Quick Guide: Terminating An Employment Relationship In Germany

1. Formal Requirement: Wet ink signature

• The termination letter must be signed in wet ink, otherwise it is invalid. A copy, scan, scanned signature, electronic signature or the like are not sufficient.
• At least some of the letters of the signature must be legible. It is not sufficient to only use an abstract form such as a circle and a line, even if the signatory always signs this way.
• Tip: The termination letter should be signed in blue (not black) in order to minimize the risk that employees claim to only have received a copy.

2. Who can sign the termination letter?

• The termination letter must be signed by a person authorized to do so, e.g., the legal representative(s), Prokurist or HR Director (but not HR business partner). A person legally authorized to sign can authorize another person (e.g., the managing director of a GmbH can authorize an HR business partner), however, in this case, an original power of attorney must be handed over to the