Professional athletes' entitlement to continued employment and damages

Labor law

A German ice hockey club dismissed one of its players, who then brought an action for unfair dismissal before the labour court. Following a further dismissal, the club excluded the player from team training. The player then claimed damages, as his market value as a player would suffer if he did not train regularly.

The labour court upheld his action against dismissal and recognised damages for non-employment (i.e. for the exclusion from team training) of 2 gross monthly salaries. It is interesting to compare this to stage performers who, according to the case law of the Federal Labour Court, can claim up to 6 gross monthly salaries per season if they are not employed in accordance with their contract. The difference is justified by the fact that professional athletes, unlike stage performers, are not entitled to perform in public. The team that performs in the hall or stadium is determined solely by the coach (Federal Labour Court of 29^th February 2024,8 AZR 359/22).

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