📋 Germany Notice Period Calculator (BGB §622)

The Kündigungsfrist is the statutory notice period that must elapse between the moment a termination is declared in Germany and the day the employment relationship actually ends. It exists so that neither side can end a job overnight: the employee keeps receiving salary while searching for the next position, and the employer gains time to reorganise work and arrange a replacement. The baseline rule in section 622 (1) BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, the German Civil Code) is four weeks to the 15th or to the end of a calendar month. Four weeks means 28 calendar days, and the end date must additionally fall on the 15th or the last day of a month - which is why a resignation received on 5 August 2026 does not end the job on 2 September but rounds up to 15 September 2026.

For the employer, section 622 (2) BGB adds a staircase of extended periods that grows with completed years of service in the company: 1 month after 2 years, 2 months after 5 years, 3 months after 8 years, 4 months after 10 years, 5 months after 12 years, 6 months after 15 years, and 7 months after 20 years - in every case to the end of a calendar month. The staircase is deliberately asymmetric: the longer periods are employee protection, because losing a job after many years deserves a longer runway than a routine resignation. The employee, by contrast, stays at the four-week rule unless the individual contract voluntarily grants longer notice or an equally short alternative. Seniority counts every completed year between the hire date and the notice date, and since the Court of Justice of the European Union decided Kücükdeveci (C-555/07, 19 January 2010), service rendered before the 25th birthday must be counted in full as well - the age bands formerly used in Germany violate EU equal-treatment law.

Two special situations shape everyday practice. During an agreed probationary period (Probezeit, which may last up to six months under section 20 (1) TzBfG), the statutory notice shortens to two weeks and the employment may end on any day, not only the 15th or month end. And in small businesses, during parental leave, or for severely disabled employees, additional dismissal-protection rules can stack on top. This calculator implements the 2026 statutory baseline: enter the hire date and the date notice is given, tick probation if applicable, and state who is terminating - the tool derives the applicable period, the completed years of service, and the earliest lawful end date, together with the countdown in days. When planning the practical exit week, remember that notice periods often span public holidays: check the German public holiday calendar by federal state and the bridge-day calculator for long weekends before booking the handover meeting.

The calculator follows the statute in three steps. Step 1 - completed years of service. From the hire date and the notice date it counts how many full years have elapsed on the notice date. If you were hired on 1 March 2015 and notice is given on 5 August 2026, the eleventh anniversary (1 March 2026) has already passed, so 11 completed years count. Every year counts in full regardless of the age at which it was worked, reflecting the Kücükdeveci ruling described above.

Step 2 - select the applicable rule. If the probation box is ticked, the two-week statutory rule for the agreed Probezeit applies, and the earliest end is simply the notice date plus 14 days. If the employee gives notice, the four-week rule of section 622 (1) BGB applies no matter how long the employment has lasted. If the employer gives notice and at least two years of service are completed, the seniority staircase of section 622 (2) BGB sets the period; 11 completed years fall into the "after 10 years" tier, which is 4 months to the end of a calendar month. The staircase chart below shows all seven employer tiers at a glance, from 1 month after 2 years up to 7 months after 20 years.

Step 3 - compute the earliest end date. For the four-week rule, the tool adds 28 days to the notice date and then rounds forward to the next 15th or month end: 5 August 2026 plus 28 days reaches 2 September 2026, and the next permissible end day is 15 September 2026, exactly 41 days after the notice date. For the employer tiers, the end date is the last day of the calendar month X months after the month in which notice was given: with the 4-month tier and notice in August 2026, the earliest end is 31 December 2026, 148 days later. During probation the end can be any day of the week, so 10 June 2026 plus 14 days is simply 24 June 2026.

Beyond the headline period, the tool derives two extra figures you can plan with: the countdown in days from the notice date to the earliest end, and the effective end date - the concrete calendar day on which the employment can lawfully stop. Both make budgeting easier, because salary continues to flow until that date. To see what actually arrives in your bank account during the notice period, run the figures through the Germany gross-to-net salary calculator; if short-time work is being discussed in your company, the Kurzarbeitergeld short-time work calculator shows the replacement pay. All computations run locally in the browser, and no data leaves the device.

Three boundary details are worth knowing. First, seniority tiers lock in on the work anniversary: a hire date of 2016-03-01 with notice on 2026-08-05 has completed 10 years and lands in the 4-month tier, while 2016-09-01 with the same notice date has completed only 9 and stays in the 3-month tier - one extra month of runway from a single day of hire date. Second, the month-end rounding follows the real Gregorian calendar: a February end date falls on 28 February 2027 but on 29 February in a leap year; no month is assumed to be 30 days long. Third, the day count is plain calendar days, weekends and public holidays included, because the statutory clock never pauses.

