Formal Warning Letter

A written or oral reprimand of a precisely described breach of duty by the employee, combined with a request for future contract-compliant conduct and the threat of employment-law consequences in case of repetition.

The Abmahnung serves three purposes: it specifies the breach, documents it and warns the employee about further measures, up to and including a conduct-based dismissal. In most cases it is a legal prerequisite for a subsequent termination based on similar misconduct.

Employees can defend themselves against an unjustified warning: they are entitled to have it removed from their personnel file when it states incorrect facts, fails to describe the conduct precisely, or is disproportionate. A thorough legal review is worthwhile because an unchallenged warning often becomes the accelerant for a later dismissal.