Discriminatory Job Advertisements: “Young Team with Flat Hierarchies”

➡️ The Berlin/Brandenburg Regional Labor Court (5 Sa 1573/20) addressed the question of whether a startup’s job advertisement discriminated against older applicants. The startup had advertised in a job posting that applicants could expect a “young team with flat hierarchies that gives you real creative freedom.” A rejected applicant (born in 1972) filed a lawsuit, arguing that the job advertisement disadvantaged older applicants and therefore constituted age discrimination within the meaning of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG).

❗️ AGG lawsuits are particularly feared because they can quickly lead to compensation claims by rejected applicants, and there are individuals who specifically apply to allegedly discriminatory job advertisements for this reason. However, in its dismissive ruling, the Regional Labor Court clarified that the wording in the startup’s job advertisement made no reference to the age of potential new employees of the company and therefore did not constitute age discrimination:

1️⃣ No age-related selection criteria or preferences were formulated in the job posting; the mention of the term “young team” was put into perspective by the fact that this statement was not made in connection with “We are looking for.”
2️⃣ In connection with the fact that the defendant was prominently described as a “startup,” this term pair should be understood in the sense of “young, i.e., newly founded company.” Information about the age of the company says nothing about the age of the employees working there.
3️⃣ Additionally, under the heading “we offer,” no expectations of applicants were described. The required “initial experience in account management or sales” likewise provided no indication of “young age,” but rather referred to a quality that older applicants were more likely to possess.
4️⃣ Finally, the designation “(Junior) Key Account Manager” merely indicated an internal company hierarchy level.

⚡️ The Regional Labor Court’s observation that the use of informal address forms was not an indication that only young people were being addressed is also interesting, as this is nowadays a common way of addressing employees in many companies.

An excellent practical ruling that demonstrates the Regional Labor Court’s ability to appropriately reflect the reality of many young companies in the startup sector. Incidentally, gender-neutral language was used in the Regional Labor Court’s ruling—a circumstance that personally pleases me, but which I have never noticed before in a court ruling.

➡️ How do you formulate your job advertisements with regard to possible AGG violations? Or do you perhaps no longer use traditional job advertisements at all?