Unconstitutional reduction in civil servants’ entry-level salaries in the years 2013 - 2017

With its ruling from 16 October 2018, the Federal Constitutional Court has declared the reduction in civil servants’ entry-level salaries during the first three years of service to be unconstitutional. This ruling will benefit all civil servants in salary brackets A 9 to A 16 as well as W 1 who were first appointed between 01.01.2013 and 31.12.2017. Within the statute of limitations, all civil servants affected by the reduction over the past years may request that the unconstitutionally withheld salaries be reimbursed retroactively, going back to and including the year 2015.

To make sure that you receive the salary you missed out on over the past years and in 2015, we recommend that you contact the Landesamt für Besoldung und Versorgung Baden-Württemberg (LBV) directly in writing by 31.12.2018 to claim payment of arrears as per the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court.

More information is available in the press information released by the Ministry of Finance on 27.11.2018 (in German).

Before the ruling can be implemented, the Landesbesoldungsgesetz Baden-Württemberg (state payscale law, LBesGBW) must be amended. This happened only recently; you can find more information here: Art. 3 des Gesetzes zur Änderung des Landesbesoldungsgesetzes Baden-Württemberg vom 6. November 2018 (art. 3 of the law on the amendment of the state payscale law Baden-Württemberg from 6 November 2018, in German).