Berlin Labor Court: Teachers entitled to 300€ monthly allowance

Berlin teachers without civil servant status may be entitled to a 300€ monthly allowance for 2024 under Berlin’s budget law, even without declaring non-beamten status. The ruling affects teachers who couldn’t be civil servants due to age limits.

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Ruling confirms 300€ monthly allowance

The Berlin Labor Court ruled on December 3, 2025 (Case No. 22 Ca 9894/25) that non-civil servant teachers in Berlin are entitled to a 300€ monthly „disadvantage compensation” for 2024. This applies even if they didn’t formally declare they didn’t want civil servant status - particularly relevant for teachers who couldn’t become civil servants due to age limits.

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Why the court decided this way

The budget law was unclear about requirements. The court found that Berlin’s 2024/2025 budget law (Section 16(3)) directly grants this allowance to eligible teachers. The law originally required teachers to declare they didn’t want civil servant status, but the court ruled this wasn’t necessary for teachers who couldn’t become civil servants anyway.

What happened in this case

A teacher born in 1967, employed since 2019, requested the 300€ monthly allowance starting February 2024. The Berlin education authority refused, arguing he needed to formally declare he didn’t want civil servant status. The teacher sued, arguing he couldn’t become a civil servant due to his age, making the declaration requirement irrelevant.