Die verständigen Arbeitsvertragsparteien

The reasonable employer („verständiger Arbeitgeber“) and the reasonable employee („verständiger Arbeitnehmer“) are rhetorical constructs of argumentation used by labor law courts in Germany. Analyzing over 170 court decisions of the German Federal Labor Court (BAG) referencing these legal constructs, the author critically examines their legal backgrounds and functions, pointing out certain structural methodical deficits in their judicial usage. On that basis, he recommends the general discontinuation of the reasonable person as a construct of argumentation in any future labor law jurisdiction.