German Labor Court Draws a Line: Sick Workers Can Still Serve on Works Councils
20.06.2026 - 05:41:52 | boerse-global.de
For months, a fueler at a German airport was too ill to climb onto aircraft wings and fill tanks. Yet when his works council stopped inviting him to meetings, a regional labor court ruled that his medical absence from one job did not disqualify him from the other.
The Hessian State Labor Court found that being unfit for physically demanding work does not automatically make someone unfit for the administrative, intellectual tasks of a works council role. In a decision issued in early February 2026 (case number 16?TaBVGa?2/26), the court ordered the council chairperson to resume inviting the member—who had been on sick leave since December?2022—to all future sessions, after he explicitly declared his readiness to fulfill his duties in November?2025.
The ruling hinges on a distinction that German labor courts are increasingly emphasizing: Arbeitsunfähigkeit (incapacity to perform one’s contracted job) is not the same as Amtsunfähigkeit (incapacity to hold an elected office). The judges reasoned that the fueler’s physical labor bears no resemblance to the mental and organizational work required in the works council.
Harder Line for Full-Time Council Members
The same separation does not apply to everyone. In July?2020, the Federal Labor Court (case 1?ABR?5/19) established that fully exempted works council members—those released from their regular job to work exclusively for the body—face a stricter test. Because their entire professional activity is council work, a sick note covering that activity generally means they cannot serve. There is no practical way to split their duties.
Email Rights, Election Challenges Get Clearer
Other recent decisions have strengthened individual council members’ standing in separate areas.
The State Labor Court of Celle ruled that members have an independent right to a personalized company email address with external communication capability, under Section?40 of the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz). No separate committee resolution is needed—as long as the tool is necessary for the work.
On election disputes, the Federal Labor Court clarified in January?2026 (case 7?ABR?40/24) that an isolated challenge to a works council election is permissible. Sending the challenge by email-to-fax with a scanned signature is sufficient. However, when proxies are used, a strict two-week deadline applies: retroactive approval after the deadline is barred. Only proof that the proxy was granted beforehand can still be submitted.
Political Reform Looms on Work Hours
These judicial clarifications come amid a broader reform push. A draft bill from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, dated June?2026, proposes mandatory electronic time tracking for all employees. The plan would allow a shift from daily maximum working hours to weekly maximum hours only through collective bargaining agreements. Non-unionized workplaces would retain the daily ceiling.
Employer groups such as Gesamtmetall have criticized the proposals. Yet the Federal Labor Court has already underscored, citing EU law and rulings from the European Court of Justice, that comprehensive time recording is legally required. In a separate move, the court rejected a works council’s initiative right to introduce digital time tracking—the obligation, it said, already stems directly from existing law.
