"Capital city allowance": civil servant sees discrimination
The controversial "capital city allowance" is now also being dealt with by the Berlin Administrative Court. A civil servant in a Berlin district office considers the regulation to be unconstitutional, as a court spokesperson announced on Tuesday. The background to this is that civil servants in higher salary groups do not benefit from the regulation and do not receive an allowance of 150 euros per month. According to the court, the plaintiff argues that this violates the principle of equal treatment, among other things. The man was initially a senior magistrate (A 14) and is now a magistrate director (A 15).
The court will hear the case on Monday (December 4). It is considered a landmark case. According to the spokesperson, the court has around 30 to 40 comparable cases before it. There are also a number of objection proceedings at the Senate's internal administration, according to the court spokesperson. These have been put on hold for the time being in view of the administrative court's decision.
Since November 2020, Berlin has been paying the so-called capital city allowance to all municipal civil servants and employees up to and including pay grades A13/E13 per month. This affects around 124,000 state employees. The Collective Bargaining Association of German States (TdL) therefore decided to exclude the state of Berlin from its association in 2020. In the collective bargaining association, the federal states coordinate their role as employers on collective bargaining issues.
The allowance is only granted up to a certain limit, even for employees covered by collective agreements. Those affected have also taken legal action against this - but so far without success. After the state labor court dismissed the complaints last April, a case is now pending before the Federal Labor Court, according to the administrative court.
It remains to be seen whether the Berlin court will actually reach a decision in the case of the district office official. Should the competent 5th chamber assume a violation of the principle of equal treatment, the court would first have to refer the case to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, according to its spokesperson.
The civil servant argues that the exclusion of higher salary groups from the capital city allowance infringes upon the principle of equal treatment in work, which is a fundamental aspect of justice. If the court finds in favor of the plaintiff, it might lead to a significant increase in employees' monthly income, as they would also be eligible for the 150 euros allowance.
Source: www.dpa.com
