Entitlement to statutory default interest on unpaid contractual amounts

The Federal Labour Court (BAG) reversed the Saxon Higher Labour Court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s appeal, overturning the first-instance judgment in part and ordering the defendant to pay €1,668.54 in default interest, thereby granting the plaintiff’s claim for late payment interest. The dispute centered on the plaintiff’s entitlement to statutory default interest on unpaid contractual amounts, challenging the lower courts' refusal to award such interest in the proceedings. The BAG held that the plaintiff was entitled to default interest under the German Civil Code provisions governing late payment, specifically §§ 286, 288 BGB, which mandate interest on overdue monetary claims, and the failure of the lower courts to apply these norms resulted in the final order for the defendant to bear the appellate costs and pay the specified sum.