According to § 4 para. 1 and 2 of the collective agreement on social security, an employee covered by the BATO whose employment relationship is terminated for reasons of downsizing is entitled to a severance payment amounting to a quarter of the last monthly salary for each full year of employment.
According to a decision of the Sixth Senate of October 30, 2008 ( 6 AZR 738/07 ), the eligibility requirements of the collective bargaining standard are met if a majority of employees leave the employment relationship for operational reasons due to employer terminations or termination agreements. It cannot be inferred from Section 4 of the collective agreement that the reduction in personnel must reach the figures set out in Section 17 of the KSchG.
The Senate left open the question of whether the loss of a single position also represents a reduction in personnel and whether the entitlement to severance pay only exists if a reduction in personnel occurs as part of a restructuring. The assumption of a workforce reduction in the sense of. The collective bargaining agreement does not prevent the employer from making new hires in areas of activity in which the terminated employees cannot be employed.