German Mediation Panels Resolve Most Workplace Conflicts at First Meeting as Labour Law Shifts
Published on 07/14/2026 at 17:58 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Germany missed the 7 June 2026 transposition deadline for the EU Pay Transparency Directive, and the government now expects to implement the rules in early 2027. The directive will require companies with at least 100 employees to publish pay data and disclose salary ranges in job ads. Labour lawyers point to a recent Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruling that knowledge of a colleague's salary can already trigger a presumption of pay discrimination, shifting the burden of proof onto the employer.
Against this backdrop, the mediation boards known as Einigungsstellen—established under Section 76 of the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz)—are seeing a surge in activity. Around 70 percent of all proceedings end successfully after the very first session, underlining their role as a fast tool for settling workplace disputes, particularly during restructuring and job cuts.
Major companies illustrate the trend. Aldi Süd plans to cut about 1,250 positions by the end of 2027. At BioNTech, up to 1,860 employees are affected by site closures. In such cases the mediation board often becomes the decisive body, negotiating reconciliation of interests and social plans when employer and works council fail to reach agreement. A recent example comes from BSH Hausgeräte, which agreed a social plan for its Nauen site; production there will stop on 30 June 2027.
The boards are not limited to large restructurings. Everyday workplace conflicts—such as holiday scheduling under Section 87(1) No. 5 BetrVG—also land on their table. Works councils have extensive co-determination rights over leave principles, holiday plans and individual vacation times. Modern arrangements like sabbaticals and educational leave fall within this scope. When disputes arise, the mediation board issues a binding decision, though affected employees can still take the matter to a labour court.
A study from May 2026 by the University of Trier and Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences underscores the importance of co-determination. In workplaces without a works council, three times as many employees earn below the statutory minimum wage, which has stood at €13.90 since 1 January 2026.
Several recent court rulings have clarified co-determination rights. The Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labour Court (LAG) decided in April 2026 that the works council at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) could exercise provisional co-determination over duty rosters for a foreign airline. The BAG upheld that decision in May 2026. In a separate April 2026 ruling, the BAG held that works council members must provide concrete evidence of a hypothetical career path to claim higher pay—mere development potential is insufficient. And in January 2026, the BAG made clear that digitalisation does not dissolve the traditional definition of a business unit (Betrieb); locations without their own management structure do not count as separate entities, which affects works council elections.
A planned reform of fixed-term employment law is also generating debate. A coalition decision from July 2026 would extend fixed-term contracts without objective grounds from two to up to four years, applicable to hires until the end of 2030. Polls show broad public opposition, and union representatives have sharply criticised the move.
How social partnership will evolve under digitalisation and demographic change is being discussed in a series of events organised by the German Economic Institute. The next session is scheduled for 21 July 2026.
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