Received a Dismissal? What to Do: Checklist

First orientation after the dismissal

A dismissal catches most people off guard. The first instinct is often anger, fear, or the urge to sort things out immediately. It’s in exactly this phase that the most costly mistakes happen: hasty signatures, missed deadlines, careless statements to your employer.

The good news: you don’t have to deal with everything at once. There’s a clear order you can follow. This checklist guides you through the days and weeks after the dismissal in 10 steps: from the first minutes with the dismissal letter in your hand to the question of whether and how to negotiate severance pay. Each step is designed so you can act on it right away.

Two deadlines should be on your radar from the very start: the 3-week deadline for the unfair dismissal claim and the notification deadline with the employment agency. Both start early and neither can simply be made up later. Everything else follows step by step.

Step 1: stay calm and sign nothing

The most important step comes first, and it’s about what you should not do: don’t sign anything on the day of the dismissal, apart from a plain acknowledgement of receipt at most.

During the dismissal meeting, employers sometimes present further documents: a termination agreement, a so-called settlement receipt, or a declaration that all claims are settled. Such papers can have far-reaching consequences. A settlement receipt can mean waiving outstanding claims, for example to remaining holiday, overtime, or even your right to challenge the dismissal. A termination agreement can additionally trigger a benefit suspension period for unemployment benefit.

So the rule is: accept the dismissal, stay calm and polite, but don’t let yourself be pushed into signing anything. One sentence is enough: "I’d like to review this calmly." No reputable employer can hold that against you. Anyone applying pressure ("this offer only stands today") is giving you a reason for extra caution.

Also avoid emotional reactions: no angry emails, no accusations among colleagues, no posts on social media. All of this can harm you later in negotiations or in court.

Step 2: document the delivery date

All deadlines start running from the delivery of the dismissal: the deadline to file a claim, the notice period, and the notification deadlines with the employment agency. That’s why you should record the delivery as precisely as possible.

• Handed over in person: note the date, time, and who was present.
• Dropped in your letterbox: take a photo of the envelope and the letterbox with the date. The dismissal is generally considered delivered as soon as the letterbox could reasonably be expected to be emptied.
• Postal delivery: keep the envelope with the postmark, it can serve as evidence later.

Important: what matters isn’t when you actually read the letter, but when it reached your sphere of control. Even a dismissal that lands in your letterbox while you’re on holiday is generally considered delivered to you. Keep the original dismissal letter and envelope, and use copies for everything else.

Why this matters so much: in a dispute, it often needs to be established exactly when the 3-week deadline started running. A clearly documented delivery date removes the sting from this question from the outset and stops your employer later claiming an earlier delivery.

Step 3: check the dismissal formally

Before looking at the content, it’s worth checking the form. A dismissal of employment requires written form under § 623 BGB. This means:

• The dismissal must be an original document with a handwritten signature.
• A dismissal by email, SMS, WhatsApp, or spoken word is invalid.
• A scanned letter or a copy isn’t sufficient.

Also check who signed it. If it wasn’t your employer themselves or the management who signed, but for example an HR manager or an external representative, the question of authority arises. If no original power of attorney was enclosed and the authority to represent isn’t known, immediately rejecting the dismissal may be an option. This is something you should have reviewed by an employment lawyer promptly, since "immediately" means without culpable delay, usually within a few days.

Even if the dismissal appears formally flawed: don’t assume it’s automatically off the table because of that. The 3-week deadline for the claim still runs for a written dismissal, and assessing formal errors belongs in the hands of a specialist.

Step 4: note the 3-week deadline

Now comes the most important deadline in the entire process: under § 4 KSchG, you must file an unfair dismissal claim with the labour court within 3 weeks of delivery of the written dismissal if you want to challenge it. Under § 13 KSchG, this deadline also applies to extraordinary, meaning summary, dismissals.

This deadline is a strict cut-off: once it expires, the dismissal generally becomes effective from the start, even if it could originally have been challenged. A late admission of the claim is only possible in rare exceptional cases. Note that a letter of objection to your employer doesn’t replace filing a claim.

So enter the deadline in your calendar right away, with a reminder a few days beforehand. What counts is when the claim reaches the court, not the day you send it. To see exactly how your personal deadline is calculated, use our deadline calculator for unfair dismissal claims. What happens in a claim procedure, and why many cases end with a settlement including severance pay, is explained in our article on the unfair dismissal claim.

Even if you don’t want to file a claim but "only" negotiate severance pay: the running deadline is your most important negotiating tool. As long as it’s still open, your employer must reckon with a claim. Afterwards, no longer.

Step 5: register as a jobseeker

Regardless of whether you challenge the dismissal, you must register as a jobseeker with the employment agency. Under § 38 SGB III:

• At the latest 3 months before your employment ends.
• If less than 3 months lie between finding out the end date and the end date itself: within 3 days of finding out about the dismissal.

You can register in person, by phone, or online. A late registration can trigger a one-week benefit suspension period under § 159 SGB III. That may sound minor, but it’s avoidable money you shouldn’t give away in an already uncertain phase.

Distinct from registering as a jobseeker is the later unemployment registration, which you must complete at the latest on the first day of unemployment for unemployment benefit to be paid. You can complete both registrations as a precaution while you’re simultaneously challenging the dismissal; this causes you no disadvantage. Read more about suspension periods and how to avoid them under benefit suspension period.

Step 6: assess your severance pay chances

Many people who’ve been dismissed believe they’re automatically owed severance pay. That’s not correct: German employment law has no general statutory right to severance pay. Severance pay (Abfindung) usually results from negotiation, often through a settlement before the labour court, because the employer wants to avoid the risk and uncertainty of a lengthy case.

