German Employers Face Tightening Compliance Landscape as Courts and Regulators Reshape Workplace Rules

German firms face new compliance risks: AGG lawsuit deadlines extended, mandatory time tracking coming, TÜV finds 35.9% building defects, and safety officer thresholds tightened.

A raft of legal and regulatory changes is forcing German companies to rethink everything from building safety to vacation policies and working time. The latest TÜV building-systems report, a bundle of cabinet-approved reforms, and several recent court rulings collectively raise the stakes for non-compliance.

AGG Reform Gives Employees Longer to Sue, Broader Harassment Coverage

On 6 May, the federal cabinet approved a draft reform of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). The new rules extend the deadline for filing discrimination claims from two to four months. Future discrimination based on sex will be unlawful in all business transactions, not only employment. Protection against sexual harassment now explicitly covers incidents outside the workplace. The reform also establishes an independent arbitration body for discrimination cases.

The same day, Labour Minister Bärbel Bas announced that a reform of the Working Time Act will be presented in June 2026. Its core proposal: mandatory electronic time recording for all employees. The daily maximum of ten hours would be replaced by a weekly cap of 48 hours on average, allowing single shifts of up to 12 hours if compensated within the same week. The EU-wide 48-hour weekly average and the 11-hour rest period would remain unchanged. The earliest likely implementation is 2027.

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With fire-extinguishing equipment failing inspection at such alarming rates, many employers might wonder how their own fire safety documentation stacks up. A surprising number of UK companies lack the proper risk assessments and evacuation plans that could make the difference in an emergency. That gap doesn't just put people at risk — it can lead to serious enforcement action. A free Fire Safety Toolkit provides everything from risk assessment templates to fire extinguisher training materials. Get the free Fire Safety Toolkit

TÜV Report: More Than a Third of Safety Systems Fail Inspection

The latest TÜV Building Regulation Report for 2026 documents a deterioration in the condition of critical building infrastructure. Among all systems inspected, 35.9 percent showed substantial defects – a nine-percentage-point rise over the previous year. Only 26.9 percent passed completely without any criticism.

Ventilation systems recorded the highest failure rate at 44.2 percent, followed by fire-extinguishing equipment at 40.6 percent. Emergency power supplies (35.2 percent) and safety lighting (35.0 percent) also performed poorly. The failure rate for initial (first-time) inspections jumped from 19.7 percent in 2024 to 26.3 percent in 2025. The TÜV Association called for more uniform technical standards and consistent remediation of defects.

New Thresholds for Safety Officers and a New Occupational Disease

Since 29 May, changes to Section 22 of Book VII of the Social Code (SGB VII) have raised the thresholds for appointing company safety officers:

• Companies with 50 or more employees are generally required to appoint at least one safety officer.
• Firms with 21 to 49 employees need one only if a specific hazard assessment shows a risk.
• Businesses with fewer than 250 employees without identified hazards must have a minimum of one safety officer.

Violations can result in fines of up to €10,000.

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For companies navigating these new safety officer thresholds, proper risk documentation becomes even more critical. A thorough risk assessment is the foundation of any compliant safety management system, yet many employers find the process time-consuming and unclear on what is actually required. A free Risk Assessment Toolkit offers 41 ready-to-use templates and checklists covering fire safety, manual handling, first aid and lone working — everything you need to stay on top of your duties. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit

Separately, on 27 May the cabinet approved the 7th ordinance amending the Occupational Diseases Regulation. Parkinson's syndrome caused by prolonged and frequent contact with pesticides is now formally recognised as an occupational disease. The change mainly affects farmers, horticultural workers, and railway track-layers who handle herbicides.

Court Rulings Hit on Zeugnisse, Vacation Limits, and Illegal Work

Three recent decisions carry significant implications for employers.

Arbeitszeugnisse (employment references): On 7 May, the Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled that an employer must issue a reference based on a draft prepared by the employee if such an arrangement was agreed in a court settlement. The employer may deviate only for compelling reasons. Non-compliance can trigger coercive fines of up to €25,000.

Vacation law: On 2 March, the Thuringia State Labour Court (LAG) declared unlawful a company policy that limited consecutive annual leave to a maximum of two weeks. Under the Federal Vacation Act, employers must grant longer continuous periods unless urgent operational reasons prevent it.

Illegal employment / Schwarzarbeit: On 19 March, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled that providing logistics services for a known system of undeclared work constitutes criminal abetting of tax evasion and withholding of social security contributions. In the specific case, the resulting damages totalled at least €604,219.54.

New Legal Guide Tackles Workplace-Safety Complexity

On 4 June, the VDE VERLAG published "Arbeitsstättenrecht – Praxisleitfaden und Urteilssammlung" (Workplace Law – Practical Guide and Case-Law Collection). The 656-page volume by Prof. Dr. Thomas Wilrich analyses 60 court rulings on the Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) and the associated Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR). It focuses on technical standards, employer duties, and operator liability.