Equal Pay in Court: One Better-Paid Colleague Is Enough (Federal Labour Court, 8 AZR 300/24)

On 23 October 2025, the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) made clear that, for an equal pay claim, a female employee does not have to rely on statistical averages or large comparison groups; rather, proof of a single better-paid colleague performing equal work or work of equal value is sufficient. The "pairwise comparison" (Paarvergleich) – i.e. the direct comparison with a male colleague receiving higher pay – regularly establishes the presumption of gender-based pay discrimination. Companies must then set out and, if necessary, prove that there are objective, gender-neutral reasons for the difference; if they fail to do so, they must close the pay gap.

Some lower courts had still required that a "predominant probability" of discrimination be shown by means of larger group statistics, which the BAG expressly rejected. What remains decisive is that the comparison with the individually named colleague alone is sufficient, irrespective of median values or the size of the comparison group.

This decision builds on the principle of "equal pay for equal work or work of equal value" and sets the threshold in practice considerably lower than before. For employers, this means that the internal salary structure and individual outliers alone can constitute a considerable litigation risk. Employers should review pay structures at an early stage and define and document transparent, gender-neutral remuneration criteria in order to counter the risk of proof in the pairwise comparison. This decision comes in the context of the forthcoming implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive by June 2026, which will bring more far-reaching transparency and documentation obligations and will further increase the risk profile for equal pay claims.