Hi,

I am an employee at an IT company. I have an unlimited contract and I have been in this company since Feb 2013. The company has not been doing so well in the last two quarters. Hence, they are doing some cutbacks and letting some people go. My manager in a team-meeting a month ago had told all of us that the lay-offs will be for those divisions which do not have projects. Since, we are a very busy team with loads of work we do not need to worry.

Yesterday, I was called by my manager quietly and conveyed that I will be one of the employees they will lay-off. I tried the above point which he said a few weeks back, but he said this was final and I will be contacted by the HR.

Just to give a brief introduction for myself, I have been a very high performing employee for my company. I have worked hard  for them and received a promotion and a salary raise in less than one year of my joining. Last year, there was a team reschuffling and I was put into another team. I also tried to argue that I am a good employee and how can I be one the first people to be laid off. So far, I do not see rumors of any other person in my division to be laid off.

I am an immigrant and do not very well understand the work protection laws of Germany. I am overwhelmed by this news. Can somebody give me advices as to what should I do to protect my job? Please advice me for a good lawyer in the vicinity of Cologne.

There are several termination types in Germany:
- Kündigung (company terminates your contract)
- Aufhebungsvertrag (you and your employer agree to terminate the contract).

You can object to first one by Kündigungsschutzklage, File a law suit at a labour court. There your employer has more pain to prove. To file this , your company should have Betriebsrat (Work Council), your probation must be over and in your company there shall be at least 10 employees.

Second one won't be effective as long as you don't sign it.

Do you have Rechtsschutzversicherung (labour cost insurance)? Otherwise it might cost a lot of money for you.

I recommend you a lawyer.
try to document everything that can prove you are good.
Go to Work Council of your company asap, if you have one.

Thank you for the information. As I mentioned in my post, I have been working in the company for more than 2 years and have an unlimited contract. The company terminated my contract on the reason of company's financial situation. Do you have a recommendation for a lawyer in Cologne? Unfortunately, I do not have labour cost insurance.

I have not received a formal letter of job termination yet. I have been communicated orally and the formal process will begin in a week or so. Do I have to wait for the formal letter before going to the Arbeitsamt ?

No, I'm in Hamburg. Try to find a lawyer specialized for work rights (Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht).

As I said in my prev post, lawyer without insurance might be very expensive. If you get Aufhebungsvertrag then you can get check of this as a service from any lawyer specialized for work rights. This is in the range of about 500 Euro. If you really think to talk to a lawyer, please prepare everything before because each second lawyer spends for you costs money.

Yes wait until you get something in written form. Oral confirmation is not accepted as job termination in Germany. You can go to Arbeitsamt only if you have written form. Don't sign anything in the day you get it. You can directly go to arbeitsamt and asks for support.