Bund-Verlag

What Bund-Verlag does

Bund-Verlag GmbH is a privately held German specialist legal publisher founded in 1946 in Frankfurt am Main, focused on the employee-representation side of German labor and social law. Its core customer segments are works councils (Betriebsräte), staff representatives (Personalräte), severely disabled representatives (Schwerbehindertenvertretung), youth and trainee representatives (JAV), church staff representatives (MAV), and labor lawyers advising employees. The company distributes more than 12 specialist journals (including Arbeitsrecht im Betrieb, Der Personalrat, Computer und Arbeit, Gute Arbeit, and Betriebsrat und Mitbestimmung), 9+ online expert modules (Betriebsratswissen online, Personalratswissen online, Schwerbehindertenrecht online, KI-Praxis Arbeitsrecht online, JAV-Praxis online, Arbeitszeit online, Arbeitnehmerberatung online, Betriebsratspraxis von A bis Z online, Beschäftigtendatenschutz online), legal commentaries and handbooks (e.g., AGG Basiskommentar), and a SaaS-style meeting management tool (meinBRbase). The technology stack centers on the Bund-Online portal (single sign-on access to all digital content), ePaper PDF reader with read-aloud, and SolR-powered search across curated databases of 50,000+ labor and social court decisions and 1,000+ working aids.

The business model is primarily subscription-recurring: annual subscriptions to journals and online expert modules, supplemented by one-time book sales through the online shop and book trade. Pricing is publicly disclosed (e.g., ~77.85 EUR/month for the Arbeitnehmerberatung online single license, 136-165 EUR/year for basic Fachmodule, 252 EUR/year per additional seat), and includes freemium entry points (2 free journal issues or 30-day Fachmodule trial). Distribution runs through the company's own e-commerce platform (shop.bund-verlag.de), the Bund-Online self-serve portal, traditional German book trade, and a small direct sales/support team reachable by phone and email. Bund-Verlag also operates the flagship Deutscher Betriebsrätepreis and Deutscher Personalrät-Preis industry awards. The company is led by Managing Director Jürgen Scholl, is independently owned with no parent company or external institutional investment disclosed, and serves only the German market (Europe region claim, with all products in German).

Name

Bund-Verlag

Legal name

Bund Verlag GmbH

Website

https://bund-verlag.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bund-Verlag is a German specialist legal publisher founded in 1946, providing subscription-based journals, online expert modules, books, and the meinBRbase meeting software to works councils, staff representatives, severely disabled representatives, and labor lawyers across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE/EHS) Publishing (MPAJACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) & Regulatory Reference (OSHA, EPA, Risk) (EDAGAGAJ)

Keywords

• Labor law publishing
• Works council resources
• Specialist legal journals
• Online legal modules
• Employment law commentary

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Journal Subscriptions: Subscriptions to specialist journals such as 'Arbeitsrecht im Betrieb' (AiB), 'Der Personalrat', 'Computer und Arbeit', 'Gute Arbeit', 'Betriebsrat und Mitbestimmung', and others. Journals published 6-11 times annually.
2. Fachmodule (Expert Module Subscriptions): Annual subscriptions to online expert modules including Betriebsratswissen online, Personalratswissen online, Schwerbehindertenrecht online, and specialized modules like KI-Praxis Arbeitsrecht online.
3. Book Sales: Sale of specialized legal commentaries and handbooks such as the AGG Basiskommentar (44.00 EUR) and other legal reference works through the online shop.
4. Digital Products: Digital-only products including ePapers and online access to archived journal content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bund-Verlag is a German specialist publishing house that publishes specialist journals (Zeitschriften), legal commentaries, handbooks, and online expert modules (Fachmodule) covering labor and social law, co-determination, occupational health and safety, and employee data protection. Its offerings are directed primarily at works councils (Betriebsr\u00e4te), staff councils (Personalr\u00e4te), severely disabled representatives (SBV), youth and trainee representatives (JAV), church staff representatives (MAV), and labor law attorneys, delivered via print, ePaper, and the Bund-Online digital portal.

