Working in Germany - Ending Employment

Permanent employment relationships end where they are dissolved by at least one contracting partner, but not later than the attainment of pensionable age.

Normally a permanent employment relationship begins with a six-month probation period. During this 'test phase' a reduced period of notice of 14 days applies. Termination of an employment relationship must be carried out in writing. The statutory periods of notice are laid down in the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB)(Civil Code). The longer you have been with a business, the longer the periods of notice that have to be accepted by both contracting parties. Where an employment relationship has already been in existence for 20 years, the period of notice, which is one month in the case of short periods of employment, is extended to seven months. Fixed-term employment relationships with a written employment contract terminate automatically when the relevant period expires. In those cases the employer is not required to give notice of termination. When your employment ends, you are entitled to a reference.

A person's working life normally ends when he or she reaches the age of 65. Anyone who has reached the age of 65, and can prove that they completed a minimum insurance period of five years, is entitled to an ordinary old-age pension. Anyone who has reached the age of 63, and can prove that they have completed an insurance period of 35 years, receives an old-age pension for long-term insured persons. Earlier retirement is possible only with reductions.

The entitlement to a statutory pension and the personal amount of pension are determined by the nature and duration of the relevant periods for the purposes of pensions law. They are the periods which you have completed in the time between your vocational training and the commencement of your pension. They pay for the pension, complete the minimum insurance period (qualifying period), which varies from individual to individual, and thus affect the amount of pension. The periods laid down by pensions law are divided into contributory periods, non-contributory periods and periods to be taken into consideration. The contributory periods include compulsory contributions and voluntary contributions. Non-contributory periods are periods during which you are unable to pay contributions on account of extraordinary circumstances. Periods to be taken into consideration are periods devoted to the upbringing of a child before it reaches the age of 10. Different account is taken of the various periods laid down by pensions law when they are assessed in relation to a pension and the completion of the qualifying period.

Text last edited on: 11/2006

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2007
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