Schlesinger is entitled to receive a retirement benefit from RBB.
In a significant development, the Berlin Regional Court has ruled in favour of Patricia Schlesinger, the former director of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), ordering the broadcaster to pay her a pension installment for January 2023. This decision comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute between Schlesinger and RBB, centred around the payment of her pension and allegations of waste and nepotism.
The controversy surrounding Schlesinger erupted in the summer of 2022, when she was dismissed from her post amidst allegations of waste, nepotism, excessively high off-tariff salaries, and luxury expenditures. These accusations continue to form part of the broader conflict between Schlesinger and RBB, which has also included claims for damages and counterclaims.
Schlesinger's pension, or Ruhegeld as it is known in this context, is defined as a certain monthly sum of money received after the end of the contract and until retirement, with potential offsets against a future company pension upon reaching retirement age. However, the court has yet to rule on whether RBB must pay pensions beyond January 2023, as the legal process, including the dispute over a controversial expensive construction project tied to the case, is ongoing.
In addition to the pension dispute, the court also addressed two further alleged breaches of duty, involving variable payments and ARD allowances for employees. The court affirmed RBB's claims in principle, but the amount of the claim will be determined in a later decision, estimated by RBB to be over 1.7 million euros.
Despite this partial victory, a settlement regarding the complete pension, amounting to around 220,000 euros per year for the past three years and the future, did not materialize. Schlesinger, who is 64 years old, is a dismissed former director involved in a legal dispute with her former broadcaster, RBB, over a pension stipulated in her contract since her dismissal and for the future.
The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the RBB scandal, including against Schlesinger, for some time, and the evaluation is still ongoing. The principle of innocence until proven guilty applies in Schlesinger's case.
[1] Berliner Morgenpost, 16th July 2025, "Berliner Gericht spricht Schlesinger Ruhegeld zu" [2] Tagesspiegel, 16th July 2025, "Schlesinger erhält Ruhegeld von RBB" [3] Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 16th July 2025, "RBB muss Schlesinger Ruhegeld zahlen" [4] RBB, 16th July 2025, "RBB muss Schlesinger Ruhegeld zahlen" [5] RBB, 16th July 2025, "RBB muss Schlesinger Ruhegeld zahlen - Urteil des Berliner Landgerichts"
Schlesinger's ongoing legal dispute with Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) has expanded to include financial matters, as the broadcaster has been ordered to pay her a pension installment for January 2023. The controversy surrounding her goes beyond just the pension dispute, with allegations of waste and nepotism in business relations also under scrutiny.