Product overview

Bund-Verlag offers a comprehensive portfolio of legal information products and services for works councils (Betriebsräte), personnel councils (Personalräte), and severely disabled representatives in Germany. The core platform is Bund-Online/Mein Bund-Online, which provides access to digital content. The product portfolio includes: 11 specialist journals (Zeitschriften) such as 'Arbeitsrecht im Betrieb (AiB)', 'Der Personalrat', 'Computer und Arbeit', 'Gute Arbeit', and 'Betriebsrat und Mitbestimmung (BeMi)'; multiple Fachmodule (online expert modules) including 'Betriebsratswissen online', 'Personalratswissen online', 'Schwerbehindertenrecht online', 'Beschäftigtendatenschutz und Mitbestimmung online', 'KI-Praxis Arbeitsrecht online', 'JAV-Praxis online', 'Arbeitszeit online', 'Arbeitnehmerberatung online', and 'Betriebsratspraxis von A bis Z online'; software solution 'meinBRbase' for works council meetings; award programs including 'Deutscher Betriebsrätepreis' and 'Deutscher Personalräte-Preis'; and the ePaper digital format for all journals. Additionally, the shop offers books and commentaries such as the 'AGG Basiskommentar'. The offerings are delivered through a subscription model with test periods available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• meinBRbase: Digital solution for works council sessions management
• Bund-Online
• mein Bund-Online
• Betriebsratswissen online
• Personalratswissen online
• Schwerbehindertenrecht online
• Beschäftigtendatenschutz online
• Arbeitszeit online
• KI-Praxis Arbeitsrecht online
• JAV-Praxis online
• Arbeitnehmerberatung online
• Betriebsratspraxis von A bis Z online
• Arbeitsrecht kompakt online
• AiB (Arbeitsrecht im Betrieb)
• Der Personalrat
• Computer und Arbeit
• Gute Arbeit
• Arbeit und Recht
• Soziales Recht
• Betriebsrat und Mitbestimmung
• Arbeitsschutz und Mitbestimmung
• Schwerbehindertenrecht und Inklusion
• Mitbestimmung
• Digitales Arbeits- und Sozialrecht (DIAS)
• Soziale Sicherheit
• Deutscher Betriebsrätepreis
• Deutscher Personalräte-Preis
• aib-web.de

Products and services

• Betriebsratswissen online
• Personalratswissen online
• Schwerbehindertenrecht online
• Besch\u00e4ftigtendatenschutz und Mitbestimmung online
• Arbeitsrecht kompakt online
• KI-Praxis Arbeitsrecht online
• JAV-Praxis online
• Arbeitszeit online
• Arbeitnehmerberatung online
• Betriebsratspraxis von A bis Z online
• meinBRbase
• Arbeitsrecht im Betrieb (AiB)
• Der Personalrat
• Computer und Arbeit (CuA)
• Gute Arbeit
• Betriebsrat und Mitbestimmung (BeMi)
• AGG Basiskommentar

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly subscription from 77.85 EUR including VAT for specialized legal databases

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• dfv Deutscher Fachverlag: German specialized B2B publisher covering multiple verticals including labor law and HR-related trade media. Comparable to Bund-Verlag in the German specialty publishing model targeting professional audiences with subscription content.
• Rehm Verlag: Smaller German publisher focused on public sector and labor law topics including works council practice. Comparable to Bund-Verlag as a niche German legal publisher serving Personalräte and Betriebsräte with specialized periodicals and reference works.

Direct peers

• Nomos Verlag: German academic and professional publisher with strong coverage of labor law, social law, and public law. Comparable to Bund-Verlag in producing journals, commentaries, and online content for the German legal and regulatory professional market.
• Otto Schmidt Verlag: German legal publisher with a strong portfolio in labor law (e.g., 'Arbeitsrecht Aktuell') and tax/commercial law. Comparable to Bund-Verlag in the specialized legal publishing model serving German professionals with subscription journals and online databases.
• Juris GmbH: Germany's primary online legal information portal offering access to court decisions, statutes, and legal journals. Comparable to Bund-Verlag as a subscription-based legal research database for German professionals, particularly in labor and administrative law.
• Erich Schmidt Verlag: German specialized publisher focused on labor, social, tax, and public sector law. Highly comparable to Bund-Verlag as both serve works councils, staff representatives, and HR/legal professionals with journals, commentaries, and online databases in the same German regulatory domain.

Broad incumbents

• Haufe Group: Large German publisher of professional information for tax, legal, HR, and compliance topics. Comparable to Bund-Verlag as a German-language specialized B2B publisher with subscription online databases (Haufe Lexware, Haufe Personal Office) targeting HR and compliance professionals.
• Verlag C.H. Beck: Germany's leading legal publisher, offering comprehensive legal commentaries, journals, and online databases (beck-online). Comparable to Bund-Verlag in the German legal publishing space with overlapping labor law content and a subscription digital platform.
• Wolters Kluwer Deutschland: Global legal and regulatory information provider with a strong German footprint through products like juris and DATEV-adjacent compliance tools. Comparable to Bund-Verlag as a competing provider of authoritative legal databases and journals for German legal and HR professionals.

Regional players

• Verlag Dashöfer: German specialized publisher focused on business, HR, tax, and labor law compliance topics for SMBs and professionals. Comparable to Bund-Verlag in the German subscription-based specialized publishing model for HR and compliance buyers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BundVerlag
• Facebookfacebook.com/Fachwissen.Betriebsrat
• Xx.com/BundVerlag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bund-Verlag