Fair play in the company

Our company operates in a global environment. We have a common task and pursue a common goal. We are as diverse as our customers, suppliers and partners.

The employees in our company are of different origins and nationalities. They are of different genders and have different sexual identities. They are of different faiths and have different world views. They are old or young, disabled or not disabled. Our daily work benefits from this diversity.
Regardless of all individual differences, everyone has a right to fair and equal treatment, protected from discrimination and harassment. A corporate culture characterized by fairness, mutual respect and trust in our dealings with one another forms the basis for successful cooperation today and in the future. It is the task of every employee to contribute to this and to create a climate of partnership in which discrimination has no chance. This requires a high degree of openness and tolerance in our dealings with each other.

The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) is intended to protect employees against discrimination and to improve protection against discrimination specifically in the workplace. The prohibition of discrimination applies not only to the employer, but also among colleagues.
What are the grounds for discrimination under the AGG?

• Origin
• Religion and world view
• Disability
• Sex and gender
• Sexual identity
• Age

The purpose of this information sheet is to inform you about your rights and obligations under this law, what discrimination is not permissible and what must be observed in the working environment. Please see this information primarily as a contribution to preventing discrimination and thus strengthening non-discriminatory treatment in our company.

Please read this information sheet carefully. Violations of the AGG can have consequences under labor law. In addition, you will find information on the contacts you can turn to in the event of discrimination.

Information sheet on the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG)
The AGG's protection against discrimination applies to all employees as defined by the AGG. These are:

• Employees
• Temporary workers
• Those employed for the purpose of their vocational training, e.g. trainees, working students, interns, graduands
• Persons similar to employees (including those working from home and those treated as such)
• Applicants, also for further training or promotion within the company
• Employees who have already left the company, insofar as this concerns subsequent
• Consequences of the employment relationship (e.g. company pension scheme)

The AGG aims to protect employees from discrimination on the grounds of a discriminatory characteristic. Therefore, no employee may be treated worse than another in a comparable situation because of a discriminatory characteristic.

But be careful! Not every unequal treatment is prohibited. The AGG also contains exceptional provisions that can justify unequal treatment: for example, occupational requirements can justify different treatment. Specific promotional measures to prevent disadvantages or to compensate for existing disadvantages are also permissible. The AGG also provides a number of exceptions for unequal treatment on the grounds of age.

Discrimination within the meaning of the AGG - and therefore also prohibited  - also includes harassment related to a discriminatory characteristic and sexual harassment.

Harassment is unwanted conduct that is related to a discriminatory characteristic and has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of the harassed person and thereby creating a hostile environment.

Whether a conduct is undesirable must be judged from the perspective of an objective observer. It is therefore sufficient that an employee can assume from a neutral point of view that his or her behavior is not desired or accepted by a colleague. It is not necessary for the harassed person to defend himself or to indicate on his own initiative that he feels harassed by certain behavior on the part of his colleagues. On the other hand, harassment does not already exist if an employee merely feels subjectively harassed. Every employee should treat his or her colleagues and business partners as he or she would like to be treated correctly.

Sexual harassment is unwanted, sexually explicit conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of the individual. This is particularly the case when a hostile environment is created. However, a single incident is sufficient! The standard for the existence of sexual harassment is  - as with harassment  - the view of an objective observer.

If an employee unjustifiably refuses to perform his work, he loses his entitlement to remuneration. In addition, his employer may  - depending on the situation in the specific individual case  - issue him with a warning for refusing to work or even terminate his employment.

Violations of the prohibition of discrimination can lead to claims for damages and compensation. They must be asserted in writing against the employer within two months of becoming aware of the discrimination unless a different deadline has been agreed in an applicable collective agreement. Claims for compensation must be filed within three months of the claim being made in writing.

Damages and compensation for discrimination between employees may be claimed by the employer from the perpetrator (recourse).