Foreigner working in Germany, company wants to terminate me before the notice period ends. How should I handle this?

Question

I have been working in a German start-up company for one year and three months. I come from Asia. My employer has given me a notice of termination at the end of Oct 2020. The notice period was 3 months and thus my date of termination is 31.12.2020.

I accepted the termination on the day itself as I was not very happy as well the reasons they provided to me. Still, I thought of acting professionally and provide them the assigned task within the last 3 months so that I do not burn the bridges before I leave the company.

However, the employer took full advantage of it and provided me a lot of work to finish and suggested me to finish it by end of this month. The employer also said that other work for the next month (Dec 2020) thus, I should finish this work by this month that is Nov 2020. I did all the work and made a presentation to them as per the requirement. After getting all the work before the stipulated time, my employer said what I have done is not really 'useful' and they want to terminate the contract now that is Nov 2020, instead of next month. I was already in a notice period and then also they want to terminate my contract beforehand. 

• Can anybody suggest if I do not accept this early termination before the notice period then what should I do? Whom should I approach for help?

If I accept this early termination before 31.12.2020 then I would miss my unemployment benefit for a few months as well. I requested my Employer stating this problem and he said that I should return to my country instead of taking this benefit from Germany. I was shocked to listen to his statements! He does not have the right to decide upon that.

Please guide me on what I can do if I do not accept this early termination without proper reason. I wonder how they can give me an early termination with improper reason at the end of two months whereas they have given me a notice period of 3 months.

Answer 1

Can anybody suggest if I do not accept this early termination before the notice period then what should I do? Whom should I approach for help?

I suspect that you should consult a Lawyer that is familiar with work laws in Germany, they will be able to actually provide you with legal advise. Best wishes for you in that endeavor.

Also, check your contract to see what is specified about early dismissals or letting you go before the notice period. If the contract specifies a fixed notice period they should stick to it and respect its full length, unless otherwise specified.

Don't hastily accept any early dismissal they are offering. Consult first.

Check it out, and also provide a copy of it to the lawyer you consult to see where you are standing and what options you have and what legal obligations your company has.

In the meantime, I strongly suggest you start job hunting ASAP. Update your Resume and start applying now. This way you will minimize the time you spend between jobs, and so you minimize the impact to your life and economy.

Answer 2

• Talk to the workers Council (Betriebsrat) in your company
• Talk to a lawyer specialized in working law and describe them everything, including the remarks

It's pretty hard in Germany to fire people before the notice period, if you do your job even if perceived badly. If they want to have you gone earlier they should give you something for it. If you are interested to continue working in Germany the thing you could negotiate about is the "Arbeitszeugnis", but that is something which you need to discuss with a lawyer how to ensure it.

Answer 3

As others said, lawyer up. Your employer is obviously trying to bully you out of the company early and profit from you not knowing your rights.

Please don't let yourself be pushed around, Germany has very good employee protection. Unless you work in an EXTREMELY small industry where literally everyone knows each other, you don't have a lot to lose here.

If you were German and/or your employer had the feeling that you know your rights, they would approach the situation way more respectfully, knowing that you could easily call in sick until the end of your contract and they would not be allowed to bad-mouth you in your Arbeitszeugnis for it. Not at all saying you should do that, but please get in touch with someone who knows and protects your rights.

Answer 4

You may consider joining "your" labor union (they are organized by profession/field).
(Talking to your Betriebsrat would have been good advise, too, had there been one)

Labor unions give legal advise about labor law (actually you could ask whether you can use that service even without being member) and they can also recommend lawyers that have experience with cases such as yours.
(Reading & explaining the proposed Arbeitszeugnis is also full in their line. Since the Arbeitszeugnis is a) important and b) subject to negotiation [even if your employer suggests that it is something they simply hand out to you] this question will come up next.)

In any case, my guesstimate is that it is much cheaper to get the "crash course" in German labor law you need right now by the labor union legal service rather than by paying a lawyer for this service. The lawyer may come in after that.