Requirements for the grounds of appeal

BAG, March 19, 2025 - 10 AZR 76/24

Brief overview

The Federal Labor Court (BAG) has once again clearly emphasized the relevance of a proper statement of grounds of appeal. The Federal Labor Court examines the procedural requirements for the appeal even if the court of appeal originally allowed it. Part of this examination is whether the appellant has demonstrated the circumstances from which, in his view, the legal defectiveness of the contested decision should arise. If the contested decision is based on several independent, cumulative considerations, the appellant must sufficiently challenge each of these considerations for the appeal to be admissible.

Facts of the case

The parties disputed the defendant's obligation to release contributions to the social security funds of the construction industry. In the first instance, the action was upheld on the grounds that the provisions of the collective agreement also applied to the defendant. The Labor Court gave two reasons for its decision. On the one hand, the defendant had not significantly disputed that it fell within the scope of the collective agreement and, on the other hand, the activities carried out were predominantly construction activities, and therefore covered by the collective agreement. In the grounds of appeal, the defendant as the appellant dealt in detail with the content of the first argument of the ArbG, but in the grounds of appeal with regard to the second argument only presented what it had already presented in the first instance and did not specifically address the arguments of the Labor Court.

Reasons for the decision

The admissible appeal was unfounded.

The appeal against the judgment granting the claim was already inadmissible.

The admissibility of the appeal is a procedural prerequisite for all further proceedings after it has been lodged and for this reason must be examined by the appellate court of its own motion. This applies irrespective of the decision of the court of appeal on the admissibility of the appeal. Pursuant to § 64 VI 1 ArbGG (Labor Court Law) in conjunction with § 520 III 2 No. 2 ZPO, the grounds of appeal must specify the circumstances from which the infringement of rights by the contested judgment arises. Therefore, what is required is a sufficient description of the reasons for this violation of the law, whereby the requirements for this must not be too high. However, the grounds must not be general or formulaic, but must make it clear in the specific dispute which points are to be challenged in law or in fact. (established case law, e.g. BAG, August 1, 2024 - 6 AZR 271/23)

If the court bases its decision on several independent considerations, each of which is self-supporting, the grounds of appeal must attack each supporting consideration and deal with it in accordance with the above-mentioned standards. Otherwise, the entire appeal is inadmissible (similar: BAG, January 24, 2024).

Practical tip

In this decision, the Federal Labor Court has confirmed its previous line on the requirements for the grounds of appeal.

First of all, the appellate court reviews the admissibility of the appeal even if the appellate court has allowed it.

The grounds of appeal must state the circumstances from which the infringement of the law and its materiality arise. In addition, all indications that cast doubt on the correctness and completeness of the factual findings in the contested judgment must be stated. The Federal Labor Court has confirmed its established case law that the grounds of appeal must not be generalized, be it through formulaic formulations or by referring to case law or the submission in the previous instance. In terms of content, the grounds of appeal must be tailored to the specific case and deal with the legal and factual arguments of the judgment under appeal. It must specifically state why the judgment is incorrect.

It is nothing new that all of the reasons supporting the decision must be challenged. Last year, the Federal Labor Court already stated that if the State Labor Court bases its decision on more than one reasoning, each supporting consideration must be challenged in the grounds of appeal (BAG, January 24 2024 - 4 AZR 362/22). The Federal Labor Court has now also ruled the same for the grounds of appeal.

The following therefore applies in practice: In the event of an appeal, all considerations of the initial court, even if they are cumulative, must be challenged on a case-by-case basis and specifically and, on the basis of this, it must be explained why the judgment is incorrect.