Employees and employers can take disputes arising from the employment relationship to the labor courts. According to the Labor Courts Act, there are
- Labor courts (1st instance),
- regional labor courts (2nd instance) and
- the Federal Labor Court in Erfurt (3rd instance).
The jurisdiction of the labor courts extends to all legal disputes between employees and employers arising from the employment relationship (e.g. remuneration, continued payment of remuneration, compensation, dismissal, vacation, vacation pay, handing over work documents and issuing a certificate), legal disputes between parties to collective agreements and matters arising from the Works Constitution Act, regardless of the amount in dispute.
The labor court in whose district the defendant has his or her place of residence or place of business has local jurisdiction. The seat of the administration or branch office is also possible. The labor court in whose district the employee usually performs his or her work also has jurisdiction.
With regard to representation in proceedings, the parties may conduct the proceedings themselves in the first instance or be represented by an authorized representative (e.g. association representative, lawyer). In the 2nd instance before the Regional Labor Court and the 3rd instance before the Federal Labor Court, the parties must be represented by lawyers or association representatives (mandatory representation).