Information sheet

General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG)

In implementation of four EU anti-discrimination Directives, the General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG) entered
into force in Germany on 18 August 2006. The German version is available at
http://www.bundesrecht.juris.de/agg. The purpose of this information sheet is to notify you of specific details of
the Act.

Sphere of application of the AGG

The prohibition of discrimination arising from the AGG concerns all areas of working life. The AGG applies to
invitations to tender and application procedures, appointments, terms and conditions of employment and work,
initial, further and advanced training and essentially to termination of employment. The rules of the AGG apply
to relations between employers, line management and fellow employees as well as with third parties (e.g.
suppliers).

Aim of the Act

The particular aim of the Act is to prevent discrimination and disadvantageous treatment at the workplace.
Pursuant to the AGG no one may be discriminated against on account of
• race or ethnic background;
• religion or ideology;
• sex;
• age;
• disability;
• sexual identity.
The following exceptions do not constitute discrimination:
Pursuant to Article 5 o f t h e AGG, unequal treatment is permitted if the purpose of particular affirmative action
is to prevent disadvantages or to offset existing disadvantages. Pursuant to Article 8 o f t h e AGG, special
professional requirements may likewise justify different treatment. Pursuant to Article 10 of the AGG, certain
types of unequal treatment of employees on account of their age are permissible.

Employees within the meaning of the AGG

• Employees
• Civil servants
• Trainees
• Interns
• Applicants
• Former employees

Forms of discrimination
Pursuant to Article 3 of the AGG, there are five different forms of discrimination:
• Direct discrimination: This occurs if, because of a protected characteristic, one person is treated less
favourably than another in a similar situation.
• Indirect discrimination: This occurs if apparently neutral rules, criteria or procedures can place people at
a particular disadvantage compared with others because of a protected characteristic. This is not the case
if the rules, criteria or procedures are justified by a legitimate objective and the means of achieving that
objective are appropriate and necessary.
• Harassment: This is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the
purpose or effect of violating an individual's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading,
humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.
• Sexual harassment: This is unwanted conduct that is sexual in nature. It includes unwanted sexual
behaviour and related requests, sexually motivated physical contact, remarks with sexual contact and the
unwanted showing and visible display of pornographic images.
• Instructing someone to act in a discriminatory manner towards another person also constitutes
discrimination.

Consequences of violations of the AGG

If someone discriminates against another person, he/she acts in breach of his/her official or labour law
obligations; the consequences may range from a disciplinary warning through redeployment to termination of
employment.
NB: Anyone who discriminates against others or harasses them, risks losing his/her job!

Help in case of discrimination

Employees who consider that they are being treated discriminately, disadvantaged or sexually harassed, have
several rights under the AGG:
Right of complaint: Employees who have been subjected to discrimination or harassment may make a formal
complaint. In such cases, please refer to the Human Resources Department or – if the administrative services
are concerned – to the Legal Department; this is where the Complaints Offices are established.
Right to withhold performance: If employees are subjected to discrimination or harassment and Justus Liebig
University Giessen fails to take suitable or obviously unsuitable measures to prevent it, those concerned are
entitled to withhold their performance. However, the person(s) concerned must first have registered a complaint
with the Complaints Office.
NOTE: If the conditions governing the withholding of performance are not fulfilled but the employee nonetheless
withholds performance, he/she loses all entitlement to remuneration and may be given a disciplinary warning
or even dismissed.
Compensation and damages: Employees who are subjected to discrimination have two months in which to
enforce their claim for damages from Justus Liebig University Giessen and to demand compensation. The
notification period may differ if other rules in collective labour agreements apply.
Justus Liebig University Giessen is entitled to require the perpetrator to pay back any damages or compensation
paid to victims of discrimination.