You suspect you may have been rejected on account of your age or religion, for example? Then, in the first step, you must list specific reasons saying why: You need to present so-called circumstantial evidence indicating that an incidence of discrimination has occurred.

There must therefore be indications that you were rejected specifically on account of a protected characteristic, for instance your age or religion, and not for any other reasons. If such proof can be furnished, then the employer must demonstrate in court that discrimination did not in fact take place.

The following may be indicative of an act of discrimination:

• False, changing or contradictory reasons are stated for the rejection. This may, for instance, be the case if a rejection is justified with the position already having been filled, even though it is still or once again being advertised.
• If questions were asked during the interview pertaining to a protected characteristic, such as whether you were pregnant or whether you intended to have children soon.
• If the job description already contained details concerning protected characteristics, e.g. “We seek a young and attractive woman to work at our reception”.

Note: Even if you do present inherently suitable circumstantial evidence, the employer may refute it. In this case, the employer must provide an explanation that is able to persuade the court that there were other non-discriminatory reasons for this rejection (e.g. professional experience or other job requirements).

From previous decisions of the Federal Labour Court, we know that the following indications would not be considered sufficient circumstantial evidence:

• You have received an unjustified or too-general rejection and you possess a characteristic for which you could be discriminated against.
• You were rejected despite being well-suited to a particular position.
• You were not invited for an interview, despite fulfilling all the requirements.

If there are no further indications that you were rejected on account of a protected characteristic, taking the matter to court will unfortunately not hold much promise.

Click here for more information on discrimination while looking for a job:

• „Fair in den Job! Leitfaden für diskriminierungsfreie Einstellungsverfahren“ ( 2019) (Fair job offers) guidelines Guidelines for non-discriminatory hiring practices” - only in German
• „Was Arbeitgeber fragen (dürfen)“ (2018) (What employers are allowed to ask) study - only in German
• „Diskriminierung in Stellenanzeigen“ (2018) (Discrimination in job advertisements) study - only in German