Burden of Proof in Case of Disputes about the Content of Letters
Written By
Counsel
Germany
As a specialist for employment law in our Hamburg office and a member of the Practice Group for International Employment Law, I advise on all areas of individual and collective employment law, often in a transnational context. Clients appreciate my assessment of the economic background of their issues, which leads to solution-oriented and pragmatic advice.
In its decision of 7 December 2022 (Ref.: 4 Sa 123/21), the Regional Labor Court of Thuringia ruled on the burden of proof in disputes about the content of letters. This decision is particularly relevant when sending written notices of termination.
Blanket Denial of the Content is not Sufficient
The Regional Labor Court of Thuringia (Landesarbeitsgericht Thüringen, hereinafter "Court") has ruled that a blanket denial of the specific content of a letter by the recipient is not sufficient if the sender proves that the letter was received by the recipient and claims that the letter had a specific content. Rather, the recipient can and must explain what other content the letter is supposed to have had.
In the case underlying the decision of the Court, the parties disputed the statute of limitations of a claim of the plaintiff for a special payment. The plaintiff claimed that she had asserted the payment of the special payment in writing to the defendant. It was undisputed between the parties that the plaintiff had sent a letter to the defendant. The plaintiff was able to prove the submission of a letter to the post office and the receipt of the letter by means of the mailing tracking system. However, the defendant blanketly denied that the content of the letter had been the assertion of the special payment. The Court considered this blanket denial to be insufficient to contradict the plaintiff's argument.
Risk Potential Continues to Exist in the Delivery of Letters in Practice
This decision is welcome from the employer's point of view. In proceedings for protection against dismissal, for example, the employee can no longer argue that the employer did not deliver the notice of termination. If the employer can prove delivery of a letter to the employee, the…
