‘Mobbing’: The German Law of Bullying

Abstract

Mobbing, as the German expression for workplace bullying, can be described as “systematic hostilities, harassment or discrimination, either among co-workers or by a supervisor”. Leading to severe physical, psychological and economical problems, “mobbing” is a severe threat that exists in workplaces all over Germany. The article describes the German legal situation concerning mobbing behavior. After defining the term “mobbing” it demonstrates which preconditions must be fulfilled in order to establish a claim for “mobbing”. Moreover, it describes the legal consequences of mobbing as far as the substantive law is concerned and outlines typical procedural problems arising from the enforcement of mobbing claims. Summing up, the author is of the opinion that the German law sufficiently deals with problems coming along with “mobbing”.