The Federal Labor Court (BAG) has ruled that employers can also send their employees’ payslips exclusively in digital form (judgment of January 28, 2025, Ref. 9 AZR 487/24).
No consent to digital payroll accounting
The decision was based on the following facts: An employee from the retail sector filed a complaint against her employer and demanded that a payslip be sent to her in paper form. She argued that she had never agreed to an electronic payslip. The Lower Saxony Regional Labor Court ruled in favor of the employee, but the Federal Labor Court took a different view.
The understanding of Section 108 para. 1 sentence 1 of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO) is decisive for the dispute: This stipulates that employers must provide their employees with a payslip in text form. With its decision, the BAG clarifies a fundamental question: May payslips be provided exclusively in digital form?
The judges of the BAG affirmed this. They stated that the employer also fulfills its legal obligation to prepare the statement in text form if it is provided digitally – for example via a secure employee portal. The decisive factor is that the employee has the option of saving the statement and printing it out if required. Employers therefore only have to ensure that the payslip is accessible and printable – this was the case in this specific instance.
What does this mean for employers and employees?
The payslip (also known as the wage or salary statement) provides employees with monthly information on how their gross salary is made up and what deductions (e.g. taxes, social security contributions, any benefits in kind) have been made. It is also very important for later proof (e.g. for landlords, banks or pension applications). The obligation to provide this information arises from § 108 GewO.
Text form vs. written form
§ Section 108 (1) GewO expressly refers to “text form” – this means that a handwritten signature is not required, it is sufficient if the information is transmitted in such a way that it is permanently legible (e.g. as a PDF document by email or via a portal).
Digital instead of paper – what should I bear in mind?
The decision of the Federal Labor Court has now made it clear to the highest court that digital transmission is permissible without the employee having to consent – provided that the statement is accessible and can be printed out. Employers should note in this context:
- The digital documents must be permanently retrievable, at least until the next billing.
- Purely verbal or fleeting information is not sufficient.
- A printout at the workplace must be technically possible, even if there is no automatic paper transmission.
Conclusion for practice
The decision facilitates the digitalization of administrative processes in the company and creates legal certainty. Employers may dispense with sending payslips by post or handing them over in person – provided they offer a technically stable and comprehensible solution for digital provision. Employees, on the other hand, should know that they will not suffer any disadvantages as a result of this decision – they will retain full access to their statements and can print or archive them themselves if required.
