The boss wants to fire you? No problem! Here are the 3 main steps to object against your termination! Wanna try? Do it together with a friend or co-workers, its easier and more fun! You only have 3 weeks after getting terminated!
Step 1: KNOW your rights
You get alot of rights with your work contract. Your rights are the bosses duty. The better you know your rights, the better you can enforce them in the next steps.
- Some rights to start with:
- Did you know that only terminations written on paper signed by upper management with the authority to do so are legal? There are no “oral” terminations. As long as you have no paper termination you are not fired!
- Did you know that you can not be fired for any reason? Especially after 6 months you have the right to know the reason and you can object against it!
- More informations about requirements for legally valid terminations
- Want to know more about your rights? Here are more informations on termination protection!
Step 2: CLAIM your rights
As its your right to have a written termination letter or have the legal minimum notice time, you can demand this from your boss. In this second step you get to know how claim your rights! But dont loose any time. You only have 3 weeks to file a termination protection lawsuits to object against your termination! It might even make sense to skip step 2 and directly go to step 3 (filing a lawsuit).
Quote from Lawyer Martin Bechert (translated with deepl.com):
It is therefore all the more important that employees are aware of the tight deadlines in labour law. After receiving a dismissal, they have only three weeks to appeal against it.
Step 3: #SueYourBoss!
Why are most bosses violating workers rights?
Often bosses systematically violate workers rights when they unfarily fire workers or steal their wages. This is criminal but authorities dont care, major unions and workers dont challenge the status quo.
Even when courts rule several times against the same boss there is no authority stopping the boss from doing the same thing again and again (be it to the same worker or another worker). In many cases there is no punishment for bosses violating laws or regulations besides that bosses have to undo the violation. So when bosses loose lawsuits the only thing they have to do is to pay workers the stolen wages or take back the illegal termination.
So workers have to file lawsuits again and again to get their rights. Thats why workers, initiatives, unions and courts themselfes help and support workers to file lawsuits. To enable you to #SueYourBoss!
► More informations on work contract violations of bosses.
When it comes to terminations its nessesary in most cases to file lawsuits. Its unlikely that you get your right after claiming it (Step 2).You have to increase the pressure and take Step 3 (file a lawsuit). You could even skip step 2 and directly file a lawsuit.
Below are some more questions and answers on filing lawsuits.
How long do lawsuits take?
Sueing for your rights takes 2-6 months for the first court instance (first ruling). Normally it takes at only 2 court hearings, rarely more.
Quote from Lawyer Martin Bechert (translated with deepl.com):
Across Germany, about 180,000 dismissal protection claims were filed in 2017, of which about 8,000 were filed in Berlin alone. Normally, dismissal protection proceedings do not take long. Around 6,000 of the court disputes in Berlin were terminated within only three months.
FIRST COURT HEARING (“CONCILIATION HEARING”)
Judges first try to settle the case without a ruling in a “conciliation hearing”. This first hearing should happen within the first 2 months after filing a lawsuit. Sometimes bosses even settle before the first hearing and just pay what you claim.
Quote from Lawyer Martin Bechert (translated with deepl.com):
USUALLY A SEVERANCE PAYMENT
In the vast majority of cases, the proceedings end with a settlement that provides for a severance payment to the dismissed employee. Only a very small number of cases are actually decided by the courts.
SECOND COURT HEARING (RULING)
The second court hearing should happen within 6 months after filing a lawsuit. This where the judge will rule on the case. In most cases bosses do the papers before the second hearing to avoid a ruling and more costs.
The second instance is also rarely appealed to. Of the approximately 13,000 dismissal protection suits filed annually in Berlin and Brandenburg, only about 450 go to the Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labour Court and usually end in a settlement.
Arbeitnehmer*innen, die eine Kündigungsschutzklage einreichen, können also – statistisch gesehen – darauf vertrauen, dass das Verfahren mit einer Abfindungszahlung beendet wird.
How much do lawsuits costs? (legal costs)
In short: the costs for lawsuits (in the first instance) can be up to 1.000 Euro.
1.000 Euro!?! How am I supposed to pay this? No problem! Please continue reading …
► More informations on legal costs.
How can I get the legal costs covered? (Legal insurance)
There are three main ways to get your legal costs covered:
- unions,
- private insurances,
- “Legal aid” by the state.
► More informations on legal insurance.
How can I cancel my lawsuits? (withdrawing)
Yes, you can withdraw a lawsuit whenever you like. It very simple: You just fill out a template and sent it to court. This is quite common as bosses try to avoid rulings against them by settling outside of court, before the court hearings.
► More informations on withdrawing lawsuits.
How can you #SueYourBoss?
When you got terminated then in most cases it is nessesary to file a lawsuit.