A yoga center offers courses and seminars nationwide. It sees itself as a religious community – and therefore does not want to pay a minimum wage. But the association’s constitutional complaints fail.
From yoga to meditation to the Indian healing art of Ayurveda – a non-profit association from North Rhine-Westphalia offers courses, training and seminars on this topic nationwide. Members of Yoga Vidya eV provide spiritual services as so-called Sevaka. The Federal Labor Court ruled in two cases last year that they are entitled to a minimum wage for this instead of just pocket money. The association filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court – and failed.
As the court announced, the Karlsruhe Senate did not accept the constitutional complaints for decision. They did not meet the statutory requirements for explanation and there was no reason for acceptance, it said. The decisions are not contestable. (Ref. 1 BvR 2244/23; 1 BvR 2231/23)
Priestess won lawsuit in Erfurt
Yoga Vidya wanted to appeal against two rulings from Erfurt to the highest German court. In April 2023, the Federal Labor Court ruled, among other things, that a former priestess from the association was entitled to the statutory minimum wage instead of just pocket money. The then successful plaintiff – a lawyer and ordained priestess with the ability to perform certain rituals – was a member of Yoga Vidya from 2012 to 2020. As a Sevaka, she says she worked 42 hours a week in seminar planning and online marketing, for example. She had statutory social insurance, received free accommodation and meals, and pocket money.
The Erfurt Senate decided that the plaintiff had not performed services as a member of an association or a member of an ideological community, but as an employee. She was entitled to the minimum wage because she had performed work that was subject to instructions and determined by others (case no. 9 AZR 253/22). The lawsuit filed by a second member of the Ashram had a similar outcome (case no. 9 AZR 254/22).
Fundamental right to freedom of religion?
Yoga Vidya felt that the Labor Court’s ruling violated its right to freedom of religion. The association sees itself as a “spiritual-religious community.” Before the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision, a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency said that they hoped that the Karlsruhe Senate would treat the association as a religious community and classify the non-profit Seva service as religious acts and not as work. “We want to be able to practice our faith without restrictions and in accordance with German law.”
The Federal Constitutional Court has now decided that the Federal Labor Court’s assumption that the association is not a religious community is compatible with the freedom of religion enshrined in the Basic Law. After all, it has neither been explained nor is it otherwise apparent that the services provided by the plaintiffs to maintain the accommodation and seminar operations and the sale of yoga products, which were the subject of this case, were in themselves religious in nature.
Source: Stern
