All our lawyers regularly advise English-speaking clients and speak English perfectly.
The clock started when the letter arrived. Under the German Dismissal Protection Act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz), you must file a claim with the labour court within three weeks of receiving written notice. Miss it, and even a clearly unlawful dismissal becomes valid. This deadline is the single most important fact on this page.
The good news: dismissals in Germany fail more often than you think
After six months in a company with more than ten employees, your employer needs a legally recognised reason — conduct, personal capability, or genuine redundancy — and must prove it. Formal errors are common: wrong signature, missing works-council consultation, flawed social selection in redundancies, protected status ignored (pregnancy, parental leave, disability). Any one of these can bring the dismissal down.
„Severance“ is not automatic — it is leverage
German law knows almost no statutory severance entitlement. What actually happens: a well-founded dismissal protection claim makes reinstatement a real risk for the employer, and employers pay to remove that risk. That is why the first offer is rarely the last. In 97 % of our cases we increased the severance.
Common mistakes internationals make
- Signing anything on the day of the termination meeting („just confirming receipt“ often isn’t).
- Assuming the offered severance is a fixed formula. It is an opening bid.
- Waiting — the three weeks pass faster than HR returns emails.
- Not registering with the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency) in time, risking benefit cuts.
What we do
Same-day assessment of your notice, deadline protection, filing the claim, and negotiating the exit package — severance amount, bonus and stock treatment, garden leave, reference letter („Arbeitszeugnis“) wording, and the termination date itself.
Upload your termination letter now — free Quick Check, answer today.