Summary dismissal under § 626 BGB — almost always defensible.
A summary dismissal ends your employment immediately and triggers a 12-week unemployment-benefit blocking period. Most summary dismissals fail the strict § 626 BGB test — and settle with substantial severance.
⚠ Same 3-week filing deadline applies (§ 4 KSchG)
A summary dismissal must be challenged within 3 weeks of receipt — even when the ground is plainly weak.
A summary dismissal under § 626 BGB requires a wichtiger Grund— a cause so serious that continuing the employment even for the notice period is unreasonable. The bar is extremely high. The employer must additionally act within 2 weeks of knowing the cause (§ 626 II BGB), usually issue an Abmahnung first, and prove the cause in court if challenged. In practice the great majority of summary dismissals fail and settle with severance materially above the standard 0.5×-per-year formula.
Written and reviewed by Fatih Bektas, German employment-law specialist (APOS Legal Heidelberg).
When does § 626 BGB actually apply?
Possible serious grounds
- Theft, embezzlement, fraud at the employer’s expense
- Violence or serious harassment at work
- Repeated unauthorised absence after warnings
- Severe breach of trust (e.g. trade-secret leaks)
- Insulting the employer on a public scale
Routine reasons summary dismissals fail
- 2-week deadline (§ 626 II BGB) missed
- No prior Abmahnung where one was required
- Cause is contested and the employer cannot prove it
- Disproportionate to the breach
- No works-council consultation (§ 102 BetrVG)
What to do in the first 24 hours
- Note the exact date and time of receipt — the 3-week clock starts here.
- Do not sign anything the employer puts in front of you.
- Send us a copy of the dismissal letter — a German employment-law specialist reviews it for free within 48 hours.
- Register as job-seeker (arbeitsuchend) within 3 days to preserve benefit entitlement.
- If you have legal-expenses insurance, notify your provider now so cover is in place when we file.
Summary dismissal — most common questions
What counts as a summary (without-notice) dismissal in Germany?
A summary dismissal (fristlose Kündigung) under § 626 BGB ends the employment immediately without observing any notice period. It requires a serious cause that makes it unreasonable for the employer to continue the relationship even until the end of the notice period — a very high hurdle.
What is the 2-week rule?
Under § 626 II BGB the employer must declare the summary dismissal within 2 weeks of obtaining full knowledge of the cause. If the deadline is missed the summary dismissal is invalid — a frequent winning argument in court.
Do I get severance after a summary dismissal?
There is no automatic severance, but in practice summary dismissals very often settle with substantial severance, precisely because they so frequently fail in court. Settlements are commonly higher than after an ordinary dismissal because the employer faces a strong risk of complete invalidity.
Does the employer have to warn me first?
Usually yes. For most conduct, a prior Abmahnung is required so you had a chance to correct the behaviour. Only in cases of fundamental breach of trust (theft, fraud, violence) can a summary dismissal be valid without a prior warning.
What about unemployment benefit?
A summary dismissal regularly triggers a 12-week Sperrzeit. Challenging the dismissal is therefore not only about reinstatement / severance — it also protects your access to unemployment benefit, because a settlement converting the summary dismissal to an ordinary one usually removes the Sperrzeit.
Tell us about your case
Fill in the form — we will review your situation. Free of charge, typically within 48 hours. We handle German labour-law matters in English.
What happens next?
After your enquiry we review the details and reply with an initial assessment — whether the dismissal can be challenged, how high a likely severance could be and which next steps make sense.
bektas@apos.legal
+49 6222 9599 2400
Response time: we reply within 48 hours on working days. If you have already received a dismissal, please mention it — deadline-sensitive cases are prioritised.
Dismissed? The clock is ticking.
Tell us about your case — we check for free whether your dismissal can be challenged and how high your severance can be. Usually within 48 hours.
Get my free review →Received a dismissal? You have just 3 weeks to file (§ 4 KSchG). Contact us immediately — we can protect your deadline while reviewing the case.