Termination of the Employment Contract: Protection Against Dismissal and the Three-Week Deadline
Not every dismissal is valid. If the Protection Against Dismissal Act applies, the employer needs a recognised ground – and you have only three weeks to challenge it.
When does the Protection Against Dismissal Act apply?
The Protection Against Dismissal Act (KSchG) protects you if your employment relationship has lasted longer than six months and the business as a rule employs more than ten employees. In that case, an ordinary dismissal is only valid if it is socially justified (§ 1 KSchG).
The three grounds for dismissal
A socially justified dismissal must be person-related, conduct-related or operational. A conduct-related dismissal usually requires a prior warning; an operational dismissal requires a proper social selection. If none of these grounds is present, the dismissal is invalid.
Notice periods (§ 622 BGB)
The statutory notice periods of § 622 BGB apply: a basic period of four weeks to the 15th or to the end of the month; for the employer, the periods are extended with the length of employment. You can determine the exact period using our notice-period calculator.
The three-week deadline for the action for protection against dismissal
If you want to challenge the dismissal, you must file an action for protection against dismissal with the labour court within three weeks of receiving the dismissal (§ 4 KSchG). If you miss this deadline, the dismissal is deemed valid from the outset – regardless of whether it was justified.
How to proceed
Check the form (written form with a handwritten signature), the notice period and the ground. Do not sign any termination or settlement agreement under pressure. Above all, observe the three-week deadline – it is the most important one.
Relevant law
Frequently asked questions
If the Protection Against Dismissal Act applies, yes: the dismissal must be person-related, conduct-related or operational and thus socially justified (§ 1 KSchG).
When the employment relationship has lasted longer than six months and the business as a rule employs more than ten employees.
Three weeks from receipt of the dismissal. Within this deadline you must file an action for protection against dismissal (§ 4 KSchG), otherwise the dismissal is deemed valid.
Yes. A dismissal of the employment relationship requires written form; a dismissal declared orally or by email is invalid.
Not automatically. A severance payment usually only arises from a settlement in the action for protection against dismissal or from a voluntary arrangement.
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General legal information based on your contract — not individual legal advice.