Notice Period in Germany, Probation and Working Hours

The standard notice period in Germany is four weeks to the 15th or the end of a calendar month (§ 622 BGB). During an agreed probation period of up to six months, either side can end the job with two weeks' notice. Notice must be on paper with a handwritten signature: email does not count. After six months in a business with more than ten employees, the Protection Against Dismissal Act requires your employer to justify a dismissal. You may work eight hours a day, ten if the average stays at eight, and you get at least 20 days of holiday on a five-day week.

This guide covers German labour law from an employee's side: what to check before you sign, during probation, while you work and when you leave. The rules come from the statutes on gesetze-im-internet.de, the Federal Justice Ministry's official law portal, checked in October 2026. Labour law is a full session in the course I teach to adults starting over in Germany, many of them from Ukraine. Since 2022 I have coached more than 2,000 of them, and I have written about what those groups taught me in employability coaching lessons. For a dispute about your own contract, talk to a lawyer, your works council or a trade union.

Notice period in Germany: the table

§ 622 BGB (opens in a new tab) sets the minimum notice periods. They differ for you and for your employer.

Three rules change these numbers:

• Your contract can set longer periods. Many do, often for both sides. The law caps one thing: your notice period can never be longer than your employer's (§ 622(6)).
• Collective agreements (Tarifverträge) can set different periods. If your job falls under one, its rules apply.
• Shorter periods are rare. A contract can only go below four weeks for temporary help of up to three months, or in a small business with no more than 20 employees, and even there not below four weeks.

How to count the notice period

The day your employer receives the letter does not count (§ 187 BGB (opens in a new tab)). A period in weeks ends on the same weekday as the day of receipt, four weeks later (§ 188 BGB (opens in a new tab)). Then the job ends on the next 15th or month end. Example: you want to leave on 30 November 2026 with four weeks' notice. Your letter must arrive by Monday 2 November at the latest. If it arrives on 3 November, the earliest end date moves to 15 December.

Notice must be in writing

A notice of termination, and a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag), needs written form (§ 623 BGB (opens in a new tab)): paper, signed by hand. The law excludes the electronic form, so an email, a scanned PDF or a chat message does not end the contract. Hand the letter to HR and ask for a signed receipt, or use a delivery method that proves when it arrived.

Notice without a notice period

Either side can end the contract without notice for a serious reason that makes continuing until the end of the notice period unreasonable (§ 626 BGB (opens in a new tab)). The party giving that notice must act within two weeks of learning the facts.

Probation (Probezeit)

Probation is not automatic. § 622(3) BGB (opens in a new tab) speaks of an "agreed" probation period, so your contract has to set it. The law allows a maximum of six months, with two weeks' notice for both sides. In a fixed-term job, probation must stand in proportion to the expected length of the contract and the type of work (§ 15(3) TzBfG (opens in a new tab)).

Probation and dismissal protection run on similar clocks but are separate rules. The Protection Against Dismissal Act starts after six months of employment whether or not you had probation.

Protection against dismissal (KSchG)

Two conditions bring you under the Protection Against Dismissal Act (opens in a new tab):

1. You have worked in the same business for more than six months without a break.
2. The business regularly employs more than ten people, not counting apprentices. Part-timers count as 0.5 (up to 20 hours a week) or 0.75 (up to 30 hours) (§ 23 KSchG (opens in a new tab)).

Then your employer needs a reason that makes the dismissal socially justified: something in your person, your conduct, or urgent business needs. Without one, the dismissal is ineffective.

The deadline matters more than anything else in this section. If you want to challenge a dismissal, you must file a claim at the labour court within three weeks of receiving the written notice (§ 4 KSchG (opens in a new tab)). Miss it, and the law treats the dismissal as effective from the start (§ 7 KSchG (opens in a new tab)). Get advice in the first week.

Your contract: what must be in writing

Under the Act on Evidence of Essential Terms (opens in a new tab) (NachwG), your employer must give you the essential terms of the job in writing and signed, or in text form if you confirm receipt. The deadlines:

If you start without these papers, ask for them. They are your proof of what you agreed.

Fixed-term contracts

A fixed-term contract without an objective reason may run for up to two years, with up to three extensions inside those two years (§ 14 TzBfG (opens in a new tab)). That route is closed if you worked for the same employer before. The time limit needs written form to be valid. A fixed-term job can be ended early with notice only if your contract or a collective agreement allows it (§ 15(4) TzBfG (opens in a new tab)).

Working hours, breaks and rest

The Working Hours Act (opens in a new tab) (ArbZG) sets the limits:

Breaks do not count as working time. The Working Hours Act sets limits and leaves overtime pay to your contract or collective agreement. The NachwG requires your written terms to state how overtime is paid.

Holiday

The Federal Holiday Act (opens in a new tab) (BUrlG) gives you at least 24 working days a year, counted on a six-day week. On a five-day week, that is 20 days. Many contracts and collective agreements give more.

• Full entitlement after six months. Before that, or if you leave in the first half of a year, you earn one twelfth for each full month.
• Use it in the calendar year. You can carry it over only for urgent business or personal reasons, and then you must take it by 31 March.
• Unused leave is paid out when the job ends, if you could not take it before.
• Sick on holiday? Days with a doctor's certificate do not count as leave. See sick leave in Germany.

Minimum wage

The statutory minimum wage is EUR 13.90 gross per hour from 1 January 2026 and EUR 14.60 from 1 January 2027 (MiLoV5 (opens in a new tab)). Sector minimum wages can be higher.

Leaving a job: four steps

1. Check your notice period in your contract, then in any collective agreement, then in § 622 BGB.
2. Register as a job seeker with the Agentur für Arbeit at least three months before the job ends, or within three days if you learn about the end later (§ 38 SGB III (opens in a new tab)). Late registration can block your benefit for one week.
3. Think twice before you quit without a new job. If you end the job yourself without an important reason, the agency can suspend your unemployment benefit for up to 12 weeks (§ 159 SGB III (opens in a new tab)). A termination agreement can trigger the same block.
4. Ask for your reference (Arbeitszeugnis). You have a right to a written reference when you leave (§ 109 GewO (opens in a new tab)). Ask for a qualified one, which rates performance and conduct. The law requires clear wording with no hidden coded meaning. German employers expect references with an application.

What may change

On 2 July 2026, the governing coalition agreed on changes that affect employees. As of October 2026 they are plans, not law:

• Employees hired by 31 December 2030 could get fixed-term contracts without an objective reason for up to 48 months, with up to six extensions, and a second fixed-term start with the same employer.
• The written-form rule for fixed-term contracts is to go on 1 January 2027.
• A sick note from the first day of illness would become mandatory.

Check the current text on gesetze-im-internet.de before you rely on any of these.

Starting work in Germany means learning these rules on top of a new language and a new team. If that adds up, read about culture shock in Germany, and before you sign your next contract, see how my career coaching sessions can help with the move. You can also book a call.