Germany: ruling confirms lower wages for temporary workers

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.