Online Hate at Work: What Employees Can Do in Germany

Hate at work no longer stays in the office. Someone from your team mocks you in a group chat, shares an embarrassing photo or leaves belittling comments on your LinkedIn posts. Or customers attack you on social media because you are doing your job. Online hate at work hits twice: it attacks you as a person and threatens your livelihood. This article explains in general terms what duties employers in Germany have, where you can complain and which deadlines matter. Only a law firm can assess your specific case.

What counts as online hate at work?

It means hate connected to your job, on any channel. Typical cases:

• degrading messages or memes about you in team chats, including private groups of colleagues
• insulting comments or rumours on LinkedIn, Instagram or other platforms
• sexual innuendo, images or messages from people at work
• attacks from outside, for example from customers or strangers, because of your professional role

The closer the link to your work, the more your employer is involved. A purely private dispute outside work is assessed differently from hate in a team chat.

What must your employer do about online hate at work?

General duty of consideration. The employment relationship includes a duty to respect your rights and interests (§ 241(2) of the Civil Code, Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB), often called the employer's duty of care (Fürsorgepflicht). This includes protecting you from attacks at work as far as the employer can reasonably do so.

Protection against discrimination under the AGG. The General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG) applies if the hate is linked to one of these characteristics: “race” (meaning racist attribution) or ethnic origin, sex, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity (§ 1 AGG). Harassment under § 3(3) AGG is unwanted conduct linked to one of these characteristics that violates your dignity and creates an environment of intimidation, hostility, degradation or insult. Sexual harassment is covered by § 3(4) AGG.

Under § 12 AGG, the employer must then

• take the necessary measures to protect against discrimination, including preventive ones,
• take suitable action against employees who harass, such as a formal warning (Abmahnung), reassignment, transfer or dismissal,
• protect you if third parties, such as customers, discriminate against you while you work.

Occupational safety. Employers must assess the hazards of work, and these expressly include psychological strain (§ 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Arbeitsschutzgesetz). If your job exposes you to constant hate, for example on a social media team or in customer contact, you can raise this.

Where can you complain at work?

• Complaints office under the AGG. If you feel discriminated against because of an AGG characteristic, you can complain to the responsible office at your workplace. The complaint must be examined and you must be told the outcome (§ 13 AGG). Who is responsible must be made known at the workplace.
• General right to complain. Even without an AGG link, you can complain to the responsible offices if you feel disadvantaged or treated unfairly by your employer or colleagues. You can bring in a member of the works council (Betriebsrat). The complaint must not lead to any disadvantage for you (§ 84 of the Works Constitution Act, Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG).
• Works council. The works council receives complaints and, if it considers them justified, works with the employer to resolve them (§ 85 BetrVG). It must also make sure nobody is discriminated against and protect the free development of personality at work (§ 75 BetrVG). In the public sector, the staff council (Personalrat) is the contact.

If the employer does nothing about harassment under the AGG, or only takes obviously unsuitable steps, you may stop working while keeping your pay, as far as this is necessary for your protection (§ 14 AGG). This right has narrow limits. Get advice before you use it.

Hate on LinkedIn and other platforms: what to do?

• Report it. Look for the three dots next to the post or comment and then for “Report”. Labels can change. Under Art. 16 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), platforms must accept and process notices of illegal content. You can challenge their decision through the internal complaint system (Art. 20 DSA). More in Digital Services Act: What Platforms Must Do About Online Hate and Platform Not Responding? Complaints Under the DSA.
• Block and restrict. Check who can comment on your posts and message you.
• Do not hit back publicly. An angry counter-post often ends up harming you, including professionally.
• Company channels. If the hate is under a post by your employer, tell the team in charge. They can remove and report comments there themselves.

Is online hate at work a criminal offence?

That depends on the content, not the place. Possible offences include insult (§ 185 StGB), defamation (§ 186 StGB), malicious defamation (§ 187 StGB), threats (§ 241 StGB) or stalking (§ 238 StGB), which is prosecuted ex officio. For insult offences, you need to file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) within three months. An overview is in Online Hate: What Is a Criminal Offence?.

Which deadlines do you need to know?

• Request for prosecution: three months from learning of the act and the offender (§ 77b StGB).
• Compensation under the AGG: you must assert claims for damages or compensation under § 15 AGG in writing within two months to your employer (§ 15(4) AGG). As of October 2026, a reform bill (BT-Drs. 21/6178) would extend this to four months; it has not been passed. The period usually starts when you learn of the discrimination. After that, you have three months to file a claim in court (§ 61b of the Labour Court Act, Arbeitsgerichtsgesetz, ArbGG).
• Cut-off periods: employment contracts and collective agreements often contain their own deadlines (Ausschlussfristen). Check your documents.

Good to know: at the labour court, each side pays its own lawyer in the first instance, even the side that wins (§ 12a ArbGG).

How do you secure evidence at work?

Note the date, time, channel, person and content. Take screenshots with the profile and link visible. Export chats only “without media”. Keep a short log, including incidents in the office. How to do this is explained in How to Secure Evidence of Online Hate.

Two cautions: do not forward confidential company data to private accounts without checking. If in doubt, ask the works council or a law firm what you may keep. And do not secretly record conversations. That can be a criminal offence under § 201 StGB.

If the hate weighs heavily on you, talk to someone. The Telefonseelsorge crisis line is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111. If you are threatened or in acute danger, call 110.

Frequently asked questions

Does my employer have to act on hate in private chats?

That depends on the link to work. If colleagues attack you in a private group and this affects how you work together, the employer may have to act. If an AGG characteristic is involved, the employer must take protective measures.

Can I complain without fearing consequences?

Yes. Under § 84 BetrVG, a complaint must not lead to any disadvantage for you. You can bring in a member of the works council.

What if there is no works council?

Then turn to the complaints office under § 13 AGG, HR or your manager. Legal advice comes from a law firm. The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes) provides information on discrimination based on AGG characteristics.

How long do I have for an AGG compensation claim?

Two months to assert it in writing to your employer, then three months to go to court. Collective agreements may differ.

Report your case

If you want to know which steps are possible in your case, you can report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself.