Hi,
In my job contract, it is Kündigungsfrist is mentioned as "As per the law". What does it mean ?
Is there a common rule in Germany for Kündigungsfrist even for private companies ?

The standard is 3 months.

3 months is not necessarily the standard. If it says, as per law then the following link may be helpful..

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCndigungsfristen_im_Arbeitsrecht

Overview: Notice periods in labour law

Section 622 BGB addresses the question of notice periods (kündigungsfristen)in labour contracts.

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__622.html

The law distinguishes between employers and employees.

As a rule the employee can terminate the contract with a period of 4 weeks with respect to ending the contract to the 15th of a calendar month or to its end. The specific contract or collective bargaining agreements, where applicable, can hold otherwise (see below).

The employer, on the other hand, could face a longer notice period which he has to observe. The length depends on how many years the employee was working for the employer. The details are listed in Paragraph 2 of Section 622 BGB.

The law stipulates in the last Paragraph 2 of Section 622 BGB that the time an employee worked for the employer does only count after he has turned 25 years of age. Time worked for an employer before that age is disregarded. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has lately decided that this is an unwarranted discrimination of younger employees and therefore ruled that this restriction infringes EU law and is invalid (Case C-555/07, ECJ 19 January 2010). Hence, also years of employment count before the age of 25.

Note, that there is a difference between „4 weeks“ and „1 month“. 4 weeks are usually shorter than 1 month, i.e. 28 days. This has consequences with regard to the termination. In case of 4 weeks the employee can terminate at the beginning of a month with a view to ending the contract at the end of the same month. If the notice period is 1 month, however, he has to terminate in the preceding month to achieve the same result.

Example 1:

Notice period 4 weeks with respect to the end of the month, month having 31 days:

The notice has to be served no later than:

03rd of the month for the contract to end at the end of this month.

Example 2:

Notice period 4 weeks with respect to the 15th of the month, the preceding month has 31 days:

The notice has to be served no later than:

18th of the preceding month for the contract to end at the 15th of the following month.


Collective bargaining agreements can stipulate a longer or shorter notice period. Also one has to check one’s labour contract. The extended notice periods that employers have to observe can usually not be shortened to the detriment of the employee, unless the contract refers to a collective bargaining agreement which states otherwise. It is however not allowed to burden the employee with a period longer than the employer himself has to observe.

Notice periods shorter than 4 weeks can be individually agreed upon, if:

1. the employee is doing a temporary job for no longer than three months, or,

2. the employer has no more than 20 employees (trainees do not count while employees working half time are counted as follows:
up to 20 hours per week: 0,5
up to 30 hours per week: 0,75)

3. finally, within an agreed probation period of no longer than six months, the contract can be terminated with a two weeks notice.

With regard to severely disabled employees, home workers and insolvency proceedings special rules apply.



contact(at)kanzlei-jain.de