Can my employer prohibit me from doing dangerous sports?

For all of us, there is life after work (hopefully). While some prefer to go jogging, work in the garden or read a book in their free time, others enjoy amateur sports that are not without danger. For example, skydiving, full-contact martial arts and boxing, to name but a few, have a risk of injury. This raises the question of whether the employer is allowed to prohibit employees from practicing such sports. The background is obvious - if an employee is unfit for work, he is initially entitled to 6 weeks' continued payment of wages under German labor law. This means that he has to pay the employer without receiving the contractual work performance.

However, this only applies if the employee is not responsible for the sick leave. And this is precisely the crux of the matter - is the mere practice of such a dangerous sport culpable?

So, what is a „dangerous sport“? Sports are considered “dangerous sports” if the risk of injury is so high that even a well-trained and well-educated athlete with experience cannot rule out an increased risk of injury, despite carefully observing all the rules. So far, case law has only once (Hagen Labor Court in 1989) classified kickboxing as such a dangerous sport, but not, for example, boxing, hang-gliding, skiing or bungee jumping.

karate do

In German labor law, there is no generally applicable regulation that allows employers to prohibit their employees from practicing dangerous sports. This would constitute a serious infringement of the general right of personality under Articles 1 and 2 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz). This even applies to professional sports.

For example, the well-known German professional footballer Manuel Neuer (goalkeeper) had a skiing accident in his free time in 2023 in which he broke his thigh. As a result, he was unable to train with his club FC Bayern Munich for several weeks.

From a health and safety perspective, employers naturally have a duty of care towards their employees. If a sport increases the risk of injuries that could affect the employee's ability to work, the employer can make recommendations.

However, restrictions or even prohibitions set out in the employment contract are likely to be unlawful, except in the case of top positions in key positions, especially if the sport could conflict with the job to be performed.

As a rule, however, employers have no right to interfere with their employees' leisure activities as long as these activities are not directly related to work or harmful to the company. This is also the current state of case law - several court rulings prove that employees generally have the right to do sports in their free time as long as this does not violate contractual obligations or safety regulations.

In summary, it can be said that employers cannot generally prohibit any type of sport, even if it is dangerous in their eyes. Only if the employee is responsible for the accident-related incapacity to work may the employer not be obliged to continue to pay wages. There are very high requirements for the affirmation of fault.

However, mentioning in your application that you are involved in a dangerous sport is probably not a good idea for the success of your application. ;-)

I publish interesting questions about German employment law judgements on this blog regularly. If you need special advice tailored upon your individual case, don't hesitate to get in contact with me.

Photo / source: own.