Church employers in Germany may make church membership a hiring requirement, but not for every position. The Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court) has now closed a dispute that ran for more than thirteen years through every instance, including the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) (judgment of 21 May 2026, case no. 8 AZR 194/25 (F)); the full reasons have been available since 19 August. The decisive qu

Anyone who falls ill while on holiday abroad owes more notifications than at home and proves the incapacity for work differently. For employers who doubt such a sick note, the point of attack shifts as well. The decisive question is: which country does the certificate come from? 1. Three duties instead of one Anyone unable to work owes an immediate notification of that incapacity and its expected duration, at home and abroad alike (section 5 (1) sentence 1 Entgeltfortzahlungs

A serious allegation surfaces while the employee is on holiday. The German Federal Labour Court holds that there is no general ban on making contact during leave. Delaying the hearing until the employee returns can forfeit the two-week deadline.

A Munich tram driver, a recognised conscientious objector, is required to operate a tram painted in camouflage colours that advertises the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. He refuses. The Munich Labour Court (Arbeitsgericht München) has ruled that he has to drive it (judgment of 20 May 2026, case no. 4 Ca 15395/25). The case shows what conflicts of this kind actually turn on: not on the principle, but on how heavily the interference weighs and what accommodation would cos

Under German law, anyone calling in sick owes the employer only two pieces of information: that they will be absent, and for roughly how long. Many employment contracts ask for more and require a simultaneous notice of any urgent work left open. The Baden-Württemberg Regional Labour Court (Landesarbeitsgericht) holds a clause of that kind to be void (partial judgment of 19 February 2026, case no. 8 Sa 25/25). 1. The Case: A Written Warning After Calling in Sick In September 2

There is no express statutory basis for a reference issued while the employment relationship is still running. Following a decision of the Landesarbeitsgericht Köln (Regional Labour Court of Cologne) of March 2026, it is nevertheless sufficient for employees to give a coherent account of a planned career change (judgment of 04.03.2026, case no. 5 SLa 495/25). A plain denial no longer allows the employer to dismiss the request. 1. The Case: Two E-Mails The claimant returned to

Anyone drawing a target bonus whose amount depends on company targets needs to know those targets while they can still be influenced. If the employer resolves them internally only and keeps them to itself, the full bonus can become payable as damages. That is how the Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court) ruled in spring 2026 (judgment of 22 April 2026, case no. 10 AZR 28/25). The outcome stays the same even where the company missed its targets in the end. 1. The Case: F

Church employers may require their staff to be loyal to the institution's own ethos. Whether leaving the church therefore justifies a dismissal depends, following a decision of the European Court of Justice of March 2026, on the specific role (judgment of 17.03.2026, case C-258/24). The decisive question is: is church membership a genuine occupational requirement for this particular position? 1. The case: leaving the church for financial reasons The employee worked as a Sozia

Where an employer pays a flat amount that is the same for everyone, the same question arises with part-time staff every time: the full sum or a proportionate share? For the collectively agreed inflation compensation premium (Inflationsausgleichsprämie), Germany's Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) has now answered it (judgments of 17 March 2026, case nos. 9 AZR 1/25 and 9 AZR 80/25). 1. The Case: Half the Premium During Partial Retirement Two public sector employees

Germany's Federal Labour Court has declared the blanket release-from-duty clause in standard employment contracts invalid (5 AZR 108/25). Employers can still release staff, but only with reasons in the individual case. Tie a company car to it and you may end up paying.

Germany's labour ministry wants to slot a third category between dependent employment and genuine self-employment. Four requirements, a six-week cut-off deadline, and pension contributions calculated on turnover rather than profit.

Five invitations to a workplace integration process were not enough: Germany's Federal Labour Court requires a second attempt where an employee is absent for more than six weeks again after declining. Without a bEM, the employer carries the burden of proof.

Germany's Federal Labour Court (9 AZR 266/24) and the Cologne Regional Labour Court (7 SLa 647/24) have struck down training-cost repayment clauses. The wording decides.

The German federal government has announced that it will implement the reform package of the pension commission (Alterssicherungskommission) in full, and within this year. One aspect directly affects HR practice: partial retirement (Altersteilzeit) is to be available only from age 58 instead of 55. In addition, the block model (Blockmodell) is to be abolished entirely. Anyone considering partial retirement under the block model will probably have only this year left to do so.

The right to information under the German Entgelttransparenzgesetz (Pay Transparency Act) is the entry tool for any equal-pay review: employees who suspect pay discrimination first ask what their comparison group earns. The Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court) has now limited this right in two respects: to the most recently completed calendar year and to the employee's own Betrieb (establishment) (judgment of 19 February 2026, case no. 8 AZR 83/25). One of those two li

A hospital advertised a chief physician position internally but left open whether the role was to be filled full-time or part-time. Germany's Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) held the posting to be defective for that reason (decision of 23 September 2025, case no. 1 ABR 19/24). For the first time, the court has defined minimum content requirements for internal job postings. 1. The Case: A Chief Physician Position Without Working-Time Details Long before this p

A ward physician is annoyed by a colleague’s short-notice sick note and vents her anger in the medical team’s WhatsApp group – naming the diagnoses of her ill colleague. The Siegburg Labour Court (Arbeitsgericht Siegburg) ordered her to cease and desist and to pay damages (judgment of 22 May 2026, case no. 1 Ca 1741/25, not yet final). The case shows how a mocking chat message can turn into a data protection breach with personal liability. The decisive question: what may be c

Two employees are injured at lunchtime on their way to get food – one working from home, one working remotely at another location. The Higher Social Court of Hesse (Hessisches Landessozialgericht) recognised only one of the two accidents as a work accident (judgments of 28 April 2026, case no. L 3 U 189/24, and of 19 May 2026, case no. L 3 U 176/25). 1. The cases: two falls during the lunch break In the first case, a full-time employee worked from home during the Covid pandem

Anyone looking to change employers today has to commit before really knowing the new position: first the resignation or the acceptance, and only then does it become clear whether the move works out. The German Federal Cabinet has now approved a draft bill designed to defuse this risk. Employees are to be allowed to trial a new employer for several weeks while their existing employment relationship continues. 1. The instrument: A four-week trial The draft bill on the “Modernis

A works council member has been on sick leave for more than three years and still wants to attend council meetings. The works council keeps inviting the substitute member instead. The Hesse Regional Labour Court (LAG Hessen) decided in interim proceedings that this was wrong (decision of 2 February 2026, case no. 16 TaBVGa 2/26). A sick note only says that someone cannot perform their contractual work. Whether they can carry out their works council duties is a different quest