Federal Constitutional Court - No success for complaint about minimum wage in Yoga-Center
From Yoga to Ayurveda and beyond - a non-profit organization based in North Rhine-Westfalia offers courses, trainings, and seminars on these topics throughout Germany. Members of Yoga Vidya e.V. provide spiritual services as Sevakas. The Federal Labor Court ruled in two cases last year that these members have a claim to a minimum wage instead of just pocket money for these services. The association filed constitutional complaints at the Federal Constitutional Court in response – and failed.
According to the Court, the constitutional complaints were not taken into consideration. They did not meet the legal requirements for a hearing and there was no justification for accepting them. The decisions were not appealable. (Az. 1 BvR 2244/23; 1 BvR 2231/23)
Priestess wins lawsuit in Erfurt
Yoga Vidya intended to appeal two rulings from Erfurt at the Federal Labor Court. The Federal Labor Court had decided in April 2023, among other things, that a former priestess from the association had a claim to the statutory minimum wage instead of just pocket money. The successful plaintiff – a lawyer and ordained priestess who could perform certain rituals – was a member of Yoga Vidya from 2012 to 2020. As a Sevaka, she claimed to have worked approximately 42 hours a week in seminar planning and online marketing. She was legally insured, received free housing and food, and received pocket money.
The Erfurt Senate ruled that the plaintiff had rendered services not as a member of the association or as part of a worldview community, but as an employee. She was entitled to the minimum wage because she had performed directed, controlled work.
Freedom of Religion?
Yoga Vidya believed that the rulings of the Labor Court infringed upon its right to free religious exercise. The association sees itself as a "spiritual-religious community." Before the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court, a spokesperson for the German Press Agency expressed hope that the Karlsruhe Senate would recognize the association as a religious community and assess the Sevaka service as religious acts rather than work. "We want to be able to live our faith freely and in accordance with German law."
Whether the assumption of the Federal Labor Court that the association is not a religious community with the constitutional right to freedom of religion is compatible, remains open, the Federal Constitutional Court decided now. Ultimately, neither the plaintiffs' services to maintain the accommodation and seminar business and the sale of Yoga products, for which it was concerned, were shown to be religiously motivated.
- Despite the Federal Labor Court ruling in favor of minimum wage for Yoga Vidya's Sevakas, their constitutional complaints were dismissed by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
- The 'Health Art' workshops and seminars organized by Yoga Vidya in North Rhine-Westphalia and across Germany are a testament to their commitment to holistic wellness practices.
- The association, Yoga Vidya e.V., was established with the aim of promoting Ayurveda and other spiritual practices, providing services through its Sevakas.
- In the Erfurt court case, the former priestess successfully argued that her work as a Sevaka, primarily in seminar planning and online marketing, qualified her for the statutory minimum wage.
- The Federal Labor Court decision in Erfurt further emphasized that religious affiliation does not exempt individuals from adhering to labor laws, including the minimum wage.
- Although Yoga Vidya considers itself a 'spiritual-religious community', the Federal Constitutional Court has yet to determine whether this classification grants them the right to freedom of religion as a justification against wage laws.
- With over 10 years of membership, the ordained priestess and lawyer was able to claim a significant amount of pocket money, housing, and food, in addition to her work hours, before the new minimum wage ruling.
