Civil Service and Disciplinary Law in Germany

The German civil service: constitutional basics

The German civil service is only one part of the public sector workforce. The public sector employs two groups of staff under very different legal regimes: public employees (Tarifbeschäftigte), who have ordinary employment contracts governed by labour law and collective agreements such as the TVöD and TV-L, and civil servants (Beamte), who stand in a public-law relationship of service and loyalty with their employer (Dienstherr) (§ 4 of the Federal Civil Servants Act, BBG; § 3(1) of the Civil Servants' Status Act, BeamtStG). Civil servants are appointed by an administrative act, not hired by contract, and their rights and duties are set by statute.

The Basic Law shapes the civil service in Article 33.

Every German has equal access to public office according to aptitude, qualifications and professional achievement (Article 33(2) GG) – the principle of merit that governs appointments and promotions.

The exercise of sovereign powers is, as a rule, to be entrusted as a permanent task to members of the public service who stand in a public-law relationship of service and loyalty (Article 33(4) GG). And the law of the public service must be regulated and developed taking into account the traditional principles of the career civil service (Article 33(5) GG). These principles include lifetime appointment, the duty of full commitment, the principle of alimentation (adequate pay and pensions), the duty of loyalty and the prohibition of strikes for civil servants.

Competence is divided: the federal government regulates its own civil servants through the BBG and the Federal Disciplinary Act (BDG), while the BeamtStG sets the status rights and duties of state and municipal civil servants, and the states regulate pay, pensions, careers and disciplinary procedures for their own civil servants.

Status, appointment and the merit principle

Appointment to the civil service is permitted only for the performance of sovereign tasks or tasks that, for reasons of state security or public life, may not be entrusted exclusively to persons in private employment (§ 3(2) BeamtStG). Civil servants are typically appointed on probation and then for life; appointments for a limited time or on revocation exist for specific purposes, such as training.

The merit principle under Article 33(2) GG gives applicants a right to a fair selection procedure. Unsuccessful candidates for promotion can challenge the selection decision – so-called competitor actions (Konkurrentenklagen) – and seek interim relief before the administrative courts to prevent the appointment of the selected competitor. Once a competitor has been appointed, the appointment generally cannot be reversed, which is why the employer must inform unsuccessful candidates in good time before appointment. Public employers therefore need well-documented selection procedures based on current and comparable performance assessments.

Duties of civil servants

Civil servants serve the whole people, not a party, and must perform their duties impartially and fairly and in the interest of the public. They must affirm the free democratic basic order through their entire conduct and stand up for its preservation (§ 33(1) BeamtStG), and they must exercise moderation and restraint in political activity (§ 33(2) BeamtStG). Further duties include full commitment to the job, obedience to lawful instructions, confidentiality, the prohibition of accepting rewards and gifts, and the approval requirement for secondary employment.

The duty of loyalty to the constitution has gained practical importance in recent years, with disciplinary proceedings against civil servants engaged in extremist activities. The Federal Constitutional Court has repeatedly confirmed that the duty of loyalty is one of the traditional principles protected by Article 33(5) GG.

Disciplinary law: offences and measures

A civil servant commits a disciplinary offence (Dienstvergehen) by culpably breaching their duties. Off-duty conduct is a disciplinary offence only if, in the circumstances, it is particularly likely to impair trust in a way significant for the office or the reputation of the civil service (§ 77(1) BBG; similarly § 47(1) BeamtStG). Retired civil servants can commit disciplinary offences in certain cases, for example by acting against the free democratic basic order.

The Federal Disciplinary Act lists the measures available against active federal civil servants (§ 5(1) BDG):

1. reprimand (Verweis);
2. fine (Geldbuße);
3. reduction of salary (Kürzung der Dienstbezüge);
4. demotion (Zurückstufung); and
5. removal from service (Entfernung aus dem Beamtenverhältnis).

For retired civil servants, the measures are reduction or forfeiture of the pension. Civil servants on probation or revocation can only be reprimanded or fined; dismissal follows separate rules. The measure must be assessed according to the seriousness of the offence, taking into account the civil servant's personality and the extent to which trust has been impaired (§ 13(1) BDG). Removal from service is imposed where the civil servant has finally lost the trust of the employer or the public.

