Quick answer
Important
1. How Probezeit works
Probation is agreed in the contract and cannot exceed six months. During it, either side can terminate on two weeks’ notice without stating a reason, unless the contract or a collective agreement provides something more generous.
Two weeks means two calendar weeks from receipt of the written notice, not to the end of a month. A notice received on the 10th ends the employment on the 24th.
Notice must be in writing and signed. An email or a verbal statement is not a valid dismissal in German law, and that applies during probation too.
The German words you will see
- Probezeit
- The probation period agreed in your contract, during which notice is short for both sides.
- Wartezeit
- The six-month waiting period before general dismissal protection applies. It runs from your start date whether or not you have a probation clause.
- Kündigungsschutz
- Protection against dismissal: the requirement that a dismissal be socially justified. It begins after six months.
2. The distinction that actually matters
Probezeit and the six-month waiting period for dismissal protection are two different things, and confusing them leads people to relax too early.
Probezeit is a contractual clause affecting the notice period. The six-month Wartezeit is statutory and affects whether a dismissal needs to be justified at all. They usually run together because employers set probation at six months, but they need not.
If your contract sets probation at three months, your notice period lengthens after three months, but your employer can still dismiss you without social justification until you have completed six months of employment. That gap catches people out.
| Probezeit | Six-month Wartezeit | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Your contract | Statute |
| Maximum length | Six months | Fixed at six months |
| What it affects | The length of notice | Whether a dismissal needs justification |
| Notice during it | Two weeks | Contractual or statutory notice applies |
| Applies to small employers | Yes | Dismissal protection does not apply below a size threshold at all |
Good to know
3. What protection you still have
"No reason required" is not the same as "anything goes". Several protections apply from day one and do not wait for six months.
- Pregnancy: dismissal protection applies as soon as the employer knows, including during probation
- Discrimination: a dismissal on grounds of ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation is unlawful at any point
- Severe disability: additional protections apply, though some have their own qualifying period
- Works council: where one exists it must be consulted before any dismissal, including in probation
- Form: the dismissal must be in writing and signed, or it is invalid
- Retaliation: a dismissal because you asserted a legal right, such as reporting a safety issue, can be challenged
- The two-week notice itself, which cannot be shortened to nothing
The three-week deadline applies in probation too
4. Practicalities during probation
Probation affects your security, not your entitlements. You accrue holiday from the start, you are paid sick pay on the normal basis once the qualifying period for it has passed, and your social insurance runs as usual.
For anyone on a residence permit tied to employment, a probation dismissal has consequences beyond the job, since the permit is generally linked to that employment. If this applies to you, contact the foreigners’ authority quickly rather than waiting: there are usually deadlines for finding new work.
- Holiday accrues from your first day, at roughly a twelfth of the annual entitlement per month
- You can take holiday during probation, subject to your employer agreeing
- Statutory sick pay from the employer starts after four weeks of continuous employment
- If you resign during probation, the same two weeks’ notice applies to you
- A residence permit tied to this job is affected by a probation dismissal; act quickly
5. Frequently asked questions
At most six months. A longer probation clause is invalid to the extent it exceeds six months, and the two-week notice stops applying after that point.
Broadly yes, on two weeks’ written notice, because general dismissal protection has not begun. Pregnancy protection, protection against discriminatory dismissal, works council consultation and the written-form requirement still apply.
No, and this catches people out. Probation is a contractual clause affecting notice length. The six-month waiting period is statutory and affects whether a dismissal needs justification. If your probation is three months, you can still be dismissed without social justification until you have completed six months.
You accrue it from your first day, at roughly a twelfth of the annual entitlement each month. Whether you can take it during probation depends on your employer agreeing, as with any holiday request.
Contact the foreigners’ authority promptly. A residence permit tied to employment is affected by the dismissal, and there is usually a limited period to find new work. Do not wait until the notice period has run out.
Not beyond six months. What can happen instead is agreement on a fixed-term contract or a mutually agreed extension of a trial arrangement, which is a different thing legally and worth taking advice on before accepting.
Official information
Rules and amounts change. Always verify current requirements using official sources.
Protection against dismissal (Kündigungsschutz), opens in a new tab
BMAS
When dismissal protection applies, what a valid dismissal requires, and the three-week deadline to challenge one.
Employment law — the ministry’s overview, opens in a new tab
BMAS
Contracts, working time, holiday, dismissal protection and part-time rights, from the responsible ministry.
Related guides
Amounts and legal requirements can change. We verify this information against official sources and show when each figure was last checked, but always confirm important requirements with the responsible authority before you apply.
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