The State of Brandenburg must cover the additional costs arising from increased staffing requirements in childcare centres, which have resulted from a reduction in the weekly working hours stipulated in the collective agreement. This has now been ruled by the Administrative Court Potsdam (Case Nos. 6 K 366/22 and 6 K 367/22 of 18 June 2026). The legal actions brought by the districts of Oberhavel and Uckermark, represented by DOMBERT Rechtsanwälte, were therefore successful.

If the weekly working hours for full-time staff are reduced from 40 to 39.5 hours under a collective agreement in 2022, the statutory entitlement to childcare can only be guaranteed if more staff are recruited at the same time. Otherwise, the statutory staff-to-child ratio cannot be maintained. The additional staffing costs are therefore necessary costs within the meaning of Section 16a(1) of the Day-Care Act. The court has now ruled that childcare centres may therefore claim the additional costs from the local public youth welfare authorities, which in turn may claim them from the State of Brandenburg. The Administrative Court has allowed the appeal.

„The decision will have financial implications for subsequent years as well, as the weekly working hours have been further reduced to 39.0 hours from 2023 onwards. This will require additional staff, with the associated costs to be reimbursed,“ says Dr Beate Schulte zu Sodingen, a lawyer.