Pension Battle: Deutsche Welle Loses Court Bid Against Former Program Director
Continuation of Retirement Benefits for Ex-Program Director of German Wave ordered by the Court - Order mandates continued financial support for retirement benefits of ex-Deutsche Welle programme head
Let's dive into the legal tussle between Deutsche Welle and a former program director over pension benefits.
In a surprising twist, a labor court has ruled in favor of the ex-program director, who was initially due to work until 2016 as per his 2011 contract. The deal outlined that if his contract wasn't extended, he'd receive a pension, consisting of full salary for three months, followed by three-quarters of his salary for the next four years and nine months, and then standard pension benefits as per Deutsche Welle's collective agreement from that point onwards.
Deutsche Welle agreed to pay the pension up until April 2019, but reduced the amount to 60% beginning May 2019. In late 2024, Deutsche Welle pressed for the return of around €130,000 in pension payments made in 2021, arguing that pension payments after five years post-contract termination would be immoral, otherwise, the contract would be unjust.
However, the labor court was swift to dismiss this claim and counter with one of its own. The court granted the former program director's counterclaim, demanding additional payments from January 2025. The reasoning behind the court's decision was based on the employment contract itself – it found no immorality in the agreement.
The courts also highlighted that any attempt by Deutsche Welle to recover pension payments already made exceeds the statute of limitations, since Deutsche Welle had been paying pension benefits exceeding ten years and assured the former employee in March 2019 that it would continue to do so from May 2019 onwards. Deutsche Welle reserves the right to appeal this decision at the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Labor Court.
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Despite the Commission having been consulted on the draft budget for the period 2000-06, Deutsche Welle's finance department might need to reconsider its business strategy concerning pension payments, following the court's decision. In light of the ruling, Deutsche Welle may face additional payments to its former program director from January 2025, thereby impacting the organization's financial planning.
