(new: Reaction State of Berlin)
KARLSRUHE/BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The state of Berlin has paid its civil servants too poorly for years. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that the relevant regulations in Berlin’s salary law were, with a few exceptions, not compatible with the Basic Law from 2008 to 2020. The country must create new regulations by March 31, 2027.
Salary refers to the remuneration of civil servants, judges and soldiers. The basis for this payment is the alimony principle anchored in the Basic Law. The employer is then obliged to provide civil servants and their families with a living wage that is appropriate to their office during active service, in the event of disability and in old age.
After the decision, the state of Berlin stated that it would implement the requirements from Karlsruhe as quickly as possible. The Senate Department of Finance wanted to use the decision as an opportunity to develop a corresponding repair law, it said in a statement. The Senate has already planned risk provisions of 280 million euros in the double budget for 2026 and 2027 for the possible financial effects.
Leipzig considered payment to be unconstitutional
In many federal states there have been disputes over the level of this salary for years. In several decisions since 2015, the Federal Constitutional Court has defined a framework from which this is no longer appropriate for office. Among other things, civil servant salaries are compared with the wage development in the public sector, the consumer price index and the nominal wage index of the respective federal state. The salary should also be at least 15 percent above the basic state security.
From the perspective of the Federal Administrative Court, Berlin exceeded this framework in several salary groups over several years. The court explained in 2017 that the salaries lagged behind the tariff development and the consumer price index and did not stand up to a comparison with the average income of employees subject to social security contributions with the same qualifications.
The Leipzig Senate considered the salaries of both civil servants and judges in the affected period from 2008 to 2015 to be unconstitutional and referred the matter to Karlsruhe for a decision. The Federal Constitutional Court confirmed in May 2020 that judges’ salaries were unconstitutionally too low.
Only a few exceptions are constitutional
Now it was all about salary scale A, which includes police officers and firefighters. The court extended its review beyond the specific templates to include all groups in this salary scale and a period up to 2020. The court was only able to find no violation of the Basic Law for a few groups. Around 95 percent were unconstitutional. (Az. 2 BvL 21/17 etc.)
In its decision, the Federal Constitutional Court emphasizes three steps for judicial review: First, the question arises as to whether the minimum salary is being met. The second step is to check whether the salary is adapted to the development of economic and financial circumstances and the general standard of living. If the first two steps result in a violation, the third step must be to examine whether this may be exceptionally justified under constitutional law.
The court has thus specified its own test criteria from the decision in 2020, says the chairman of the dbb Civil Service Association and Tariff Union, Volker Geyer. “In view of the large number of lawsuits against pay, this step is understandable – and a further warning signal for all employers. We will now intensively examine the consequences of these new standards.”
“Additional demands in the millions”
The Berlin police union (GdP) expects that the years in dispute will now be paid immediately and the basis for appropriate alimony will be created for the following years, explains state boss Stephan Weg. “As civil servants, we are committed to the constant availability of our employer, who can rely on us 24/7. We must be able to trust that he will adhere to the law and live up to his responsibilities.”
Following the decision, the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB) Berlin-Brandenburg is also calling for a comprehensive back payments law for the past few years. “The state of Berlin is now facing additional demands running into millions,” says chairwoman Katja Karger. “The DGB and the unions have pointed out this payment risk for years and demanded that the country take sufficient precautions.”
With the latest decision, the issue of salaries in Karlsruhe is probably far from over. Numerous similar judges’ submissions are still pending at the Federal Constitutional Court – for example from Bremen and Saarland. And just last week, the Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court presented the salaries of civil servants, judges and public prosecutors in the state for review in Karlsruhe./jml/DP/jha