Working life country profile for Germany
This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Germany. It aims to provide the relevant background information on the structures, institutions, actors and relevant regulations regarding working life.
This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are systematically updated every two years.
There are two main types of industrial action in Germany: strikes and lockouts.
There is no law governing the regulation of strikes or lockouts. The GG – apart from its general guarantee of the freedom of association – mentions neither. The regulation of industrial conflict remains subject to separate legislation and, as the legislator has remained inactive, has effectively been left to the courts. Case law has been developed by the Federal Labour Court in subsequent rulings.
A fundamental legal principle governing disputes is that industrial action must pursue an aim that can be regulated by collective agreement. Therefore, strikes and lockouts are only lawful in the context of collective bargaining, and political or general strikes are considered unlawful. Only unions have the right to call a strike. Secondary action may be legal under certain circumstances. There is no individual right of workers to go on strike. Strikes that are not officially recognised by a union are unlawful. A ballot is not required unless specific union rules require such a ballot. Career civil servants (Beamte) are banned from the right to strike. An unlawful strike gives rise to entitlements to damages and, in particular for mutual entitlements, to a restraining injunction between those involved. Whether or not a strike is unlawful is decided by the labour courts concerned in each case.
Developments in industrial action, 2012–2021
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Source | |
| Working days lost per 1,000 employees | 2.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 28.2 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 14.0 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 9.1 | Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) (undated) |
| Working days lost | 630,000 | 550,000 | 392,000 | 2,002,000 | 426,000 | 238,000 | 1,032,000 | 360,000 | 342,000 | 590,000 | WSI annual estimate on industrial action (Dribbusch, 2019; Frindert et al, 2022) |
Notes: In 2015, the number of days lost was exceptionally high due to several long-lasting strong industrial conflicts in the public sector (social care and childcare workers in municipalities) and in privatised companies (Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa). In 2018, many industrial disputes took place in the metal industry and in the food and drinks sector. The German Federal Office of Statistics (Statistisches Bundesamt) registered a clear decrease in strike days lost per 1,000 employees for 2019.
Collective dispute resolution mechanisms
In many sectors, trade unions and employer organisations have concluded a joint dispute resolution agreement (Schlichtungsvereinbarung). Such resolution agreements usually define the amount of time after which peace obligations expire and therefore when a trade union can call an official strike. If negotiating for a new collective agreement, the bargaining parties can activate the agreed joint dispute resolution procedure (Schlichtung) to prevent the outbreak of industrial action. The procedure does not have to lead to a compromise but may merely include mediation. There is no statutory mediation or arbitration procedure.
Individual dispute resolution mechanisms
Where they exist, works councils play an important role in resolving disputes before they become legal disputes. Individual workers as well as works councils and trade unions have the right to take a case to court. Trade unions, on the other hand, do not have the right to represent collective demands (Verbandsklagerecht) – establishing such a right for collective legal action remains a long-standing trade union demand.
Labour law is applicable only to relationships based on a private contract. Career public servants (Beamte), in the strict sense of the term, are not covered by German labour law. The relationship between career public servants and the state is not a private contractual relationship, but is defined by, and based on, public law. This is why the Law on Career Public Servants (Beamtenrecht) is considered to be a special section of public law.
Disputes concerning career public servants are settled not by the labour courts but by the administrative courts.
Total number of cases brought before labour courts of first instance in Germany, including those pending from previous years, 2012–2021
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| 523,698 | 523,764 | 502,272 | 479,795 | 467,339 | 436,545 | 416,771 | 426,108 | 438,313 | 372,265 |
Sources: BMAS (undated); Destatis (2021)
Use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms
The Labour Court Act (Arbeitsgerichtsgesetz) includes various alternative forms of dispute resolution. The most common one is the conciliation procedure (Güteverhandlung). In this procedure, the judge and the conflicting parties agree on an out-of-court settlement. If an agreement cannot be reached, the case goes back to court. The transposition of EU legislation has strengthened the role of out-of-court mediation. Judges may appoint a judge not involved in the court case for the conciliation procedure (Güterichter); subject to the agreement of the conflicting parties, they also involve an out-of-court mediator for mediating the conflict. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the labour court decides the case.
Data on the number of mediation or conciliation cases are not available.
