Cengolio · Tools · Notice periods
One employee. Two notice periods.
Germany counts in months and lands on a month-end. England counts in weeks and lands to the day. Drag the years of service: the gap appears first, the reasoning below.
§ 622 BGB ladder and s. 86 ERA 1996, both unchanged for decades.
These are the statutory minima, not an assessment of any dismissal. Contracts and collective agreements can set longer periods; shorter ones do not stand, § 622 (5) BGB, s. 86 (3) ERA 1996.
Whether a dismissal holds is a different question, Kündigungsschutz and § 623 BGB written form on one side, unfair dismissal on the other, and none of it is arithmetic. During a German probationary period the statutory notice is two weeks, § 622 (3) BGB. The English periods also apply in Scotland; Northern Ireland has its own, materially identical rules.