German employment notice period calculator
This German employment notice period calculator works whichever side gives notice: it shows the end of employment and, after a dismissal by the employer, the last day to bring a claim.
Independent site, not a law firm: a standard template, like a book of legal forms, not legal advice.
Example: employer gives notice after about five and a half years — change any figure to see your own result
Employment ends on
31 January 2027
2 months to month end after 5 years (s. 622(2) BGB)
To challenge the dismissal you must sue within three weeks of receipt (s. 4 KSchG): by 5 December 2026.
| Rule | 2 months to month end after 5 years (s. 622(2) BGB) |
| Length of service | 5 full years |
| End under the statute alone | 31 January 2027 |
| Last day to sue | 5 December 2026 |
A standard template, like a book of legal forms: no review of your individual case and no legal advice. What you type stays in your browser.
The notice period in German employment law depends on who gives notice. For the employee, unless something else was agreed, the basic period always applies: four weeks to the 15th or the end of the month. The employer has to wait longer the longer the employment has lasted, under section 622(2) BGB: from two years one month to the end of a month, from five years two, from eight three, from ten four, from twelve five, from fifteen six and from twenty years seven months. If the employer gives notice on 10 February 2027 after just over eight years, employment ends on 31 May 2027. To fight a dismissal you must sue at the labour court within three weeks of receipt (section 4 KSchG), here by 3 March 2027. The old rule that years before age 25 do not count has not been applied since a 2010 ruling of the European Court of Justice; the calculator counts every year.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The employer’s scale in the German employment notice period calculator
The table applies section 622 BGB to a dismissal received on 10 February 2027. Full years of employment up to receipt are counted.
| Employed since | Length | Period | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 June 2025 | under 2 years | 4 weeks to 15th or month end | 15 March 2027 |
| 1 June 2024 | 2 years | 1 month to month end | 31 March 2027 |
| 1 June 2021 | 5 years | 2 months to month end | 30 April 2027 |
| 1 June 2018 | 8 years | 3 months to month end | 31 May 2027 |
| 1 June 2016 | 10 years | 4 months to month end | 30 June 2027 |
| 1 June 2014 | 12 years | 5 months to month end | 31 July 2027 |
| 1 June 2011 | 15 years | 6 months to month end | 31 August 2027 |
| 1 June 2006 | 20 years | 7 months to month end | 30 September 2027 |
Probation, contract and collective agreement
During an agreed probation of up to six months, two weeks’ notice to any day applies to both sides. An employment or collective agreement may set longer periods; a contract may set shorter ones only in narrow cases, such as temporary help for up to three months. The calculator takes the longer of the statutory and the contractual period. For your own letter use the resignation letter template; if both sides agree on an end date, the termination agreement helps.