In German labor law, there is generally no legal right to an interim certificate. The situation is different with employment references. In this case, employees have a legally defined claim when their employment relationship ends. This is clearly regulated in Section 109 of the Trade Code (GewO).
However, a current ruling by the Cologne Regional Labor Court (judgment of the LAG Cologne dated March 4, 2026 – 5 SLa 495/25) now provides clarity as to the conditions under which employees can request an interim certificate and when there is a “valid reason” for this.
The specific case before the Cologne LAG
Before the Cologne Regional Labor Court (LAG), an employee and his employer disputed whether there was a right to a qualified interim certificate. The plaintiff had previously been ill for a long time and initially asked the employer by email to issue an interim certificate. After he refused, the plaintiff justified his request in a second email with a planned professional reorientation and upcoming applications, including external ones. The employer rejected the application again and initially only disputed the reason given and later stated that there was no valid reason for an interim certificate. A process that was not legal. At least that is the judgment of the Cologne LAG.
The claim arises from an additional contractual obligation
The court ruled that the plaintiff was entitled to an interim certificate. The obligation to issue an interim certificate can arise as a contractual additional obligation from the employment relationship. The prerequisite for this is that the employee provides a valid reason why he or she needs an interim certificate. This applies as long as there are no other collective bargaining regulations.
When there is a “good reason” for an interim certificate
According to the ruling of the Cologne Regional Labor Court, a valid reason exists if the employee clearly demonstrates his or her interest in an interim certificate and this interest appears justified from an objective point of view. This is the case, for example, if the interim certificate is used for application purposes, and also applies if an employee “wants to apply elsewhere”. Courts do not impose overly strict requirements and examine the individual case generously rather than pettily, as can be seen from the Cologne court ruling.
A graduated burden of presentation and proof is sufficient
In principle, the employee must explain and prove that there is a valid reason. In the court’s opinion, however, a “graded burden of presentation and proof” applies here. This means that it is initially sufficient if the employee describes the occasion plausibly. If this appears understandable, the valid reason is considered given. If the employer just denies this in general terms, that is not enough.
Only if there are concrete doubts does the employee have to further substantiate or explain their own information in more detail. The LAG Cologne cites an example if it turns out or can be assumed that the employee does not need the interim certificate for applications but only uses it to achieve a higher grouping.
Is there an unlimited right to interim certificates?
The LAG Cologne also made it indirectly clear in its judgment that there is no unlimited right to interim certificates. An interim certificate cannot be requested at any time without an understandable reason. According to the court, it always depends on the individual case. For example, a claim can be excluded if it appears abusive, such as frequent requests without any new reason. In the present case, however, this did not play a role because the plaintiff requested an interim certificate for the first time after a long period of employment.
The most important things for HR and employers at a glance:
The ruling gives employers and HR departments some practical aspects of interim references that they should take into account:
- Requests for an interim certificate may not be rejected across the board.
- A claim can arise from the employment relationship as an additional contractual obligation. The prerequisite is that there is a valid reason.
- The reason is interpreted rather generously by the courts. A comprehensible justification is often sufficient. As in this case, this also includes professional reorientation or planned applications.
- If they want to reject the interim certificate, employers must give specific reasons why they doubt the reason given.
- For human resources departments, the ruling primarily means documenting applications such as interim references, examining them properly and always making carefully justified decisions.
Mara Marx is a volunteer at Human Resources.
