Negotiating a termination agreement: getting more severance pay

Everything you can negotiate in a termination agreement

A termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag) is an offer, not a dictate. Because there is no statutory entitlement to severance pay with a termination agreement, the amount is purely a matter of negotiation, and the rule of thumb (0.5 months' salary per year) is only a reference value, not a guaranteed sum. And severance pay is by no means the only point with monetary value:

• Severance amount: the starting point, and the biggest lever.
• Garden leave: paid and irrevocable through to the end of the contract, so you can plan your next step.
• Reference grade: the grade and the exact wording belong in the contract, not left uncertain.
• Remaining holiday & overtime: payment in lieu of outstanding entitlements instead of a silent waiver (holiday pay in lieu).
• Non-compete clause: a post-contractual non-compete clause is only valid with compensation for the restriction, so this can be negotiated or dropped entirely.
• Termination date: often worth more for tax purposes (the one-fifth rule) and for unemployment benefit than a few thousand euros more severance.

Your negotiating leverage

The strongest lever is the possible unfair dismissal claim. As long as you haven't signed the termination agreement, your employer would, in case of doubt, have to dismiss you, and it wants to buy out that dismissal risk with the termination agreement. That is exactly your currency:

• How vulnerable a dismissal would be: the more error-prone an alternative dismissal would be (selection based on social criteria, dismissal protection, works council consultation), the more your waiver is worth.
• Timing: if a voluntary redundancy programme or headcount reduction with deadlines is running, your employer has an interest in a quick, clean solution, which increases your room for manoeuvre.
• Planning certainty: your employer pays for peace of mind and a predictable exit. Use that.

For details on how much is realistically achievable in a termination agreement and how to pitch the severance pay yourself, read Severance pay in a termination agreement.

The benefit suspension period trap (§ 159 SGB III), don't sign without a check

The costliest mistake with a termination agreement is the benefit suspension period (Sperrzeit) on unemployment benefit. Anyone who ends their own employment risks a 12-week suspension period (§ 159 SGB III), plus a reduction in the duration of the entitlement. At around €2,000 unemployment benefit per month, that quickly adds up to about €6,000, which can eat straight back into a poorly structured severance payment.

The suspension period can be avoided if there is a good cause, in particular if a lawful operational dismissal would have taken effect at the same date anyway, the statutory notice period is observed, and the severance pay is between 0.25 and 0.5 months' salary per year (Federal Employment Agency technical guidance). If employment ends before the statutory notice period has run, unemployment benefit can also be suspended for that period (§ 158 SGB III). Both points belong in the contract drafting, not left to chance.

For the details on how the suspension period works and which wording protects your unemployment benefit, read Termination agreement & unemployment benefit and Benefit suspension period on unemployment benefit.

Why you shouldn't sign straight away

A termination agreement is immediately binding once signed: no right of withdrawal, no statutory cooling-off period, and contesting it is only possible in extreme exceptional cases. Artificial time pressure ("this offer expires tonight") is almost always a tactic, a genuine offer survives a few days of scrutiny.

Before you sign, you should have the contract checked: is the severance pay only at rule-of-thumb level when more would be realistic? Is the suspension period cleanly covered? Are there far-reaching waiver or repayment clauses hidden in the small print? The AI check flags these points in seconds.

How our partner law firm negotiates for you

Employers negotiate termination agreements routinely, you usually do it once in a lifetime. That's why our partner law firm negotiates on your behalf: it knows the levers, quantifies your litigation risk against your employer, and secures the benefit suspension period drafting.

Team Abfindung acts as the litigation funder here, not your law firm. We take on the cost risk, legal representation is handled by the partner law firm. For you it stays success-based, with no upfront cost risk.