An important exception is § 1a KSchG: for an operational dismissal, your employer can offer severance pay of 0.5 gross monthly salaries per year of employment in the dismissal letter, provided you don’t file a claim in return. Periods of more than 6 months are rounded up to a full year. So check your dismissal letter carefully for such a note.

Even outside § 1a KSchG, the formula of 0.5 gross monthly salaries per year of employment has become an established guideline. An example calculation: Tom has worked at the company for 8 years and earns €3,800 gross per month. As a guide: 0.5 x 8 x €3,800 = €15,200. Depending on your negotiating position, your employer’s litigation risk, and any errors in the dismissal, the actual result can be significantly higher or lower in individual cases.

Calculate your possible severance pay now: our severance pay calculator gives you an initial estimate for your case within minutes.

For more in-depth information, see our articles Severance pay on dismissal and How much severance pay can you expect?.

Step 7: keep working and behave correctly

A dismissal doesn’t end your employment immediately, only once the notice period expires (summary dismissals are a special case). Until then, your obligations continue: in principle, you must keep coming to work and carry out your duties properly.

Exception: your employer explicitly releases you from your duty to work. Such a release from duties should be in writing and clearly state whether it counts against your remaining holiday. Without such a release: no unauthorised absence. Anyone who simply stays home after receiving a dismissal risks a warning notice, the loss of salary claims, and, in the worst case, a further summary dismissal, which also weakens your negotiating position for severance pay.

Behave professionally during the remaining time: be punctual, reliable, and avoid provocations. Report sick properly if you are sick. Everything you do now can later become part of the record, for better or worse.

Step 8: gather your documents

For any legal review, any negotiation, and any claim, you’ll need documents. Put them together early, while you still have access to everything:

• Employment contract including amendments and supplementary agreements (basics in our article on the employment contract)
• Dismissal letter and envelope in original
• Warning notices, if any, along with your written responses (more on this under warning notice)
• Payslips from the last 12 months
• Social data: start date, age, marital status, maintenance obligations, any severe disability
• Interim references, target agreements, bonus rules, email correspondence around the dismissal

Social data matters especially for an operational dismissal, since your employer must carry out a social selection there: they must, in principle, dismiss the employee among comparable staff for whom the dismissal would be least socially harsh. Errors in this selection are among the most common grounds for challenging a dismissal.

Step 9: secure remaining holiday, overtime, and your reference

Beyond the big question of "challenge the dismissal or negotiate severance pay?", there are concrete individual claims you shouldn’t lose sight of:

• Remaining holiday: unused holiday must be granted before your employment ends. If that’s no longer possible, it must be paid out. How this works is explained in our article on holiday pay in lieu.
• Overtime: documented, ordered, or tolerated overtime may need to be compensated. Secure your evidence (time tracking, rotas, emails) while you still have access.
• Reference letter: request a qualified reference, meaning one that assesses not just the type and length of your role but also your performance and conduct. It must be worded favourably while remaining truthful.

These points are also negotiating chips: in settlements before the labour court, severance pay, reference grade, release from duties, and remaining holiday are often settled together as a package. Knowing your claims and being able to prove them means you negotiate from a stronger position.

Also watch out for deadlines in your employment contract or collective agreement: these often contain so-called exclusion periods, requiring claims such as overtime pay to be asserted in writing within a few months. If you wait too long, you may lose these claims entirely. A short, written letter asserting your claim protects you here.

Step 10: organise legal support

At the latest by now, you should clarify who’s supporting you and how it’s being financed. In employment law, a special rule applies at first instance: each party bears its own legal costs, regardless of the outcome. So it’s worth looking at financing options:

• Legal expenses insurance: check whether you have a policy with an employment law module and whether the waiting period has passed. Get confirmation of cover early.
• Without legal expenses insurance: litigation funding may be an option. At Team Abfindung, we work with lawyers specialising in employment law and cover the financing of your case. We carry the risk: purely success-based, with no upfront cost.

Timing is especially important here. Because of the 3-week deadline, you shouldn’t delay having your case reviewed. The earlier a professional looks at your dismissal, deadlines, and documents, the more options remain open to you.

Start now with an initial assessment: the severance pay calculator shows you, with no obligation, what order of magnitude might be realistic in your case.

Which type of dismissal did you receive?

The right strategy depends heavily on which type of dismissal you received. Each variant has its own requirements and its own points of attack:

• Ordinary dismissal: dismissal with the notice period observed, the most common case.
• Summary dismissal: ends the employment immediately and requires a serious reason; it’s often open to challenge.
• Operational dismissal: here, social selection and § 1a KSchG play a special role for your severance pay chances.
• Illness-related dismissal: tied to strict requirements, including a negative health prognosis.

In certain life situations, you also enjoy special protection that makes a dismissal considerably harder or dependent on approval from an authority:

• Dismissal during pregnancy
• Dismissal during parental leave
• Special protection against dismissal, for example for severely disabled people or works council members

If you’re unsure which type of dismissal you’ve received: the dismissal letter doesn’t always have to state the reason. That makes an early review by an employment lawyer even more important, since the 3-week deadline runs the same in every case.

How can we help you?

Team Abfindung reviews your case together with lawyers specialising in employment law and covers the financing of the proceedings. We carry the risk: purely success-based, with no upfront cost. This lets you fight the dismissal and negotiate your severance pay without paying anything in advance.

The first step only takes a few minutes: use the severance pay calculator for a no-obligation estimate of your possible severance pay.