Filing deadline: three weeks from receipt of the dismissal
The filing deadline is set out in § 4 KSchG. Under sentence 1 of that provision, the claim seeking a declaration that the employment relationship continues must be brought before the labour court within three weeks of receipt of the written dismissal. The claim must have reached the court within that time; the date you sent it does not matter.
The dismissal is received as soon as it enters your sphere of control in such a way that, under ordinary circumstances, you could be expected to take notice of it. Holiday or absence does not postpone receipt.
If the last day of the deadline falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a statutorily recognised public holiday, the next working day takes its place under § 193 BGB.
The employer must prove receipt. Since the judgment of the Federal Labour Court of 7 May 2026, case 2 AZR 184/25, a certificate of posting for registered mail (Einwurf-Einschreiben) generally no longer provides that proof.
Under the scanning process now standard practice, the delivery agent records the item before it is actually put in the letterbox, so the delivery receipt no longer establishes prima facie evidence of actual delivery. The Second Senate had already taken the same line in its judgment of 30 January 2025, case 2 AZR 68/24.
If the deadline is missed, the dismissal is deemed valid from the outset under § 7 KSchG. Late admission under § 5 KSchG is possible if, despite exercising all reasonable care, you were prevented from filing in time, for example by illness.
The application must be filed within two weeks of the obstacle being removed, and at the latest six months after the missed deadline expired. The competent court is Augsburg Labour Court, Frohsinnstraße 2.
Requirements: when the Dismissal Protection Act applies
General dismissal protection requires two things. Your employment must have lasted more than six months in the same business under § 1 para. 1 KSchG. The business must, as a rule, employ more than ten employees under § 23 para. 1 sentence 3 KSchG, with part-time staff counted at 0.5 for up to 20 weekly hours and at 0.75 for up to 30 weekly hours.
For employment relationships that began before 1 January 2004, businesses that have continued in existence remain subject to the earlier threshold of more than five employees under § 23 para. 1 sentence 2 KSchG.
Where the Act applies, the employer must show a personal, conduct-related or operational reason under § 1 para. 2 KSchG. For an operational dismissal the employer must additionally carry out a social selection under § 1 para. 3 KSchG, taking into account length of service, age, maintenance obligations and severe disability.
A claim can succeed even in a small business. A dismissal requires written form under § 623 BGB; electronic form is excluded, and § 126 para. 1 BGB requires a handwritten signature. Without a hearing of the works council, a dismissal is invalid under § 102 para. 1 BetrVG.
Special dismissal protection applies to works council members under § 15 KSchG, to pregnant women and mothers under § 17 MuSchG, during parental leave under § 18 BEEG, and to severely disabled people under § 168 SGB IX. A dismissal may also be contrary to good faith under § 242 BGB.
Deadline calculator for the unfair dismissal claim
Enter the date on which the dismissal reached you. The calculator gives the last day on which the claim must reach Augsburg Labour Court, including the shift under § 193 BGB for weekends and Bavarian public holidays.
Deadline calculator
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When did you receive your notice of termination? You only have 3 weeks from the day it reached you. The calculator shows the date by which your claim must arrive at the labour court.
The calculator is for orientation only and does not replace legal advice. If the deadline falls on a weekend or a public holiday, it moves to the next working day.
How the unfair dismissal claim proceeds at Augsburg Labour Court
Proceedings begin under § 54 para. 1 ArbGG with a hearing before the presiding judge for the purpose of reaching an amicable settlement. Dismissal cases must be dealt with as a priority under § 61a para. 1 ArbGG.
Conciliation hearing within two weeks
The conciliation hearing should take place within two weeks of the claim being filed under § 61a para. 2 ArbGG. It takes place before the presiding judge alone. Under § 54 para. 1 ArbGG the judge discusses the entire matter in dispute with both parties and, taking all circumstances into account, works towards an amicable settlement.
A settlement can govern the ending of the employment relationship in exchange for severance pay just as it can the content of the employment reference. It ends the dispute without a judgment.
Chamber hearing after an unsuccessful conciliation hearing
If the conciliation hearing is unsuccessful, the presiding judge requires the defendant, under § 61a para. 3 ArbGG, to respond to the claim in writing within a period of at least two weeks, offering evidence. Under § 61a para. 4 ArbGG the judge may set the claimant an equally long period to comment.
Under § 61a para. 5 ArbGG, means of attack and defence submitted later are only admitted if they do not delay the proceedings or the delay is sufficiently excused.
The chamber then decides. Under § 16 ArbGG it sits with a presiding judge and one lay judge each from the ranks of employees and employers. The employer must set out and prove the grounds for dismissal. An appeal against the judgment lies to the Regional Labour Court in Munich.
Costs and severance pay in the unfair dismissal claim
At first instance each side bears its own legal fees, even the winning party. § 12a para. 1 ArbGG excludes any entitlement of the successful party to reimbursement of the costs of engaging legal representation.
If the proceedings end by settlement or withdrawal of the claim before the close of the oral hearing, the court fee under item 8210 of the schedule of costs to the GKG is waived.
Costs by value in dispute and the RVG fee table
The value in dispute determines the lawyer’s fees. Under § 42 para. 2 sentence 1 GKG, where a dismissal of an employment relationship is in dispute, at most the salary payable for a quarter of a year is decisive, and this maximum value is regularly applied in dismissal cases. At €3,500 gross per month, that comes to €10,500.
For this value bracket, the table in Annex 2 to § 13 para. 1 RVG shows a 1.0 fee of €707.00.
The procedural fee under item 3100 VV RVG at a rate of 1.3 and the hearing fee under item 3104 VV RVG at a rate of 1.2, together with the expenses lump sum of €20.00 under item 7002 VV RVG and 19 % VAT, come to around €2,130 per party. If a settlement fee of 1.0 under item 1003 VV RVG is added, the amount rises to around €2,970.
If you hold legal expenses insurance with employment law cover, that cover depends on the agreed terms and any excess. If your income is not sufficient to fund the proceedings, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure on legal aid apply correspondingly under § 11a ArbGG. You apply at Augsburg Labour Court.
Severance pay under § 1a KSchG and in a settlement
Dismissal protection law does not provide a general statutory entitlement to severance pay.
Severance pay is quantified only in § 1a KSchG: if the employer dismisses for urgent operational reasons, points to this provision in the dismissal, and you do not file a claim before the deadline under § 4 sentence 1 KSchG expires, an entitlement arises once the notice period ends.
Under § 1a para. 2 KSchG, the amount is 0.5 months’ pay for each year the employment relationship existed; periods of more than six months are rounded up to a full year. At €4,000 gross and eight years of service, that comes to €16,000.
In a settlement, the parties negotiate severance pay freely. How much is achievable depends on what defects in the dismissal can be shown, for example a defective social selection or a missing works council hearing.
Further information on employment law
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This information does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.