Initiating proceedings, investigation and suspension

Where sufficient factual indications justify the suspicion of a disciplinary offence, the superior has a duty to initiate disciplinary proceedings; higher superiors and the highest service authority supervise this and can take over the proceedings (§ 17(1) BDG). The civil servant must be informed and heard, may be represented and may comment on the evidence. Investigations often run in parallel with criminal proceedings, and disciplinary proceedings may be suspended until the criminal case is decided, because findings of a criminal judgment can bind the disciplinary authority.

In serious cases, the authority competent for the disciplinary order can provisionally suspend the civil servant from service at the same time as or after initiating proceedings, in particular where removal from service is likely (§ 38(1) BDG). Part of the salary can then be withheld. Suspension is a strong signal and often leads to early resolution, but it must be proportionate and is subject to judicial review.

The 2024 reform: removal by disciplinary order

Federal disciplinary law was reformed in 2024 to speed up proceedings, particularly against extremists in the civil service. Previously, the employer had to bring a disciplinary action before the administrative court to obtain demotion, removal from service or forfeiture of pension.

Under the current BDG, disciplinary measures are imposed by disciplinary order (§ 33(1) BDG). Demotion and removal from service are ordered by the highest service authority, and the forfeiture of pension by the competent authority (§ 34(4) BDG). The order must state the facts constituting the offence, other relevant facts and the evidence; for the most serious measures, it must also describe the civil servant's personal and professional background and the course of the proceedings (§ 33(2), (3) BDG).

The civil servant can challenge the order: an objection procedure is generally required first, unless the order was issued by the highest service authority (§ 41 BDG), followed by an action before the administrative courts, which review the order fully. The reform thus shifts the initiative: the employer decides, and the civil servant must go to court. Several states have adopted or are considering similar models for their civil servants.

Pay, pensions and working conditions in the civil service

Civil servants are not paid by contract but receive statutory remuneration according to pay scales set by federal and state pay acts. The principle of alimentation – a traditional principle of the career civil service – requires the employer to provide civil servants and their families with an appropriate standard of living for life, including in retirement. The Federal Constitutional Court has repeatedly reviewed whether pay in particular states and grades meets this standard, and several states have had to increase pay as a result. Public employers must therefore follow the case law when designing pay structures and supplements.

Civil servants receive pensions from their employer rather than from the statutory pension insurance, and they receive state allowances towards medical costs (Beihilfe) rather than joining the statutory health insurance as employees. These features make civil servants more expensive in the long term than it appears in current budgets, which is one reason why public employers decide carefully which positions require that status.

Working time, leave, part-time work and secondary employment are regulated by statute and ordinance. Staff representation is governed by personnel representation acts at federal and state level, which give staff councils (Personalräte) participation rights in personnel and organisational matters, including in certain disciplinary steps where the civil servant requests it.

The civil service in public and privatised companies

Civil service law is not limited to ministries and authorities. Many civil servants work in public companies or privatised businesses:

• Privatised postal and telecommunications companies employ civil servants assigned to them under special legislation, with the companies exercising the employer's powers on behalf of the federal government;
• Railway civil servants have been assigned to the private-law railway companies under similar arrangements;
• Secondments and assignments of civil servants to public companies, research institutions or international organisations are common, with the civil service status continuing.

For these companies, the dual regime creates practical challenges: civil servants and employees work side by side but under different rules for pay, working time, performance management, misconduct and restructuring. Restructurings and transfers must take account of the special status rules, because civil servants cannot simply be transferred with a business under § 613a BGB. Companies should involve specialists early when planning reorganisations, outsourcing or sales of business units employing civil servants.

Public employers face similar issues when outsourcing tasks or founding companies: whether the task can be performed by private-law staff depends on Article 33(4) GG, which reserves the permanent exercise of sovereign powers, as a rule, to civil servants.

How TRW & Co helps

We advise public employers, public companies and privatised businesses on civil service law. We support selection procedures and competitor disputes, conduct and review disciplinary proceedings and disciplinary orders under the BDG and state laws, advise on secondments, assignments and restructurings involving civil servants, and coordinate with labour law issues for public employees. Our work connects with our employment and pensions and real estate and public law practices and our article on in house awards to municipal companies. Please contact us. This article is general information and not legal advice.