From Email Deletions to AI Scrutiny: German Labour Law's New Battlegrounds
08.06.2026 - 02:13:18 | boerse-global.de
A wave of court rulings, union demands, and legislative proposals is reshuffling the rights of works councils and workers across Germany. Judges in three separate cases have defined the limits of employer investigations, while the DGB is pushing for early co-determination powers as artificial intelligence enters public administration.
Surveillance Rulings Draw Sharp Lines
The Lower Saxony Regional Labour Court ruled in January 2025 that a company-wide employee survey to investigate misconduct can be lawful. The employer had asked roughly 150 questions. Despite privacy concerns, the judges found no evidence ban—data protection does not grant offenders immunity. A co-determination right under Section 94 of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) is not automatically triggered by purely factual questions.
A different conclusion emerged from the Hamm Regional Labour Court in February 2026. An employer sought damages after an employee deleted about 19,000 emails. The court rejected the claim because the company could not prove concrete harm—such as lost orders or missing backups.
One month later, in May 2026, the Nordhausen Labour Court upheld the dismissal of a field-service worker whose driving licence had been revoked for a year. Driving a vehicle was a core contractual duty, no suitable indoor positions existed, and the employer was not obliged to accept private replacement drivers.
AI Co-Determination Gains Urgency
At the start of June 2026, the DGB Berlin-Brandenburg demanded that works councils and staff councils be involved earlier when artificial intelligence is deployed. The trigger: the planned introduction of the LLMoin language model within the state administration. According to the union, staff councils have not yet been consulted.
The ver.di union is now pressing for a modernisation of the legal framework, calling for binding AI guidelines in the public sector. The BRAIN network has already qualified more than 200 employee representatives to strengthen technical co-determination.
Works Council Elections and Formation: Watch the Details
At brake-systems supplier RESRG in Brake, 52 of the roughly 900 employees voted in June 2026 to establish a works council. Concrete steps are planned after the summer holidays. The company emerged from a merger the previous year.
Elections for severely disabled representatives also carry pitfalls. Workers in the passive phase of part-time retirement (Altersteilzeit) are not eligible to vote. A simplified election procedure is only allowed in workplaces with fewer than 50 eligible voters. Voting must be secret—a show of hands is impermissible.
Vacation, Hours, and Training: Clarifications
The Federal Labour Court confirmed that no statutory minimum holiday accrues during periods of unpaid special leave. This applies to sabbaticals and the passive phase of part-time retirement.
Business associations are pushing for a reform of the Working Hours Act. In early June 2026, the Unternehmerverband Mittelhessen called for a weekly cap instead of a daily one. The EU maximum of 48 hours per week could then be implemented more flexibly. The federal government is expected to present a draft bill in summer 2026.
The Marburger Bund, the doctors' union, is offering a seminar in July 2026 on fundamental legal questions of works council work. The training in Kirchheim is authorised under Section 37 (6) BetrVG. Registrations close in mid-June.