The table below lists the statutory employer notice periods of section 622 (2) BGB by completed years of service. The third column shows the earliest end date when notice is given on 15 September 2026, including the total number of days from the notice date, so you can see how much runway each tier really buys.

The statute treats the two sides of the employment relationship differently on purpose: the seniority staircase of section 622 (2) BGB obliges only the employer to observe longer notice, while the employee keeps the short four-week default. The comparison below summarises who owes what in each situation.

Three complete scenarios computed with the exact logic of the calculator above. Note how the same dates produce very different runways depending on who gives notice, and how the probation rule cuts through everything.

The first two rows use identical dates: the employer must wait until 31 December 2026, while the employee could already leave on 15 September 2026 - a difference of more than three and a half months that section 622 BGB deliberately grants as employee protection.

1. Enter the hire date - the first day of employment - in YYYY-MM-DD format.
2. Enter the date on which the notice of termination is given (or planned).
3. Tick the probation box if the agreed Probezeit has not ended yet.
4. Select whether the employee (resignation) or the employer (dismissal) gives notice.
5. Click Calculate to see the statutory period, completed years of service, earliest end date, and day count.

Does an employee ever owe more than four weeks of notice?

Not under the statutory baseline. Section 622 (2) BGB extends the notice periods for the employer only - they are designed as employee protection - while the employee keeps the four-week default of section 622 (1) BGB regardless of seniority. An individual contract may grant the employee longer notice (sometimes agreed for executives), or a shorter period of equal length for both sides within narrow legal limits; a Tarifvertrag can deviate in both directions.

Does service before my 25th birthday count toward the seniority tiers?

Yes. Since the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Kücükdeveci (C-555/07, 19 January 2010), all periods of service before the 25th birthday must be counted fully when determining the extended employer notice periods, because excluding them would violate the EU equal-treatment framework. This tool therefore counts every completed year between the hire date and the notice date, regardless of age.

My contract or collective agreement states a different period - which one applies?

Agreed terms take precedence over the statutory baseline. An applicable Tarifvertrag frequently lengthens notice periods, individual contracts occasionally shorten or lengthen them, and established company practice (betriebliche Übung) can also play a role. This calculator always shows the section 622 BGB statutory default, so compare the result with your Arbeitsvertrag and any collective agreement before acting on it.

When does the notice period start - on the day I post the letter?

It starts on Zugang (receipt), the moment the termination actually reaches the control of the other party - for example when the letter is in the letterbox or handed over in person, not when it was posted. A letter sent on the 20th that arrives on the 24th starts the clock on the 24th. Because a single day can decide whether a termination is timely, seek legal advice for concrete cases.

Do the "four weeks" mean 4 calendar weeks, i.e. 28 days?

Yes - four calendar weeks equal 28 days, including weekends and public holidays. In addition, the end date must be the 15th or the last day of a calendar month, so the effective wait is often longer: notice given on 5 August 2026 ends on 15 September 2026, not on 2 September.

Does the two-week probation notice apply to the entire Probezeit?

The statutory text links the two-week, any-day rule to a probation of at most three months; for a longer agreed Probezeit (up to six months under section 20 (1) TzBfG) the general rules would formally apply again. In practice, most employment contracts keep the two-week notice for the whole probation, which is widely accepted. This tool applies 2 weeks whenever the probation box is ticked - check your contract for the agreed wording.

Time the letter around the two magic end days. Because employment can only end on the 15th or the last day of a month, notice given just after the 15th effectively waits almost a full extra month - count backwards from your target end date before you hand anything in. Deliver the letter in person against a signed and dated copy, or by registered drop mail (Einwurf-Einschreiben): the clock starts on Zugang (receipt), not on the posting date, and proving reception can decide whether a termination is timely. Check the Arbeitsvertrag and any applicable Tarifvertrag first, because collective agreements deviate from the statutory table in both directions. Settle the money side before the last day as well: accrued overtime is usually paid out or converted into time off in lieu - the overtime calculator shows how many hours are banked - and remaining holiday should be scheduled inside the notice period where possible. Finally, remember that the statutory calendar does not pause for weekends or public holidays; only the end-date rounding rules matter. If you are the one resigning, agree a handover list in writing early in the period; if you are the employer, document the served date the same day, because every later dispute about the deadline starts from that one fact.