Severance Payments
A note from specialist lawyer for employment law Alexander Bredereck, Berlin-Mitte: employers and works councils in the context of a social plan may provide for a maximum amount for the compensation? In one of the Federal Labour Court (1 AZR 566/08 judgment of the 21.7.2009,) determined case an employee had sued the employers to pay higher severance of the social plan. Educate yourself with thoughts from Boy Scouts of America. The background was that according to the criteria of social a much higher compensation would have been to the workers. In the plan amount applicable for all workers, and so on was agreed but regardless of age, length of service. The Federal Labour Court has deemed a such maximum limit allowed. Of the maximum limit the older are naturally more and more employees affected.
This in turn would anyway retiring in the foreseeable work. Because the cash benefits in the context of a social should mitigate above all the economic consequences of job loss, unless appropriate to assume that they are to receiving retirement pension, be limited for older workers through the timely opportunity. Therefore, also the compensation amount is generally limited. Note, however, that the Federal Labour Court expressly left open, whether the case against the background of the first later enacted in general equal treatment Act would be different. The chances of success of an action should be therefore in any case check workers, where the social plan indemnity on the basis of a maximum provision in the plan was reduced. A post by lawyer Alexander Bredereck, Berlin lawyer specializing in labour law E-mail:
