BAG on Annahmeverzugslohn: What Information Can an Employer Request?

What happens when an employee’s dismissal is found to be invalid and the employer is required to pay the employee for the period during which no work was provided? In such cases, an important question may arise: could the employee have found other work and earned income during this period?

In its judgment of 26 August 2026, the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) clarified the limits of an employer’s right to request information in such circumstances.

Information about job offers – yes

Following an invalid dismissal, an employee may be entitled to compensation for the period during which the employer was in default of accepting the employee’s services. Under German law, this is known as Annahmeverzugsvergütung.

However, the amount claimed may be affected by whether the employee deliberately failed to obtain other reasonable employment income, as provided for in § 11 No. 2 of the German Protection Against Unfair Dismissal Act (KSchG).

To assess this issue, an employer may need information about concrete employment opportunities available to the employee during the relevant period.

For example, an employee may have received specific job offers from the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) or the Jobcenter. The employer normally has no direct access to this information.

The BAG confirmed that an employer may request information about such job offers. Depending on the circumstances, this may include details such as the position, working hours, location and expected remuneration.

But not every detail of the job search

At the same time, the BAG established an important limit.

An employer cannot automatically demand a detailed account of all the employee’s job-search activities. This includes, for example, information about whether the employee applied for a particular position, how the application was submitted, whether the employee was invited to an interview or what the outcome of the application was.

According to the BAG, the employee’s obligation to explain their position in court does not create a general independent right for the employer to obtain information about every application and its outcome.

In other words, the employer is not entitled to comprehensive control over the former employee’s entire job search.

What does the decision mean in practice?

The judgment draws a clear line: an employer may request information necessary to assess specific alternative employment opportunities, but cannot turn this into a general demand for the employee’s complete job-search history.

For employers, this means that claims concerning Annahmeverzug should be assessed and prepared carefully. The relevant question is not whether every step taken by the employee can be investigated, but whether reasonable alternative employment opportunities actually existed and whether the employee deliberately failed to obtain income from them.

The BAG’s judgment of 26 August 2026 therefore highlights the importance of a specific and proportionate approach in employment disputes following a dismissal.