Proof of Delivery: Germany’s Top Labour Court Overturns Decades-Old Registered Mail Practice
Veröffentlicht: 11.07.2026 um 17:05 Uhr, Redaktion boerse-global.de
A worker who had been off sick for 152 days over three years received seven invitations to a company reintegration programme. The final one came by “Einwurf-Einschreiben” – a standard registered mail product from Deutsche Post. The employee said it never arrived. Germany’s Federal Labour Court (BAG) has now ruled that this type of delivery can no longer be accepted as reliable proof that a document – be it a dismissal letter or an invitation to a return-to-work process – actually landed in a recipient’s mailbox.
The decision, handed down on 7 May 2026 (case reference 2 AZR 184/25), stems from a modernised scanning procedure used by Deutsche Post. According to the court, mail carriers now confirm delivery by signature before the envelope is physically dropped into the letterbox. That destroys the Anscheinsbeweis – the prima-facie evidence that delivery occurred. Without it, employers lose a key shortcut in proving receipt.
In the case that triggered the ruling, the employer’s subsequent dismissal on grounds of long-term illness was overturned by the Hamburg Regional Labour Court and upheld by the BAG. Because the worker had not properly received the last reintegration invitation, the company could not show it had fulfilled its obligation to attempt a betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement (bEM). Without that step, the termination was deemed disproportionate.
Many UK employers unknowingly risk fines and legal action when health and safety documentation is incomplete or missing. Without proper risk assessments and policies, compliance gaps can lead to serious consequences. A free Health & Safety Toolkit provides ready?to?use templates and checklists that help you meet your legal duties and protect your workforce. Download the free Health & Safety Toolkit
What Employers Must Do Now
Lawyers are urging companies to ditch the Einwurf-Einschreiben and switch to methods that leave a clearer paper trail:
- Hand delivery in the presence of a witness
- Service by a bailiff (Gerichtsvollzieher)
- A delivery-confirmation registered letter (Übergabe-Einschreiben)
The BAG had already signalled trouble ahead. In a ruling from early 2025 (2 AZR 68/24), it stated that neither a proof-of-posting receipt nor an online tracking status alone is enough to prove a dismissal was received.
bEM: A Growing Hurdle for Dismissals
The court emphasised that employers are legally required to run a bEM process when an employee has frequent short-term absences or a long period of incapacity. If they skip it, they face a heavier burden of proof in any subsequent legal dispute – a point the BAG underlined in the latest ruling.
Separately, the BAG decided on 29 January 2026 (2 AZR 128/25) that a dismissal during the probation period is invalid if the employer failed to consult the representative body for severely disabled workers (Schwerbehindertenvertretung). This obligation applies regardless of the six-month waiting period for special protection against dismissal.
Proposed Reform to Sick-Note Rules
In July 2026 the coalition committee agreed to overhaul the Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz (Continued Remuneration Act). Under the plan, employees would have to submit a doctor’s certificate (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, AU) starting on the first day of illness, not the current fourth calendar day – unless the employer demands earlier proof.
The reform also intends to abolish the option of a telephone sick note. Doctors’ associations and trade unions have already voiced concerns. The Günstigkeitsprinzip (favourability principle) will remain in place, meaning collective or individual agreements that allow later submission of a certificate will stay valid. A formal bill has yet to be drafted.
What This Means for Companies and Workers
The administrative burden on businesses is rising. Employers must overhaul their internal delivery processes quickly. Workers, for their part, need to know the deadlines: any challenge to a dismissal must be filed in labour court within three weeks of receipt of the letter.
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The issue is also live at Volkswagen, where a job-security agreement bars operational dismissals until 2030. The company is instead pursuing a socially compatible reduction of tens of thousands of posts through partial retirement and severance deals. Negotiations over the long-term future of its plants are expected to dominate the sector in the months ahead.
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