German Federal Labor Court Upholds Digital Payrolls and Limits Union Email Access

Two landmark rulings affirm employers' rights to digital-only payroll systems and deny unions access to employee email addresses without consent.

The German Federal Labor Court ruled that employers can provide payroll documents exclusively through secure digital portals, rejecting a claim for mandatory paper copies.
The decision stems from a case involving an Edeka employee who opposed the company's digital payroll system, arguing it required her consent.
Judges clarified that digital payroll fulfills legal requirements if employees can access and print documents, even without personal computers.
In a separate case, the court denied unions the right to demand employee email addresses for recruitment, citing the lack of a legal framework to mandate such access.
The rulings highlight the need for updated labor laws to address challenges posed by the increasing digitization of the workplace.