German Labour Court Delivers Mixed Verdicts: Minor Mistakes in Mass-Dismissal Notices Forgiven, but Procedural Timing Remains Pitfall

Nearly half of German workers say they lose their sense of security after being fired, and 35 percent report a blow to their self-confidence, according to a survey by HR Works. For more than one in five, those emotional effects last longer than a year. Over half of respondents expressed anger toward their former employer. Professor Hannes Zacher of the University of Leipzig advises people to let those feelings run their course but then shift focus toward personal growth.

Those statistics land against a backdrop of shifting legal guardrails. Germany’s Federal Labour Court (BAG) has issued a series of rulings that both tighten and relax the rules governing dismissals, giving employers some breathing room on paperwork while reinforcing procedural deadlines and worker protections.

In a decision handed down on 25 June 2026 (case number 6 AZR 7/26), the BAG held that trivial inaccuracies in a mass-dismissal notice do not automatically void the terminations. The case involved an employer who reported 34 dismissals when only 31 to 32 actually took place. The court ruled that errors that do not undermine the purpose of the notification procedure are harmless. The same logic does not apply to fundamental procedural mistakes. Earlier, in April 2026 (cases including 6 AZR 157/22), the BAG decided that a dismissal is permanently invalid if the notice was filed before the required consultation with the works council had finished. That defect cannot be cured by filing a corrected notice later.

Another ruling tackled the evidentiary value of sick notes submitted at the same time as a dismissal. The BAG (5 AZR 335/22) stressed that a certificate of incapacity for work does not automatically lose its weight just because it arrives with a termination letter. The employer must raise specific, concrete doubts. In the case before it, the court accepted a first sick note covering 2–6 May 2022 as valid, but found later certificates through 31 May 2022 to be unreliable: the sick leave coincided exactly with the notice period, and the employee started a new job immediately after it ended. The Nordhausen Labour Court (3 Ca 438/25) added that the evidentiary value of a doctor’s note remains high. A mere announcement that someone intends to get a sick note can weaken that value, but the employer must prove the statement beyond doubt. Without such proof, the employee’s claim for continued wage payments stands.

Parental-leave protections are also getting sharper teeth. On 18 June 2026 (2 AZR 213/25), the BAG clarified that the special dismissal protection under the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz) re-takes effect before each separate period of parental leave, even if the employee requested all the periods in a single letter. In the underlying case, a dismissal handed down on 9 October 2024 with effect from 31 October 2024 was declared void because a further declared parental-leave period was due to begin on 11 November 2024. Workers still must file a dismissal-protection lawsuit within three weeks of receiving the notice.

For executives, the market is tightening. The number of unemployed managers rose 14 percent in 2025 to 49,000, according to current data. Nils Schmidt of the DFK professional association urges affected managers to keep emotions in check during separation talks and to insist on a seven-to-14-day review period for any severance agreement. The rough guideline for compensation remains one gross monthly salary per year of service.

Meanwhile, the industrial landscape remains volatile. At Volkswagen, estimates suggest up to 100,000 jobs could be at risk, with plants in Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Neckarsulm seen as vulnerable. Mercedes-Benz is discussing extra work without pay increases and postponing bonus payments. Independent of any dismissal scenario, employers face new obligations on vacation. As of 2026, unused leave no longer expires automatically. Companies must individually inform employees about remaining holiday and urge them to take it. Upon termination, untaken leave must be compensated financially, as the Düsseldorf Regional Labour Court confirmed in late 2025. The overall sick rate has risen sharply: the average employee took 17 sick days in 2025, up from 13 in 2021.

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