Equal Pay: One Colleague Is Enough to Build a Case

A 2025 Federal Labour Court ruling simplified equal pay claims significantly. One male colleague earning more for the same work is now sufficient evidence. Here’s how to use it.

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The law changed. It’s now easier to challenge a pay gap.

Until recently, bringing an equal pay claim in Germany was complicated. You needed to demonstrate a pattern, compare yourself to a group, work with median figures. One colleague earning more wasn’t enough.

The Federal Labour Court changed that in October 2025 (BAG, 8 AZR 300/24). A single male colleague doing the same or equivalent work and earning more is now sufficient to establish a legal presumption of discrimination. Once you establish that, the burden shifts: your employer has to explain why the difference exists.

What „same or equivalent work” means

It’s not about job titles. It’s about the actual content: responsibilities, qualifications required, physical and mental demands, working conditions. Two people with different titles can be doing equivalent work. Two people with the same title can be doing different things.

The comparison doesn’t have to be within your team or department. Someone in a different part of the organisation doing work of equivalent value counts.

How to find out what colleagues earn

In companies with more than 200 employees, you have a statutory right to information under the Pay Transparency Act (Entgelttransparenzgesetz): you can ask for the median pay of the comparable group of the opposite sex. Your employer has to respond.

In smaller companies, or if you have direct knowledge of a specific colleague’s pay through a conversation, a shared document, or other means, that can be used directly as evidence.

What the employer can argue

The presumption can be rebutted, but only with objective, gender-neutral reasons. Legitimate reasons include: the other employee has a genuinely rare additional qualification, or the market at the time of their hire demanded a higher salary. What courts have explicitly rejected: „he negotiated better.” That is not a valid justification.

Practical steps

If you suspect a pay gap:

1. Check whether a Tarifvertrag or salary band structure already determines pay. If so, the issue may be a different kind of claim.
2. In companies with 200+ employees, make a formal information request under the Entgelttransparenzgesetz.
3. Identify a specific comparator if you can, someone in an equivalent role who earns more.
4. Get advice before you approach HR or your employer directly. A poorly framed request can complicate the claim.

FAQ

Does this only apply to women? The ruling addresses sex-based pay discrimination. Men who earn less than female colleagues in equivalent roles can use the same principle. Other protected characteristics (age, religion, disability) are governed by different rules.

My company has fewer than 200 employees. Can I still claim? Yes. The formal information request requires 200+, but the underlying equal pay principle applies to all employers. You just need to identify a comparator through other means.

Could my employer retaliate if I raise this? A dismissal in response to an equal pay claim would itself be a legal violation and challengeable as discriminatory. Get legal advice before making the claim to understand your position.

What does this cost to pursue? It depends on the salary difference and how far back the claim goes. Get in touch and I’ll give you an honest assessment.

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