German employment Archives - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

German Employment Update – Obesity May Qualify as Severe Disability

European employers should exercise caution in the event of the dismissal of an obese employee. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) determined that obesity may qualify as severe disability if it significantly restricts participation in working life (ECJ, judgment of December 18, 2014 in Case C-354/13). This decision may be relevant not only for dismissals but also in hiring decisions. In order to avoid undue discrimination, an employment rejection letter should in no way whatsoever refer to the applicant’s weight. The plaintiff in the present case was an obese nursery teacher who filed a suit against his employer, the Danish community Billund, because of his dismissal. The employer argued that the dismissal was due to declining numbers of children being registered. The nursery teacher argued that the reason for his dismissal, after 15 years of employment, was his obesity, which constituted undue discrimination due to disability.

The ECJ clarified that European Union law does not contain a general prohibition with respect to obesity discrimination in employment. Nevertheless, obesity may qualify as severe disability if it significantly interferes with full and equal participation in working life. This can happen in cases of a particularly serious obesity of long duration, which causes physical, intellectual and mental impairment. According to this definition, the cause of the obesity is irrelevant. Now, following the decision of the ECJ, the Danish trial court has to decide if the nursery teacher’s obesity significantly interferes with full and equal participation in working life.

The decision of the ECJ may have significant impact on German employment law. Up until now, only conditions resulting from obesity (e.g., diabetes or chronic back pain) qualified as a severe disability. Following the decision of the ECJ, obesity itself may qualify as severe disability. It remains to be seen whether – and, if so, at which level –the ECJ will establish thresholds under which a dismissal or a rejection of an applicant is considered discriminatory due to obesity. Until then, the decision of the ECJ gives rise to considerable legal uncertainty.

German Employment News: German Employer’s Obligation to Compensate for Break Times if Break Times Have Not Been Properly Allocated

The Regional Labour Court of Cologne (Regional Court) stated in a decision in late November 2013 that a German employer has the obligation to allocate break times of employees in an orderly manner, and presented the possible consequences of non-compliance with such obligation.

In the case under review, the German employer (a nursing home) had set up a work schedule for the night shift which, in total, included a one-hour break from work per shift per employee. However, the German employer did not allocate a certain timeframe (e.g., from 4 to 5 am) for the break times. Instead, the employees were supposed to arrange among themselves who, when and in what time intervals to take the one-hour break per shift.

The Regional Court stated in its decision that such practice does not fulfil the legal requirements of “breaks” that do not have to be compensated by the employer. Under German law, only breaks from work within the meaning of § 4 German Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) do not need to be compensated. Importantly, to be covered by such statute, the breaks must be determined in advance. The German employer does not meet his statutory obligation to determine the breaks if it is up to the employees to freely arrange their breaks among themselves. The reasoning behind this ruling is the risk that the employees actually might not take a break at all because they lack the employer’s consent.

In summary, even though the German employer in this case took into account a one-hour break per employee and shift, it did not determine the organization or timing of such breaks. Therefore, the breaks did not fulfill the requirements of § 4 German Working Hours Act. As a consequence, the German employer had to pay remuneration for the whole night shift (not taking into account any kind of break).

German employers should keep this decision in mind when scheduling breaks. The best option is to determine the conditions and the timing of breaks in the employment contract, or, if a works council exists, in a collective works council agreement binding upon all employees of the operation. Additionally, the German employers should control and monitor compliance with such determined break times in order to avoid unnecessary claims for remuneration.