Germany's Federal Labour Court (BAG) has rejected a complaint brought by a temporary warehouse worker at a major clothing retailer, who was seeking pay equal to that of her colleagues on permanent contracts. This ruling, handed down on 31 May, was in fact a re-examination following a judgement by the European Court of Justice in December 2022. At that time, the court had ruled that, while pay inequality between permanent and temporary workers may exist, this could be partially offset by time off.
The ruling by the BAG’s federal judges on 31 May 2023 is not good news for Germany’s 800,000 temporary agency workers. The judges’ stance curtails their hope of benefiting from the legal provisions of European Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work, which recognises, in principle, the right of two employees who do the same job at the same company and in similar positions to receive equal pay.
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Article authors
Thomas Schnee
Correspondent in Germany
As a Berlin correspondent for the French and Swiss press since the late 1990s, I cover a wide range of economic, political and social issues, with a particular focus on the German business and labour market. My areas of interest include co-determination, digitalisation, demographics and ESG/DEI policies.