Termination during the probationary period: how quickly your job is in jeopardy

Created: 12/01/2022, 7:00 p.m

By: Anne Hund

There is no protection against dismissal in the first six months of the employment relationship.

What must employees expect if the employer is not satisfied?

The probationary period is there so that the new employee and the employer can get to know each other better.

In many cases, the collaboration goes well from the start, so nobody has to worry.

If, on the other hand, one side wishes to terminate the employment relationship, a shortened notice period of two weeks applies during the probationary period.

Termination during the probationary period: Can the employer terminate without reason?

Nobody wants to be fired, not even during the probationary period.

(symbol image) © suedraumfoto/imago

Can the employer terminate an employee during the probationary period without reason?

The answer is yes, as long as the termination is ordinary (and the employer observes the 14-day period of notice mentioned).

"There is no protection against dismissal in the first six months of the employment relationship, so that there is no need for a reason to terminate the contract in good time," the German Press Agency (dpa) quoted the specialist lawyer for labor law, Nathalie Oberthür, in a report on the subject.

The same applies vice versa for the employer.

He also does not have to give a reason for his termination during the probationary period.

Termination of the employment contract: the most important facts that everyone should know

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High hurdles for an extraordinary termination without notice during the probationary period

However, even during the probationary period, termination without notice is only possible with an important reason, as the portal

informs.

The hurdles for the employer are correspondingly high, sometimes the only way is through a prior warning.

In the dpa report, the employment lawyer explains it like this: "For an extraordinary termination without notice, there must always be an important reason for the termination, which makes it unreasonable for the employer to continue the employment relationship, even for the duration of the notice period."

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Termination during the probationary period: do I receive unemployment benefits now?

As with permanent employment, whether you receive unemployment benefit I directly after the termination during the probationary period depends on whether you gave notice yourself or whether you were given notice.