All our lawyers regularly advise English-speaking clients and speak English perfectly.
The headline severance is only half the deal. For professionals in banking, consulting and tech, the real money in a German exit often sits in the details: bonus, deferred compensation, equity and the terms of your release.
What we negotiate
- Garden leave (Freistellung): paid release until the termination date — and whether it is irrevocable, which matters for starting elsewhere and for holiday offsetting.
- Bonus & commission: pro-rata entitlements for the current year, discretionary vs. contractual bonuses, and target-achievement fictions during release.
- Deferred compensation & equity: RSUs, options and deferrals under German good-leaver/bad-leaver clauses — exit timing can be worth more than the severance itself.
- Non-compete waivers: if the employer insists on a post-contractual non-compete, they owe at least 50 % compensation; if they waive it, timing determines how long they still pay.
- Reference letter grade and wording — negotiated, not begged for.
Frankfurt banking, in English
Our Frankfurt office sits in the Marienturm, in the middle of the banking district. Exit packages for regulated-industry professionals — including deferred bonus schemes — are daily business for us.
Discuss your exit package — initial consultation €297.50 incl. VAT.