Court deals with gender guidelines from Audi – SWR Aktuell

Do employees have to change if a company requires it? In Ingolstadt, the court should clarify this question, a VW employee is suing the subsidiary Audi.

The stumbling block is a company guideline: gender forms such as the underscore are a thorn in the side of the plaintiff. The VW employee is suing the Audi Group because he is in the Company policy on gender-sensitive language sees a violation of his general personality rights. The employee of the parent company does not want to be addressed in gender-neutral language when working with colleagues from Audi. The carmaker with a plant in Neckarsulm (Heilbronn district) issued the guidelines last year. On Tuesday, the civil chamber of the Ingolstadt district court will deal with the issue.

attempt at an amicable settlement

The man had sued Audi after the group refused to issue a cease-and-desist declaration. According to the court spokesman, the responsible judge will first try to reach an amicable agreement between the two parties, writes the German Press Agency (dpa). If that fails, start the main hearing directly.

Audi itself has not made any concrete statement on the content of the ongoing legal proceedings. Apart from that, however, the company wants to maintain an organizational culture that is characterized by mutual respect and appreciation, said Audi spokesman Wolfgang Schmid of the dpa.

Audi changed – plaintiff feels discriminated against

The plaintiff defends himself against the company guidelines presented by Audi in March 2021. Gender-appropriate language is specified in the guidelines “to improve the visibility of gender diversity”. Since he now has no choice as to how he is addressed, he feels discriminated against, according to the plaintiff. According to his lawyers, he wants the company to stop prescribing the use of the communication rules. Language should not be specified in such concrete terms.

The German Language Association (VDS) supports the VW employee. The association generally rejects gender and, according to the dpa, speaks of an “ideology”: “Under the guise of equality, gender sacrifices language as a means of communication”.

Decision important for other companies

As a kind of test case, a decision in the Audi case could also have consequences for many other companies. After all, the question of gender concerns many people. In the end, the case could even have to be decided by the Federal Court of Justice.

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