HANOVER (dpa-AFX) - VW was not permitted to reduce the anniversary bonuses of employees who celebrated a service milestone on January 1, 2025. The Lower Saxony Regional Labor Court has now ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the first two cases, ordering VW to pay the difference. The court thus upheld the rulings issued by the Braunschweig Labor Court last September and rejected VW's appeal. The judgment is not yet final. Further cases are pending in mid-June.

The dispute stems from the collective bargaining agreement reached at Volkswagen shortly before Christmas 2024. After lengthy negotiations, the Group and the IG Metall union agreed on a restructuring plan for the core VW brand. The agreement included cuts to the anniversary bonuses paid by VW to its employees after 25 and 35 years of service.

The legal proceedings centered on the effective date of the new regulation. While the cutoff date for the reduction was originally set for January 1, 2025, the contract was not signed until three weeks later, on January 21, 2025. Several employees whose anniversaries fell between these two dates took legal action, demanding the application of the more favorable previous terms.

The Regional Labor Court has so far only heard cases involving anniversaries that fell exactly on January 1. Under the old rules, a 25-year anniversary warranted a bonus of 1.45 months' salary, while a 35-year milestone earned 2.9 months' salary, according to IG Metall following the settlement. Under the new system, the bonuses have been set at a flat rate of 6,000 euros for 25 years and 12,000 euros for 35 years.

The plaintiffs had seen mixed success before the Braunschweig Labor Court: in September, the court ruled in favor of all those whose anniversary fell precisely on January 1, 2025, awarding them the higher bonus under the old regulation. However, for all others whose anniversaries fell between January 2 and January 21, 2025, the court declared the reduction lawful in November. It remains to be seen how the Regional Labor Court will rule in those specific cases./fjo/DP/stw