid colleague establishes the presumption of gender-based pay discrimination.
Feb 23


Dismissal by E-Mail from Abroad? Federal Labour Court on Choice of Law, Notice Periods and Form (Rome I Regulation)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 22 August 2024): § 622(2) BGB applies mandatorily despite a choice of US law if the place of work is in Germany – the form, however, is governed by Art. 11 Rome I Regulation.
Feb 12


Retirement-Age Provisions Are Not a Case of § 4(2) TzBfG (Federal Labour Court, 6 AZR 18/25)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 31 July 2025): Employment relationships that end upon reaching the standard retirement age do not fall under the anti-discrimination protection for fixed-term employees.
Feb 5


No Waiver of Minimum Leave – Not Even in a Court Settlement (Federal Labour Court, 9 AZR 104/24)
Federal Labour Court (judgment of 3 June 2025): Statutory minimum leave cannot be waived during an existing employment relationship – settlements must cleanly distinguish between minimum leave and additional leave.
Jan 23
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