Losing or quitting a job in Germany: notice periods and your rights

3 min read · 8 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

German law makes it fairly hard to dismiss someone after the first six months, but the deadlines for defending yourself are short. Knowing them matters more than knowing every rule.

Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.

This is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute with an employer, ask a union, a migrant advice centre or a lawyer for employment law.

Step by step

1. Check the form

   A termination must be in writing on paper and signed by hand. An email, a WhatsApp message or a spoken "you are fired" is not valid. The same applies when you resign.

   Done

2. Know the notice period when you resign

   The legal period for employees is four weeks to the 15th or to the end of a calendar month. Your contract or a collective agreement may set a longer period. Read it first.

   Done

3. Know the notice period when you are dismissed

   For the employer the period grows with your years in the company: four weeks at first, one month to the end of a month after two years, two months after five, three after eight, four after ten, five after twelve, six after fifteen and seven after twenty years.

   Done

4. During probation

   In the probation period (Probezeit), which may last at most six months, both sides can end the contract with two weeks' notice and without giving a reason.

   Done

5. Check whether dismissal protection applies

   The Dismissal Protection Act applies when you have been in the company for more than six months and it has more than ten employees. Then the employer needs a reason: operational (the job is cut), conduct (usually after a warning) or personal (for example long illness).

   Done

6. Act within three weeks

   If you think the dismissal is wrong, you must file a claim at the labour court (Arbeitsgericht) within three weeks of receiving the letter. After that the dismissal counts as valid, even if it was not. Unions and legal expenses insurers help. The court's office can take down your claim without a lawyer.

   Done

7. Report to the employment agency

   Register as a job seeker with the Agentur für Arbeit within three days of learning that the job ends. If you wait, unemployment benefit can be cut. Details: lost your job in Germany: how unemployment benefit works.

   Done

8. Be careful with a termination agreement

   An Aufhebungsvertrag ends the job by mutual consent. Once signed, it cannot be taken back, you lose dismissal protection, and the agency usually blocks unemployment benefit for up to twelve weeks. Do not sign on the spot. Take it home and get advice.

   Done

Good to know

Pregnant employees, parents on parental leave, severely disabled people and works council members have special protection. The employer needs the consent of an authority or special grounds.

If you resign yourself without an important reason, the agency usually also blocks unemployment benefit for up to twelve weeks.

There is no general right to severance pay. It is often agreed in court to end a dispute. A common rule of thumb is half a month's gross pay per year of service.

You are entitled to a written reference (Arbeitszeugnis) and to be paid for unused holiday.

If your residence permit depends on the job, tell the immigration office. See EU Blue Card Germany 2026 for the rules on Blue Card holders.

In short: Paper and signature, four weeks to the 15th or month end, longer periods for the employer, two weeks in probation, three weeks to sue, three days to report, do not sign an Aufhebungsvertrag in a hurry.