The following statements from the page Terminated, what to do? apply primarily to the termination of an employment contract. Information on termination in tenancy law can be found here. Termination refers to the unilateral termination of an employment contract, for example, since the termination of the employment contract can come from either the employer or the employee. If the employment contract is terminated by the employer, the employee is often faced with serious changes. Therefore, and due to the labor law deadlines that begin upon receipt of the letter of termination, it is of fundamental importance to immediately find out about the existing rights and obligations after termination of the employment contract. The only thing that can help here is the advice of a lawyer working in the field of labor law. The following information, which is intended to provide you (and lawyers who are not familiar with the topic of termination of employment contracts) with a brief overview of the legal situation when terminating the employment contract through notice, cannot replace professional advice from a lawyer experienced in the problem of termination of employment contracts!

1. Kündigungsarten

The employment contract can be terminated by extraordinary (without notice) termination and ordinary termination. Furthermore, there is a special case of termination with a simultaneous offer of a new employment contract with changed conditions (change of termination).

The extraordinary termination of the employment contract is regulated in Section 626 of the German Civil Code (BGB). In order to be able to terminate an employment contract extraordinarily, an important reason is required. It must be unreasonable for the person giving extraordinary notice of termination to be bound to the employment contract until the notice period has expired. Important reasons include, in particular, significant breaches of the obligations arising from the employment contract. When terminating the employment contract properly, a notice period must be observed. This is generally determined according to the legal regulation in Section 622 of the German Civil Code (BGB). Notice periods can also be regulated in the employment contract or collective agreement.

In terms of content, a distinction is made between behavioral, personal and operational-related termination of the employment contract.

2. Rechtliche Voraussetzungen

In addition to the special requirements that apply to the individual types of termination, every termination of an employment contract must, above all, be made in writing, be signed by hand by the person entitled and sent to the terminated contractual partner. For the effectiveness of the termination of an employment contract, it is also of central importance whether Section 1 of the Dismissal Protection Act applies to the employment relationship. To do this, it must be checked whether the statutory minimum period of employment has been met and whether the required number of employees is employed in the company.

3. Ihre Möglichkeiten

In principle, every employee can defend himself against termination of his employment contract, either out of court by starting negotiations with the employer or in court by filing a dismissal protection action (within 3 weeks of receiving the termination!). If you do not defend yourself, incorrect termination will also take effect and the rights and obligations under the employment contract will expire. If you are not necessarily interested in the existence of your employment contract, it is important to know that there is usually no entitlement to payment of severance pay, but this can usually only be achieved in the course of a dismissal protection process through clever negotiations by an experienced lawyer. The dismissal protection action is always aimed at establishing the continued existence of the employment relationship and thus the continued validity of the employment contract. In the majority of cases, an agreement is only concluded between the parties in the form of a legal settlement (acceptance of job loss in exchange for payment of severance pay) during the course of the legal proceedings.

4. Gemeinsam mit der Kanzlei STEINWACHS

Because of the complexity of the legal matter, you need professional support. STEINWACHS offers advice and representation from a lawyer who is not only experienced in the broad field of labor law, but who has also been trained and tested through countless successful termination disputes. As far as possible, we will try to reach an out-of-court solution in your favor with your employer. If this is not possible and we come to the conclusion that your matter offers a reasonable chance of success, we will file a dismissal protection claim on your behalf within the deadline and represent you in all court proceedings. For an initial consultation after receiving a notice of termination, we need:

das Kündigungsschreiben,
den aktuellen Arbeitsvertrag sowie die diesem gegebenenfalls vorhergehenden Arbeitsverträge
die letzten drei Gehaltsabrechnungen
Angaben über die Anzahl der Beschäftigten im Betrieb
Kopien vielleicht erteilter Abmahnungen
Informationen über einen etwa vorhandenen Betriebsrat
Informationen über anwendbare Tarifverträge

Responsible for the content of the page legal-attorney-employment-law-hamburg-berlin/termination: Attorney Stephan Steinwachs (Attorney at Law Berlin Hamburg)