The new job is in the bag, but the notice for the old job is still pending.
Do employees have to give a reason why they are quitting?
The boss is only complaining, the workload is enormous: Employees usually do not have to look long for reasons to change jobs.
But do employees also have to state the reason for the termination in the letter of termination?
Reason for termination only necessary for extraordinary terminations
Contrary to popular belief, employees
do not have to give a reason for termination
in the event of
ordinary termination
. Employment lawyers even explicitly advise against giving such a reason in the letter of termination, so as not to offer any open ground in the event of a legal dispute.
The situation is different with an
extraordinary or immediate termination
: Here, employees are very much obliged to state a reason for termination in order to be able to terminate the employment relationship immediately.
However, employees need
serious reasons
for dismissing the contract without notice
, such as non-payment of wages, assault by the boss or violations of occupational health and safety.
You can find out here which reasons for termination justify termination without notice by the employee and whether you have to send a warning beforehand.
This is how a termination by the employee works
In order for the termination to take effect and for you to be able to leave the company at the desired time, you must observe two points according to labor law:
A termination must always be in
writing
(Section 623 BGB).
An
email or a fax is not enough
.
The letter of termination must always be
personally signed
(not scanned).
You must also observe the notice period that results from the employment contract, from an applicable collective agreement or from the law.
According to Section 622 of the German Civil Code (BGB), employees can terminate the contract with a statutory notice period of
four weeks on the 15th of the month or the end of the month
.
This applies to all employees who have been employed for more than six months.
You can find out more about the period of notice here.
+
In the case of ordinary termination, employees do not have to provide a reason for termination.
© Andrea Warnecke / dpa
These points must not be missing in any notice
In order to avoid confusion and to avoid
misunderstandings
, the following points should always be mentioned in the notice of termination:
Full address of the employee and employer
Personnel number, if applicable
Current date to prove compliance with the notice period in case of doubt
The subject should contain the word "termination" to be legally binding
Notice period ("I hereby give notice of termination on [date].")
handwritten signature (not scanned)
(as)
More on the topic:
Writing notice of termination: How do I terminate the employment contract?
Termination of Employment Contract: The Most Important Facts Everyone Should Know
Termination of Employment Contract: The Most Important Facts Everyone Should Know
List of rubric lists: © Andrea Warnecke / dpa