Dispute over the social justification of an employee dismissal under the German Protection Against Dismissal Act (Kündigungsschutz)

The Federal Labour Court dismissed the defendant's revision, thereby upholding the lower court’s judgment and ruling in favor of the plaintiff, with the defendant ordered to bear the revision costs. The dispute concerned a termination protection claim (Kündigungsschutz) where the plaintiff challenged the validity of a termination, specifically contesting the employer’s decision to dismiss the employee. The decisive legal basis involved the assessment of whether the termination was socially justified under Section 1 of the Protection Against Dismissal Act (KSchG) and whether the employer had properly exercised its discretion in selecting the employee for dismissal, resulting in the lower court’s finding that the dismissal was ineffective and the employment relationship continued.