If a company site has a works council, the employer is obligated to inform it of the objective reasons for a termination of an employee beforehand and to give the Works Council the possibility to issue a statement. Otherwise, the termination will be regarded as invalid. In this respect, the German Federal Court ruled on 16 July 2015 that the Works Council must also be informed of any reasons in favor of the employee, even though they were not decisive for the decision of the employer to terminate the employment.
Germany