The German word for a permanent contract is unbefristet — unlimited, without an end date. The fixed-term contract is befristet, limited. The permanent one is named by what it lacks. The ending is the exception, and the language treats its absence as the normal state.
Notice periods
Kündigungsfristen. German statutory notice periods lengthen with service: from four weeks at the start, rising by steps, to seven months for someone with twenty years behind them. Time served converts into legal protection at a fixed exchange rate written in the Civil Code.
The works council
Der Betriebsrat. A German works council must be heard before any dismissal, and the employer must give it the reasons. A dismissal issued without that consultation is void. Not contestable — void.
Dismissal protection
Das Kündigungsschutzgesetz. Dismissal protection applies in German establishments with more than ten employees, after six months of service. From that point a dismissal requires a legally recognised ground. The employer must justify the dismissal. The burden does not sit with the employee.
Social selection
Die Sozialauswahl. When a German employer must make redundancies, the law does not permit a free choice of who goes. Selection must be made on four criteria: length of service, age, maintenance obligations, and severe disability. Performance is not among them.
The longer you have been there and the more people depend on you, the more protected you are — regardless of how good you are at the job.
Short-time work
Kurzarbeit. When demand collapses, a German employer cuts hours rather than jobs, and the state pays workers around 60 percent of the wages lost — more for those with children.
A work-sharing scheme was first used by German miners as early as 1910. It flourished under the Weimar Republic, was written into employment promotion law by 1969, and was used again during reunification. In mid-2009 over 1.4 million workers and 63,000 employers were in it. In 2020 a study attributed 2.2 million saved jobs to it.
The IMF calls it the gold standard. The country built a permanent institution whose purpose is to make redundancy unnecessary.
Features of German Employment Law
Relations between German employers and employees are extensively regulated under German labor and employment law. German labor and employment law is strongly biased in favour of employees and is probably best referred to as the “employee protection law”.