German coalition proposes weakening dismissal protection for high earners
A new coalition paper from Germany's CDU/CSU and SPD proposes allowing employers to dismiss employees earning above €180,000 annually more easily, even if the dismissal is socially unjustified. The plan would let employers terminate such workers by paying a severance, bypassing traditional dismissal protection that currently requires a valid social reason. The threshold is set at 1.75 times the contribution assessment ceiling for pension insurance. Critics warn this could set a precedent for broader erosion of job security.
Key facts
- Proposal is in the latest coalition paper of CDU/CSU and SPD.
- Applies to employees earning above €180,000 per year.
- Employer can enforce dismissal with severance even if socially unjustified.
- Threshold is 1.75 times the contribution assessment ceiling for pension insurance.
- Current law requires social justification for dismissal.
- Critics see it as a first step toward weakening general dismissal protection.
- The paper introduces a 'price tag for firing'.
- The proposal affects about 15,000 euro monthly earners.
Entities
Institutions
- CDU/CSU
- SPD
Locations
- Germany