Digital turnaround in labor law: video negotiations on the rise!

Digital turnaround in labor law: video negotiations on the rise!

On April 2, 2025, the local meeting of the German Labor Court Association and the Hamburg Association for Labor Law took place in the auditorium of the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Matthias Jacobs, Vice President of the German Labor Court Association, central questions about the reform of video hearings in labor court proceedings were discussed. Birgit Voß Kühler, President of the Hamburg State Labor Court and the Hamburg Constitutional Court, welcomed the participants with a greeting.

The event included several lectures from experts who highlighted different aspects of the video negotiations. Dr. Johannes Bader, presiding judge at the LAG Baden-Württemberg, spoke about the need to improve the technical requirements for video hearings. He emphasized that these are now an integral part of the process, but that many technical and legal requirements are still inadequate. In particular, the digital competence of the judges and the standardization of the technical equipment are crucial, as a complete replacement of in-person hearings is not foreseeable.

Insight into the video negotiations

Another lecture by private lecturer Dr. Susanne Schmittat from the Johannes Kepler University Linz discussed the legal psychological findings on video hearings. She explained that video technology impacts court communications but noted the need for clear guidelines. These should ensure that all parties involved in the process are treated equally, while at the same time technical standards must be improved.

Dr. In his lecture, Stefan Witschen from the University of Cologne discussed the topics of collective bargaining autonomy and equal treatment in the context of a current ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on collectively agreed night work surcharges. He called for more restraint on the part of labor courts in reviewing collective agreements and highlighted the requirements for justifying unequal treatment.

Progress since the reform

One center of the discussion was the reform of the use of video conferencing in court proceedings, which came into force on July 19, 2024. This reformed labor law and created an independent regulation for video negotiations with Section 50a ArbGG. These options were already established in the Code of Civil Procedure, but were rarely used. law-school.de reports that the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in the use of video hearings, which highlighted an adjustment to the procedural legal basis.

The newly introduced regulations enable video hearings to be carried out if at least one participant in the proceedings is present via video and audio transmission. A judge may grant permission for a video hearing at his discretion and must provide reasons for a refusal. This acceptance of video hearings requires that parties be informed of the start and end of the recording and that private recordings are not permitted. In addition, it is now possible to take digital evidence, with witnesses also being able to be interviewed via video.

Despite progress, there are concerns about its practical application. Labor lawyers are urging that organizational measures be introduced to better establish video negotiations. While many lawyers support greater digitalization of procedures, there remains disagreement about adjustments to the Working Hours Act, particularly with regard to home office and flexible working hours, as can be seen from the discussions.

The conference ended with a social gathering where participants were able to continue discussing the topics raised over pretzels and wine. This made a valuable contribution to the future of video negotiations in labor law, although the prospect of necessary reforms remains.