German Court Tightens Dismissal Hurdles for Chronically Ill Employees: Registered Mail No Longer a Safe Bet

Federal Labor Court rules that mailbox-drop registered mail fails to prove delivery, tightening dismissal rules for chronically ill workers. Contrasts with reform easing high-earner layoffs.

Sending a return-to-work management invitation via "Einwurf-Einschreiben" — a form of registered mail where the letter is dropped into the recipient’s mailbox — no longer offers legal protection for employers in Germany. The Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) ruled on Friday that this delivery method fails to prove the document actually reached the employee, raising the bar for dismissing workers with repeated long-term illnesses.

The case concerned the termination of an employee who had been off sick multiple times over extended periods. Under German law, a dismissal of this type is generally invalid unless the employer has first conducted a return-to-work management procedure, known by its German acronym bEM. The court stressed that even if an employee previously declined to take part in a bEM, the employer must offer it again before any new dismissal.

Employers who rely on "Einwurf-Einschreiben" as proof of delivery now face a significant legal risk. The judges ruled that simply dropping a letter into a mailbox does not guarantee it entered the recipient’s sphere of control. If the employee later denies receiving the document, the employer lacks the necessary evidence — a gap that can undermine the entire dismissal process.

The ruling is the latest in a series of decisions enforcing strict procedural standards in German employment law. It follows a June 1 order from the North Rhine-Westphalia State Social Court (L 2 AS 727/26 B ER), which ruled that an appeal filed via an online fax service did not meet the statutory written-form requirement. The court noted that such services typically lack a qualified electronic signature and do not provide a sufficiently secure transmission path.

While the judiciary tightens protections for long-term sick workers, the German government is pursuing a parallel reform agenda that points in a different direction. A package unveiled on July 9 proposes easing dismissals for employees earning a gross monthly salary above €15,000. Starting in 2027, such workers could be let go more easily in exchange for a severance payment.

The reform also includes plans to extend fixed-term contracts without a specific reason to up to 48 months and to offer tax incentives for severance when employees quickly switch jobs. Researchers at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) have expressed skepticism, arguing the changes would affect only a tiny fraction of the workforce and have little impact on corporate restructuring.

The result is a growing tension in Germany’s labor landscape: one set of rules demands ever more rigorous paperwork for dismissing chronically ill staff, while another seeks to loosen the reins for a select group of high earners.