{"id":4786,"date":"2015-10-29T13:49:05","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T13:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?p=4786"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:41:21","slug":"arbeitsrecht-eine-klageverzichtsformel-im-aufhebungsvertrag-ist-unwirksam-wenn-der-arbeitgeber-die-angedrohte-kuendigung-nicht-ernsthaft-in-erwaegung-ziehen-durfte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/employment-law-a-waiver-of-claims-clause-in-a-termination-agreement-is-invalid-if-the-employer-was-not-entitled-to-seriously-consider-the-threatened-dismissal\/","title":{"rendered":"A waiver of action clause in the cancellation agreement is ineffective if the employer was not allowed to seriously consider the threatened termination."},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Labor Court, March 12, 2015, Case No.: 6 AZR 82\/14<\/strong><\/p>\n

The contractual relationship between an employee and an employer can be established and also terminated by a contract. Such a termination agreement must be concluded in writing according to Section 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB).<\/p>\n

For the employer, a termination agreement can be a good way to avoid a legally uncertain dismissal and its often costly consequences. For an employee, however, there are many pitfalls to consider when drafting such a termination agreement to avoid costly mistakes.<\/p>\n

First of all, employees should ensure that the termination agreement contains a proper severance payment provision. In case law, the rule of thumb is that the Severance payment<\/a> should generally amount to half a gross salary per year of employment if the Dismissal Protection Act applies. However, if the employee was previously harassed or otherwise disadvantaged in any way, this must also be reflected in the amount of the severance payment.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, employees must be aware that a termination agreement can trigger a blocking period for unemployment benefits. This blocking period can only be avoided if the termination agreement includes the following provisions:<\/p>\n

The dismissal was \u201eclearly\u201c indicated by the employer.<\/p>\n

The indicated dismissal is based on operational reasons.<\/p>\n

The indicated dismissal would take effect at the same time as the termination date in the termination agreement.<\/p>\n

- The employer's notice of termination complies with the statutory Cancellation period<\/a> in.<\/p>\n

The employee receives a severance payment of at least 0.25 and at most 0.50 salaries per year of employment due to the termination agreement. If the severance payment is higher or lower than this, the Employment Agency will only recognize an important reason (for the termination) if the dismissal would have been effective.<\/p>\n

Often, a termination agreement also includes a waiver of claims, which obligates the employee not to take legal action against the employer. In the case discussed by the Federal Labor Court, the court had to decide whether a waiver of claims in a standard termination agreement was effective.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Case Background<\/span><\/h3>\n

The plaintiff had been employed by the defendant since 2001. On December 28, 2012, the parties signed a written termination agreement that ended the employment relationship on the same day without severance pay. Previously, the defendant had threatened the plaintiff with extraordinary dismissal and criminal charges because he had taken two instant soups from the stock without payment. The contract contained a clause including a waiver and waiver of claims.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Collective Agreement and Right of Withdrawal<\/span><\/h3>\n

The applicable collective agreement for the retail sector in North Rhine-Westphalia dated July 25, 2008, provides for a right of withdrawal for termination agreements under Section 11, Paragraph 10, which can be exercised within three working days. However, this right can be waived in writing. The plaintiff contested the termination agreement on the same day and requested a determination that the employment relationship continued, arguing that the threat of extraordinary dismissal was impermissible given his long-standing and previously trouble-free employment relationship.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Court Decisions in Detail<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Labor Court dismissed the plaintiff\u2019s claim. On appeal by the plaintiff, the Regional Labor Court upheld the claim and declared the termination agreement invalid. However, the defendant appealed to the Federal Labor Court.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Decision of the Federal Labor Court<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Federal Labor Court overturned the appellate decision and referred the case back to the Regional Labor Court for further clarification. It determined that the validity of the right of withdrawal under the collective agreement did not need to be examined, as the plaintiff had not declared a withdrawal within the withdrawal period according to Section 11, Paragraph 10 of the collective agreement.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Waiver of Claims and Further Clarification<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Federal Labor Court found that the waiver of claims in the termination agreement generally deprived the plaintiff of the opportunity to legally contest the contract. This was only permissible if the threat of extraordinary dismissal was not unlawful. Since the Regional Labor Court had not sufficiently clarified this issue, it now had to determine whether the threat of extraordinary dismissal was unlawful.<\/p>\n

In summary, the Federal Labor Court referred the matter back to determine whether the threat of extraordinary dismissal was unlawful and to what extent this affected the validity of the termination agreement.<\/p>\n

Source: Federal Labor Court<\/p>\n

Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty.<\/strong> Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.<\/p>\n

If you need legal advice, please call us without obligation on 0221 - 80187670 or send us an email to info@mth-partner.de<\/a><\/p>\n

Lawyers in Cologne advise and represent you in labour law.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A waiver of legal action in a cancellation agreement pre-formulated by the employer is subject to a content review as an ancillary agreement in accordance with Section 307 BGB. If such a form-based waiver of legal action is declared in a termination agreement that is concluded to avoid an extraordinary termination threatened by the employer, this waiver unreasonably disadvantages the employee within the meaning of Section 307 para. \u00a7 Section 307 para. 1, para. 2 no. 1 BGB if a reasonable employer could not seriously consider the threatened dismissal.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3645],"tags":[2989,2991,2988],"class_list":["post-4786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arbeitsvertraege-klauseln","tag-aufhebungsvertrag-oder-besser-kuendigung","tag-aufhebungsvertrag-und-sperrzeit","tag-aufhebungsvertrag-unterschreiben"],"yoast_head":"\nArbeitsrecht: Eine Klageverzichtsformel im Aufhebungsvertrag ist unwirksam, wenn der Arbeitgeber die angedrohte K\u00fcndigung nicht ernsthaft in Erw\u00e4gung ziehen durfte.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Der Klageverzicht im formularm\u00e4\u00dfigen Aufhebungsvertrag benachteiligt den Arbeitnehmer dann, wenn der Arbeitgeber kein Recht zur K\u00fcndigung hatte.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/employment-law-a-waiver-of-claims-clause-in-a-termination-agreement-is-invalid-if-the-employer-was-not-entitled-to-seriously-consider-the-threatened-dismissal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arbeitsrecht: Eine Klageverzichtsformel im Aufhebungsvertrag ist unwirksam, wenn der Arbeitgeber die angedrohte K\u00fcndigung nicht ernsthaft in Erw\u00e4gung ziehen durfte.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Der Klageverzicht im formularm\u00e4\u00dfigen Aufhebungsvertrag benachteiligt den Arbeitnehmer dann, wenn der Arbeitgeber kein Recht zur K\u00fcndigung hatte.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/employment-law-a-waiver-of-claims-clause-in-a-termination-agreement-is-invalid-if-the-employer-was-not-entitled-to-seriously-consider-the-threatened-dismissal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100054481000178\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-29T13:49:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-09T18:41:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Arbeitsrecht-1-1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"helmer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mth_Tieben\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mth_Tieben\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"helmer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Employment Law: A waiver of claims clause in a termination agreement is invalid if the employer was not entitled to seriously consider the threatened dismissal.","description":"The waiver of the right to sue in the form-based cancellation agreement disadvantages the employee if the employer had no right to terminate the 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