Many German offices keep a list of colleagues’ birthdays, so that people can congratulate each other. In 2019 the Bavarian State Commissioner for Data Protection set out the rules for such lists in public bodies. The lists are Akte der kollegialen Beziehungspflege, acts of caring for relations between colleagues, and not official business. The only legal basis is therefore the employee’s consent, and it must be voluntary. The commissioner recommends listing only the day and month and leaving out the year of birth.