Protection against dismissal: More and more insured people are suing against job loss

Legal protection

Dispute with the employer: More and more people are complaining

The legal protection insurer Arag is also feeling the effects of the economic crisis. More and more people are suing their employers. This often involves your own termination.

The crisis in Germany’s economy is increasingly affecting the labor courts. This is shown by current figures from the largest German legal protection insurer Arag. According to this, the number of claims for employment law protection has increased by 63 percent in the past five years. This means that people make use of their professional or employment legal protection insurance much more frequently.

The insurer is recording a strong increase, particularly in dismissal protection claims. In 2025, their number increased by 33 percent compared to the previous year. At the Labor law In general, however, the increase was only eleven percent. The trend continued in the first half of this year: Arag recorded a further increase in dismissal protection claims by 9.8 percent by the end of June.

Economic uncertainty, increasing bankruptcies and announced job cuts are making the job increasingly a factor of uncertainty for many people, the insurer concludes in its current “Trend Monitor”.

It is no longer just employees in lower salary brackets who have disputes with their employers. “We notice that it is no longer primarily customers with low incomes who are affected, but increasingly middle and higher income groups as well,” writes Arag board member Hanno Petersen. He expects a further increase in disputes because, in his opinion, “the German model – long employment, secure jobs – is crumbling.”

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Arag’s findings are supported by other insurers. “The customers insured with us have increased needs in the area of ​​labor law compared to the previous year,” says Örag, the savings banks’ legal protection insurer. In the comparable period up to June of the year, the rate was clearly higher than the previous year.

The insurer assumes “that this will continue to be an increasing trend in the coming months due to the economic situation.” Ergo also confirms an increase in labor law cases, but does not provide any specific figures.

Labor courts are also reporting a significant increase in the number of cases. For example, the nine labor courts in Baden-Württemberg processed a total of 42,488 new procedures in 2025 – the previous year the number was 38,021. Here too, a direct connection with the current poor economic situation is assumed. This leads to an increasing number of dismissals for operational reasons, which in turn leads to more lawsuits.