Federal Labour Court, 28.03.2017, Ref.: 2 AZR 551/16
The law provides for various types of termination of the employment relationship. There are agreed, unilateral and other types of termination. Probably the most important type of termination is when the employer gives notice of termination. Here, the legislator differentiates between ordinary termination (with notice) and extraordinary termination (without notice).
If a dismissal is deemed invalid, it can generally be challenged within three weeks by filing an action for protection against dismissal in accordance with Section 4 sentence 1 KSchG (in conjunction with Section 13 para. 1 sentence 2 KSchG). The only exception is if the written form or receipt of the notice of termination is disputed, as the action for protection against dismissal requires receipt of a written notice of termination. However, according to Section 46 (2) ArbGG i.V.m. § Section 256 ZPO by filing a general action for declaratory judgement.
1. Background to the dispute
In 2015, the plaintiff, a long-standing clerk at an insurance company, was dismissed by her employer, the defendant, without notice and, alternatively, with due notice. The dismissal was based on conflicts between the plaintiff and two work colleagues that took place in October 2014 and January 2015. The works council subsequently demanded the dismissal of the plaintiff, but the employer did not comply. In subsequent resolution proceedings, the labour court ruled in August 2015 that the plaintiff had to be dismissed. The defendant then dismissed her.
2. Position of the plaintiff
The plaintiff defended herself against the extraordinary and ordinary termination. She argued that the dismissal was invalid for several reasons. In particular, she criticised the inadequate consultation of the works council in accordance with Section 102 BetrVG. Furthermore, it did not see any good cause for the extraordinary termination in accordance with Section 626 (1) BGB, as the notice period in Section 626 (2) BGB had not been observed. It also considered the ordinary dismissal to be socially unjustified within the meaning of Section 1 (2) sentence 1 KSchG. Since, in her opinion, continued employment would have been possible, the employer should have given notice of termination with a change of contract.
3. Decision of the Federal Labor Court
The Federal Labour Court dismissed both the plaintiff's appeal and the defendant's cross appeal. The ordinary termination was deemed valid, while the extraordinary termination was invalid due to a lack of good cause pursuant to Section 626 (1) BGB. The court stated that there were insufficient grounds for extraordinary termination and that the defendant had also failed to observe the notice period pursuant to Section 626 (2) BGB. The decision of the labour court from August 2015 did not justify termination without notice, as this had not been explicitly ordered.
4. Effectiveness of ordinary termination
The court found that the ordinary dismissal was socially justified. The decision of the labour court in the proceedings pursuant to Section 104 BetrVG obliged the defendant to terminate the employment relationship. This constituted an urgent operational requirement within the meaning of Section 1 (2) sentence 1 KSchG. The defendant was legally obliged to terminate the plaintiff's employment relationship in compliance with the notice periods in order to avoid the threat of a penalty payment. As the dismissal was based on the decision of the labour court, there was no need to issue a notice of termination with a change of contract or to examine the possibility of continued employment elsewhere.
5. No further grounds for invalidity
The Federal Labour Court also pointed out that there were no other grounds for invalidity. In particular, no separate involvement of the works council pursuant to Section 103 BetrVG was required, as the works council had already given its consent to the dismissal as part of the procedure pursuant to Section 104 BetrVG. The plaintiff had not put forward any further reasons that would have jeopardised the validity of the ordinary dismissal. For these reasons, the ordinary dismissal was confirmed as legally effective and the employment relationship was thus terminated.
Source: Federal Labor Court
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