All our lawyers regularly advise English-speaking clients and speak English perfectly.
In Germany, your reference letter is written in code. Every employee is legally entitled to a written reference — and by law it must be benevolent. German HR therefore developed a coded language in which friendly-sounding phrases carry devastating meanings.
The grading system hidden in plain sentences
- „stets zu unserer vollsten Zufriedenheit“ = very good (grade 1)
- „stets zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit“ = good (grade 2)
- „zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit“ = satisfactory (grade 3)
- „stets bemüht“ („always made an effort“) = polite code for failure
What else to watch
Missing standard phrases (thanks, regret, good wishes) are read as warnings. Omissions speak: if leadership or integrity is not mentioned where it should be, German recruiters notice. Even the order of tasks can carry a message.
Your rights
You can demand a correction and, in an exit negotiation, agree the exact wording and grade in advance — which is what we do as a standard part of every settlement. Do not attach a coded German Zeugnis to international applications without having it decoded first.