Mass Dismissal Notification: Federal Labour Court Seals Zero Tolerance for Procedural Errors (6 AZR 157/22)

The Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG; judgment of 1 April 2026 – 6 AZR 157/22) has very recently ruled that errors in the mass dismissal notification (Massenentlassungsanzeige) inevitably lead to the invalidity of all dismissals. In its two judgments of 1 April 2026, the Sixth Senate gives a clear rejection to efforts towards de-bureaucratisation. A subsequent cure of procedural errors is thus definitively excluded.

In the first case, the mass dismissal notification was filed with the Employment Agency only after the dismissals. The court declared this impermissible, since the statutory blocking period cannot begin retroactively. Employees must be able to check, directly upon receipt of the dismissal, whether the procedure was correctly observed. Without a prior notification, the dismissals are invalid.

The second case concerns a premature notification. Here the employer filed the notification with the Employment Agency before the consultation procedure with the works council had been completed. Since this consultation is intended to prevent mass dismissals, it must mandatorily be concluded before the notification. A notification that is too early is legally ineffective.

The consequences for companies are drastic. A single formal error results in employees remaining in the establishment and the employer having to pay unplanned wages for default of acceptance. Chronological precision is therefore mandatory in restructurings – even under time pressure. The steps must strictly follow one another: first complete the works council consultation, then file the error-free notification with the Employment Agency, and only then serve the dismissals. Anyone who disregards this sequence under time pressure risks a large number of invalid dismissals.