On October 23, 2025, Germany’s Federal Labor Court (Das Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) held that female employees need not be content with comparing their pay with the median pay level of comparable male colleagues. In the case (Ref. No.: 8 AZR 300/24), the court held that gender-based discrimination is to be presumed where a woman earns less than a comparable male colleague, even if that colleague is a top earner. If the employer fails to rebut the presumption of gender-based pay discrimination, it must pay the remuneration earned by the male comparator included in the assessment. The full text of the decision has not yet been published. We will provide an update once the reasons for judgment are available.

Quick Hits

• The Federal Labor Court of Germany ruled on October 23, 2025, that gender-based discrimination is presumed if a woman earns less than a comparable male colleague, even if he is a top earner.
• The court clarified that the presumption of gender-based discrimination does not require a “preponderant probability” and that the size of the male comparator group and median pay levels are irrelevant; the employer must rebut the presumption if a female employee shows that a male colleague performing equivalent work is paid more.

Background

In the case at hand, a female employee sought retroactive equal pay with respect to several remuneration components of certain male colleagues. She based her claims, inter alia, on information provided by the employer in an intranet...

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