💼 Wegweiser Employees

Rights, duties and points of contact for employees in Germany – from termination notice to pay, leave and the works council. General information, not legal advice in individual cases.

Note on the legal position: These pages reflect the law as of September 2026. A few changes to the law announced politically in summer 2026 (e.g. on fixed-term contracts, sick notes and working-time recording) had not yet been passed at that point and are expressly marked as such on the pages concerned. For details and sources, see Sources and methodology.

Frequently searched

🛑 Protection against dismissal ⚖️ Claim against dismissal 🏖️ Entitlement to leave 💶 Pay, minimum wage and back pay 📝 Warning letters and how you can respond 📉 Short-time work and short-time work benefit

All topic areas

🧭OverviewBasics: what an employment contract regulates, which rights are laid down by law and where those rights end.1 topic 📄Employment contract & fixed termContract contents, the duty to provide written terms and the rules for fixed-term employment.1 topic ⚖️Dismissal & disputesProtection against dismissal, time limits for bringing a claim, warning letters and the employment reference.4 topics 💶Money, time & absenceContinued pay during illness, leave, minimum wage, working time, overtime and short-time work.5 topics 🤝Works council & co-determinationHow the works council is elected and what it has a say in.1 topic 🛡️Protection at workBullying, discrimination, occupational health and safety, and workplace accidents and occupational diseases.2 topics 📍Advice & points of contactWhere you can get independent and mostly low-cost advice.1 topic

🧭 Overview

Basics: what an employment contract regulates, which rights are laid down by law and where those rights end.

🧭Overview: rights and duties in employmentA first overview of the rights and duties that shape employment in Germany – and where to find more on the following pages.

📄 Employment contract & fixed term

Contract contents, the duty to provide written terms and the rules for fixed-term employment.

📄Employment contract and fixed termWhat belongs in an employment contract, when a fixed term is permitted – and when a fixed-term job automatically becomes permanent.

⚖️ Dismissal & disputes

Protection against dismissal, time limits for bringing a claim, warning letters and the employment reference.

🛑Protection against dismissalWhen the Protection Against Dismissal Act applies at all, which notice periods apply and which grounds for dismissal the law distinguishes. ⚖️Claim against dismissalThe three-week deadline is the most important date in all of dismissal protection law. What you need to know about it – and what a claim costs. 📝Warning letters and how you can respondA warning letter (Abmahnung) is not a dismissal, but it can precede one. What it must formally contain – and what options you have to challenge it. 📜Employment referenceYour right to a reference, the difference between a simple and a qualified reference – and what to do if the wording is not right.

💶 Money, time & absence

Continued pay during illness, leave, minimum wage, working time, overtime and short-time work.

🤒Continued pay during illnessSix weeks of full pay if you are unfit for work, then sickness benefit from your health insurer – and what you must report to your employer. 🏖️Entitlement to leaveHow much minimum leave you are entitled to by law, when it lapses – and why the employer must actively warn you of its expiry. 💶Pay, minimum wage and back payThe current level of the statutory minimum wage, why waiver agreements are invalid – and how to claim back underpaid wages. ⏱️Working time and overtimeHow much working time the law allows at most, when rest periods are mandatory – and under what conditions overtime must be paid. 📉Short-time work and short-time work benefitHow short-time work is introduced, how much short-time work benefit replaces – and how it can exceptionally be paid for longer than usual in 2026.

🤝 Works council & co-determination

How the works council is elected and what it has a say in.

🤝Works council and co-determinationFrom when a works council can be elected, what it must have a say in – and how to involve it in a conflict.

🛡️ Protection at work

Bullying, discrimination, occupational health and safety, and workplace accidents and occupational diseases.

🛡️Bullying, discrimination and occupational health and safetyWhat legal protection you have against bullying and discrimination, which deadline under the AGG is particularly short – and who is responsible for occupational health and safety. 🚑Workplace accidents and occupational diseasesWhat counts as a workplace accident, why the Berufsgenossenschaft and not the health insurer is responsible – and what you should do first after an accident.

📍 Advice & points of contact

Where you can get independent and mostly low-cost advice.

📍Advice and points of contactWho gives employees independent advice – often free or for a small fee – and when you should rather go straight to a lawyer.

For reference

📕Keyword indexAll terms from A to Z, with links to the matching topic pages. 📜Sources and methodWhere the information comes from and what is expressly uncertain. 🏠Other target groupsTo the overview of all Wegweiser portals.

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.