Action is required. Because: the deadlines in employment law are short. As an employee, you generally only have 3 weeks after receipt of the written notice of dismissal to defend yourself against the dismissal with an action for protection against dismissal. Otherwise, the dismissal is deemed to have been legally effective from the outset. Contact the Albrecht law firm to review your case.

Have your reference checked by the Albrecht law firm. If its content is incorrect, incomplete or not benevolent, you are entitled to have it corrected. You can also enforce this in court. This is because the wording in the reference must not unjustifiably impede your professional advancement.

This cannot be recommended without legal advice. The termination agreement is the counterpart to the employment contract. It has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage can be a severance payment negotiated by your lawyer. But be careful: there is a risk that the employment agency will impose a 12-week suspension period during which you will not receive any unemployment benefit. In your specific case, a termination agreement may still be an option, e.g. if you already have a new job in mind. The Albrecht law firm will negotiate a customized employment contract for your individual case.

Your employer must give you binding feedback within approximately two weeks. As long as this does not happen, your leave is not approved. Do not simply stay away! Your employer may only refuse your leave request under strict conditions, for example in urgent operational matters. If you are not granted leave, it is advisable to talk to your boss. If nothing works, you can also use legal means to enforce your leave request.

No, there is no statutory entitlement to severance pay. Rather, it is a voluntary payment by the employer that depends on the employee's negotiating skills. In some cases, there is a severance payment provision in the employment contract or collective agreement. More frequently, severance payments are paid in the context of labor court proceedings after an action for protection against dismissal has been filed if the parties reach a settlement. There are a few other exceptional cases in which a severance payment is possible. Overall, it is advisable to consult a lawyer in individual cases.

Your severance payment is generally subject to income tax. The so-called "fifth rule" from the Income Tax Act can benefit you here. Here, a special calculation method is used to calculate a lower amount than the taxation of the entire severance payment, so that your severance payment is privileged under income tax law. However, this requires that the severance payment is paid in one assessment year and not in installments over the course of the year.

You can demand continued employment, because not every leave of absence is lawful. If the leave of absence is granted unilaterally (= without your consent) by your boss, this is only permissible in a few exceptional cases. In principle, such a leave of absence does not constitute the granting of vacation. If your employer also stops paying your salary, it is advisable to consult a lawyer. 

We can submit an application for legal aid on your behalf. The application will be successful if your income is not sufficient to cover the legal costs yourself (so-called neediness), you have a sufficient chance of winning the case (prospect of success) and you are not pursuing the case willfully. It is possible that you will have to pay an advance on the legal aid.

Written form is required for the termination of employment relationships. Terminations by email, fax, text message, WhatsApp or similar are invalid. The three-week period for filing an action does not apply to notices of termination issued electronically, meaning that in the case of "e-mail notices of termination" it is possible to file an action for a declaration of invalidity beyond this period.