Notice of termination

A notice of termination is the orderly dissolution of a permanent employment relationship. With the exception of certain legally and contractually agreed restrictions, the employee and employer can freely decide to end the employment relationship in compliance with certain deadlines and periods. A notice of termination does not require any special reasons or the consent of the other contracting party. The notice period as well as the period to appeal the termination starts to run upon the lawful receipt of the notice of termination.

The notice of termination of an employment relationship is essentially not bound to a specific form, it may take place

  • orally
  • in writing or
  • implicitly (e.g. handover of the completed employment papers by the employer).

If a law or a collective bargaining agreement requires a written notice of termination, the notice of termination is unlawful if the specified written form is not observed.

Please note

After the receipt of the notice of termination, the notice of termination can only be withdrawn or converted to a dissolution by mutual agreement by way of mutual consent.

Further links

Translated by the European Commission
Last update: 24 February 2023

Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy

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