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.
Caution
If the employer terminates the employment contract in connection with
- a leave of absence for caring,
- a reduction in normal working hours due to non-temporary care of close relatives,
- carers' leave or
- part-time care leave
the employer must issue a written justification for the dismissal at the written request of the employee. The employee must request the written justification within five calendar days of receipt of the notice of termination, otherwise the right to a written justification is excluded. The employer must issue the written justification within five calendar days of receipt of the request. The fact that a written statement of reasons was not submitted is irrelevant for the legal validity of the termination.
Please note
After the receipt of the notice of termination, it can only be withdrawn or converted into a mutually agreed dissolution by mutual agreement.
Notice of termination by the employer:
- Remuneration until the expiration of the notice period
- Aliquot special payments
- Settlement of the outstanding, aliquot leave entitlement by way of compensation; the remaining leave from previous years must be fully compensated
- Entitlement to a redundancy payment
- Entitlement to continued payment of remuneration in the event of a notice of termination during sick leave
- Entitlement to employment papers
- Entitlement to a leave of absence during the notice period ("Job search period" (→ AMS))
Notice of termination by the employee:
- Remuneration until the expiration of the notice period
- Aliquot special payments
- Settlement of the outstanding, aliquot leave entitlement by way of compensation; the remaining leave from previous years must be fully compensated
- Entitlement to employment papers
The notice period is the period between the announcement of the termination and the actual end of the employment relationship. Until 30 September 2021, different notice periods and dates applied to blue-collar and white-collar workers. Since then, they have been unified:
- For the employee: one month
- For the employer
- In the first and second year of service: six weeks
- After the end of the second year of service: two months
- After the end of the fifth year of service: three months
- After the end of the 15th year of service: four months
- After the end of the 25th year of service: five months
The period for employees may be extended to up to half a year by way of an agreement. However, the period to be complied with by the employer must not be shorter.
If a notice of termination does not comply with the period requirements, i.e. the statutory (contractual) notice period has not been complied with, the employee is entitled to dismissal compensation, which must be asserted by judicial process within six months.
The termination date is the time on which the employment relationship is dissolved.. Until 30 September 2021, different notice periods and dates applied to blue-collar and white-collar workers. Since then, they have been unified:
- For employees: the end of the month
- For employers: the end of the quarter
A contractual agreement for the 15th or the end of the month is permissible
By collective agreement, deviating regulations may be laid down for branches in which seasonal operations predominate.
If a notice of termination does not comply with the deadline, i.e. the termination date has not been complied with, the employee is entitled to dismissal compensation, which must be asserted by judicial process within six months.
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Further links
- Termination of the employment relationship – sample letter (→ AK)German text
- Short film on the topic of "I quit!" (→ YouTube)German text
- Court search (→ BMJ)German text
Legal bases
- Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (GlBG)
- Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz (ArbVG)
- Mutterschutzgesetz (MSchG)
- Väter-Karenzgesetz (VKG)
Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection
