Your Specialist Lawyer for Employment Law in Brandenburg an der Havel

A dismissal protection claim must be filed with the labour court within three weeks of receipt of the dismissal (section 4 KSchG). If this deadline is missed, the dismissal is deemed valid by law – regardless of whether it was substantively justified or contained formal errors.

In practice: before you "accept" a dismissal or negotiate a settlement agreement with the employer, the deadline must be noted and the claim prepared if necessary. A claim that preserves the deadline does not destroy a settlement – it opens realistic negotiating room.

What counts is the day the dismissal enters your sphere of control (letterbox, handover), not the date of creation. Document receipt with photo, note and witnesses if possible.

There is generally no statutory entitlement to severance in dismissal protection proceedings. Severance is the economic result of risk assessment: the higher the procedural risk for the employer, the higher the severance. The amount is negotiable, not automatic.

The often-cited rule of thumb "half a month's gross per year of service" is only a starting point. Those who document formal defects, invoke protective rights or have strong evidence regularly achieve significantly more.

Tax and social security aspects matter too: how severance is structured affects fifth-rule treatment, wage tax and unemployment benefit. Good negotiation considers net outcome, not headline gross.

Settlement agreements create planning certainty – with risks. The best-known pitfall is the waiting period for unemployment benefit under section 159 SGB III. Even if a waiting period does not automatically apply, wording is decisive.

Before any signature, key terms should be reviewed: end date, release with or without offsetting leave, bonuses, non-competes, occupational pension, reference – and especially severance relative to a realistic claim outcome.

There is no statutory right of withdrawal. Later challenge for duress or fraud succeeds only in rare cases. Requesting time to consider is standard.

A warning is the prelude to a possible conduct-related dismissal. Accepting an unjustified or defective warning without comment noticeably weakens your position. A written counter-statement belongs in the file – and requesting removal is often worthwhile.

Check substance: a warning must name a specific breach, classify it as a contractual violation and threaten employment law consequences for repetition. Blanket accusations are usually inadmissible.

The right of direction under section 106 GewO is not unlimited: it must be reasonable. Major changes to role, location or hierarchy deserve critical review.

Standard clauses are subject to general terms control under sections 305 ff. BGB. Clauses on overtime, penalties, repayment of training or post-contractual non-competes often fail and are void.

Especially in management roles careful review pays off – bonus rules, waiting compensation, group clauses, compliance and confidentiality can decide six- or seven-figure amounts in earnest.

Changing employer also requires care: post-contractual non-competes and client or customer protection from the old contract must be aligned with the new one.

First secure receipt of the dismissal: keep envelope, photo, written note with time. Note the three-week deadline in your calendar with a buffer day. Register as jobseeker with the employment agency immediately to avoid waiting periods.

Avoid spontaneous reactions: do not give written or oral confirmations that may later be read as admission. Do not sign settlement or severance declarations "under pressure in HR".

Collect documents that matter for negotiation: contract with amendments, job description, bonus agreements, last twelve payslips, all correspondence on the dismissal. The clearer the file, the stronger the position.