Dismissal of employees; notification

If you intend to lay off a large number of employees in your company, you must notify the Employment Agency in good time.

Description

Are you planning a large number of redundancies in your company? Then, under certain conditions, you are obliged to notify (report) the Employment Agency in writing in advance. This also applies if you

  • give notice of a change of employment,
  • offer termination agreements, or
  • dismiss employees at your instigation.

You cannot make up the notice of dismissal at a later date. The date from which the duty to notify applies depends on the size of your company and the number of redundancies. If there is a works council in your company, you must inform it in writing of your plans before notifying the Employment Agency. Together with the works council, you must discuss how redundancies can be prevented and their consequences minimized.

You must provide the works council with the following information:

  • Reasons for planned layoffs,
  • Number and occupational groups of employees to be laid off,
  • number and occupational groups of employees to be laid off,
  • period during which the redundancies are to be made,
  • criteria envisaged for the selection of those to be laid off,
  • criteria envisaged for the calculation of any severance pay.

The following are exempt from the obligation to notify in the case of dismissals:

  • Small businesses with, as a rule, up to 20 employees,
  • seasonal and campaign establishments in case of dismissals,
  • which are due to the specific nature of these establishments (end of season/end of campaign).

However, if seasonal and campaign establishments make redundancies for other reasons (for example, before the end of the season or due to closure of operations), they are subject to the notification requirement.

If your company is part of the construction industry and you receive seasonal short-time allowance, you must also report the layoffs.

Prerequisites

If your business meets the following requirements, you are required to report layoffs:

  • Number of regular employees: 21 to 59; Number of planned layoffs: more than 5 employees.
  • Number of regular employees: 60 to 499; number of planned layoffs: 10 percent or more than 25 employees
  • Number of regular employees: 500 or more; number of planned layoffs: 30 or more employees. The obligation to notify arises if the specified minimum number of layoffs is intended within 30 calendar days.
  • Termination agreements and self-terminations of employees are equivalent to dismissals if they are initiated by you as the employer.

Procedure

You must submit notice of layoffs in writing.

Before giving notice

  • Is there a works council? Inform it in advance about your plans and consult with it about preventing or minimizing layoffs and their consequences.
  • If dismissals remain unavoidable, you must inform the works council in writing of the exact measures 2 weeks before filing a report with the employment agency.
  • If there is no works council, these information requirements do not apply.

Notification to the Employment Agency:

  • Download the form "Notification of dismissal in accordance with Section 17 of the Dismissal Protection Act (KSchG)" from the Internet site of the Federal Employment Agency.
  • Fill out the form completely.
  • The notification to the Employment Agency must contain:
    • Name of the company
    • Location and type of company
    • Reasons for the planned redundancies
    • Number and occupational group of employees to be laid off
    • Number and occupational group of employees to be laid off
    • period during which the redundancies are to be made
    • Criteria for selection of employees to be laid off.
  • Print and sign the form.
  • Attach the following to the notification form
    • a copy of the notification to the works council and
    • the written statement of the works council (if available).
  • Submit the documents to the employment agency responsible for your company. A store, including the store management, is considered to be one establishment.
  • Send a copy of the notice of dismissal to the relevant works council.
  • If the notice of dismissal is complete in terms of content, correct in terms of content and received in the correct form by the responsible employment agency, the agency will immediately confirm receipt of your effective notice of dismissal.
  • Together with the confirmation of receipt of your notice of dismissal, the Employment Agency will send you an information sheet for employees threatened with unemployment. Please support their reintegration and hand out the information sheet to all those affected.

Deadlines

The notices of termination must be given within 90 days of the earliest date on which they are permitted - after the expiry of the lock-up period. Otherwise, you must again notify the employment agency of the intended terminations.

Processing time

None

Required documents

  • Required Documents

    If there is a works council:

    • Copy of the notification to the works council
    • Statement of the works council. If you do not have this, you must prove to the Employment Agency that you consulted the works council at least 2 weeks before notifying the Employment Agency. In this case, you must also explain the status of the consultations with the works council.

Forms

  • Form, Bavaria-wide: Formular Entlassungsanzeige der Bundesagentur für Arbeit
    Please note

    This form has to be signed and sent to the responsible authority. You can sign the form manually and send it by email/fax or sign the form electronically with your qualified electronic signature an send it by (secure) email. If the responsible authority has set up a De-Mail account, you can also send the form by De-Mail using an sender-confirmed message.

Fees

  • None

Status: 27.01.2022

Responsible for editing: Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales

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