During an agreed probation period (Probezeit) of up to six months, your employer can end the job with two weeks' notice, and in the first six months it doesn't need a reason. That isn't the same as "anything goes". The dismissal still has to be on signed paper, some people are protected from day one, and the three-week deadline for going to court still applies.
1. Probation and the six-month rule are two things
People often treat them as one, but two separate rules apply in the first months:
- The probation period is agreed in your contract. During it, the notice period is two weeks, for at most six months (§ 622(3) BGB). A collective agreement (Tarifvertrag) that applies to your job can set different periods (§ 622(4) BGB).
- The six-month waiting period comes from the Dismissal Protection Act. Only once you have been employed for more than six months without a break does the employer need a recognised reason to dismiss you, and only in a business with more than ten employees (§ 1(1) KSchG, § 23 KSchG).
The waiting period runs whether or not your contract mentions probation. A contract with a three-month probation gives you two weeks' notice for three months, but dismissal protection still starts only after six months. A shorter probation does not bring dismissal protection forward.
In a fixed-term contract, any probation period must be proportionate to the expected length of the contract and the kind of work (§ 15(3) TzBfG). The Federal Labour Court has held that there is no standard percentage for this; each case is weighed on its facts (BAG, 2 AZR 160/24, 30 October 2025). A fixed-term contract can only be ended early with notice if the contract or an applicable collective agreement allows it (§ 15(4) TzBfG).
2. Two weeks' notice, any day
The two-week period is not tied to the middle or end of a month: notice can be given on any day and runs for two weeks. What matters is that the notice is given during the probation period; the job can then end up to two weeks after probation is over. Once the probation period (or its six-month maximum) has passed, the ordinary period applies: four weeks to the 15th or the end of a month (§ 622(1) BGB).
The same two weeks apply if you resign during probation. Resigning, or signing a termination agreement, has different consequences for unemployment benefit from being dismissed (see section 5).
3. When a probation dismissal is still invalid
No reason is needed in the first six months, but these rules apply from day one:
- Signed paper only. A dismissal must be in writing with a handwritten signature; electronic form is excluded (§ 623 BGB). A dismissal by email, chat message or phone call does not end the job.
- Works council. Where there is a works council (Betriebsrat), it must be heard before every dismissal, including during probation. A dismissal without that hearing is invalid (§ 102(1) BetrVG).
- Pregnancy. Dismissal during pregnancy, for four months after a miscarriage after the twelfth week, and for at least four months after the birth is not allowed if the employer knew, or is told within two weeks of the dismissal reaching you (§ 17 MuSchG). This applies from the first day of employment.
- Punishing you for using your rights. An employer may not treat you worse because you lawfully exercised your rights (§ 612a BGB), for example by asking for pay you are owed.
- Discrimination. The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) prohibits discrimination at work on grounds such as ethnic origin, sex, religion, disability, age or sexual identity (§ 7 AGG). How it applies to a particular dismissal is a question to have checked. A claim for compensation under it must be made in writing within two months (§ 15(4) AGG).
Some protections start later. For example, the integration office's consent to dismissing a severely disabled employee is not needed while the job has lasted six months or less (§ 173(1) SGB IX).
4. The three-week deadline still applies
If you want to argue that a dismissal is invalid for any reason, you must file a claim at the labour court within three weeks of receiving the written dismissal (§ 4 KSchG). This applies during probation and in small businesses too (§ 23(1) KSchG). Miss it, and the dismissal is treated as valid (§ 7 KSchG).
Two weeks' notice and three weeks to go to court overlap: by the time you have left, much of the deadline may have passed. Our guide to the first three weeks after a dismissal explains how the clock runs and what not to sign.
5. Pay, holiday, reference and unemployment benefit
- Pay continues until the last day of the notice period.
- Holiday. If you leave before six months, you are entitled to one twelfth of the annual leave for each full month worked (§ 5(1) BUrlG). Leave that can no longer be taken because the job ends must be paid out (§ 7(4) BUrlG). Your contract or a collective agreement may give more.
- Reference. You are entitled to a written reference (Arbeitszeugnis); on request it must also cover your performance and conduct (§ 109 GewO).
- Register as a job-seeker within three days. With two weeks' notice there are always less than three months left, so you must register with the Agentur für Arbeit within three days of learning the end date (§ 38(1) SGB III).
- Unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) generally requires at least twelve months of insured employment in the last 30 months (§ 142 SGB III, § 143 SGB III). Earlier jobs in Germany count, so a probation dismissal doesn't automatically rule it out; if you have only just arrived, you may not qualify yet.
- Blocking period (Sperrzeit). Benefit can be suspended if you ended the job yourself or gave cause for the dismissal through conduct in breach of your contract, without an important reason (§ 159 SGB III). This is why resigning or signing a termination agreement needs more thought than being dismissed. See the benefits decision guide if the Agentur rules against you.
6. If your residence permit depends on the job
If you came to Germany for this job, the end of the job can affect your residence permit. Check your permit's conditions straight away and contact the immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde) or a lawyer before the job ends, not afterwards. The residence permit guide covers decisions by the immigration authority and their deadlines.
7. When a lawyer can help
An employment lawyer can check within the three weeks whether the dismissal meets the form and procedure rules, whether you were protected from day one, whether the notice date is right, and what you are still owed. In the first instance at the labour court each side pays its own lawyer, whoever wins (§ 12a ArbGG), so ask about fees at the start.
Have the dismissal letter and envelope, the date it reached you, your contract and any collective agreement, and messages about the dismissal ready. You can request an English-speaking employment lawyer.
Sources checked on 11 October 2026. The linked provisions are the German statutory text; the explanations here are general information.