Browse the archive

The written request a club, nursery, school, youth-welfare provider or other organisation in Germany gives an employee or volunteer so that they can apply for an extended certificate of good conduct (erweitertes Führungszeugnis): under § 30a(2) of the Federal Central Criminal Register Act (BZRG), it is issued only to someone who presents such a request, in which the organisation confirms that the conditions of § 30a(1) are met. It names the organisation, the person and the activity, gives the statutory ground as a choice and says whether the work is voluntary, for a fee waiver. In German.

The letter asking your former school in Germany for a replacement (Zweitschrift) of a lost or damaged certificate, such as the Abitur certificate or a school-leaving certificate. It names the certificate, the year it was issued, the years at the school and your name at the time, asks for your present name after a change of name, and asks about any fee beforehand. If the school has closed, it goes to the school that keeps its records or to the school administration of its operator. Each Land sets its own fees and procedure; in Brandenburg the school offices take applications on their own form. In German, ready to print, sign and send.

An employee's request in Germany to cut working hours, permanently under § 8 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) or for one to five years as bridging part-time under § 9a TzBfG, with current and desired weekly hours, the start date, the end date for bridging part-time and the preferred spread over the week. It reaches the employer in text form at least three months before the start; unless the employer refuses in text form a month before, the hours are reduced as asked. Requires over six months' service and over 15 employees (over 45 for bridging part-time). In German.

A request to a German employer for unpaid special leave (unbezahlter Sonderurlaub) over set dates, giving the reason and the terms both sides agree: release from work without pay, the employment continuing, and a return on the same terms. There is no general statutory right to it, so the leave exists only once the employer agrees, and the document has room below for that consent. It points out that social insurance cover continues for one month at most (§ 7(3) of the German Social Code, Book IV, SGB IV), after which health insurance must be arranged. In German.

A request to a German employer for annual leave (Erholungsurlaub) over set dates, with the number of working days and who covers the work, citing § 7(1) of the Federal Leave Act (BUrlG): the employee's wishes must be followed unless urgent operational needs, or colleagues with a socially stronger claim, stand in the way. It says the leave starts only once approved, and leaves room below for the employer's decision. No form is prescribed: e-mail it or hand it in. In German.

The letter a freelancer in Germany — a translator, architect, consultant, teacher or journalist, for example — sends to the tax office (Finanzamt) on giving up their self-employed profession. Section 138 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) requires the notice within one month, and there is no official form for it. It gives the tax number, the kind of work and its last day, says whether the practice is closed or sold, deals with the VAT pre-returns and asks for the advance payments to be adjusted. In German, to post or to send through ELSTER.

An employee's request in Germany for paid educational leave (Bildungsurlaub, called Bildungszeit or Bildungsfreistellung in some Länder) for a recognised course, with its title, organiser, place, dates, number of working days and proof of recognition. One document for all 14 Länder that have an educational leave law: choose the Land where you work, whose law sets the entitlement, the waiting period, the notice period and course recognition. Bavaria has no educational leave, and Saxony only from 1 January 2027. In German.

A supplement to a German employment contract on working from home and mobile work, in German: start and extent, a choice between mobile work and telework at a fixed home workstation under the German Workplaces Ordinance (ArbStättV), working time, availability and time recording, equipment and a cost allowance, data protection at home, health and safety, accident insurance, no work from abroad without a separate agreement, and ending the arrangement. German law gives no right to a home office, so it has to be agreed.

A free service contract under § 4(4) of the Austrian General Social Insurance Act (ASVG) for people who provide services to a client over a period without being bound to working hours, a place of work or instructions. It contains every particular of the written statement (Dienstzettel) required by § 1164a ABGB, so no separate statement is needed: start and term, an optional probation month, the notice periods of four and six weeks in force since 1 January 2026, the work, pay with due date and method, the social insurance carrier, the severance fund and any applicable collective agreement. In German.

The written request and confirmation, addressed to the person, that clubs, schools, nurseries, parishes, care providers and other employers issue for the special criminal record certificates Kinder- und Jugendfürsorge (work with children) or Pflege und Betreuung (care work) under Austria's Criminal Records Act (§ 10(1b) and (1d) StRegG): that the person needs it for a specific paid or volunteer activity mainly involving minors or the care of defenceless persons, and whether the work is voluntary (fee exemption). The Interior Ministry provides a model confirmation free of charge; this is a version of our own, as the organisation's letter. In German.

The application to the PVA, SVS or BVAEB to determine your insurance periods bindingly, by formal decision (Bescheid), under § 247 of Austria's General Social Insurance Act (ASVG), or § 117a GSVG for those insured with the SVS — the way to settle missing periods such as child-raising, military or civilian service or employment before claiming a pension, rather than relying on the non-binding account statement. With insurance number, date of birth, former surnames and the periods at issue; proof is enclosed. The decision can be challenged at the Labour and Social Court. In German.

The letter to Austria's tax office, the Finanzamt Österreich, revoking a waiver of the VAT exemption for small businesses under § 6 Abs 3 of the Austrian VAT Act (UStG 1994) — for a landlord or self-employed person whose turnover is back under €55,000, for example. The waiver binds for at least five calendar years; it can be revoked only from the start of a calendar year, by 31 January of that year at the latest. With the tax number, the years and the turnover. Send it by post, fax or through FinanzOnline: an e-mail is no submission at all (§§ 85, 86a BAO). In German.

The written telework agreement required in Austria since 1 January 2025 by § 2h of the Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act (AVRAG), in German — Austria's home-office agreement under the new law: places and extent of telework, working time and availability, who provides the digital equipment and what cost allowance is paid, data protection, accident insurance under § 175 ASVG, and ending it for an important reason on one month's notice to the end of a month. It supplements an existing contract of employment.

The partnership agreement for a German civil-law partnership (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts, GbR) under the law in force since 1 January 2024 (§§ 705 ff. of the German Civil Code, BGB, as reformed by the MoPeG), for two or three freelancers, self-employed people or a small team: name and seat, whether the GbR is entered in the partnership register as an eGbR, purpose, contributions and shares, management and representation, resolutions, profit and loss, notice, leaving, a partner's death, settlement and dissolution. No notary is needed for the agreement itself. In German.

The service contract between a German GmbH or UG (haftungsbeschränkt) and its managing director (Geschäftsführer), separate from the appointment by shareholders' resolution. It covers duties and transactions needing the shareholders' consent, start and place of work, salary and variable pay, sick pay, holiday, a non-compete during the contract, confidentiality, termination and garden leave after removal from office. It records the director's shareholding and says when the director is insured as an employee: without shares always; a shareholder-director is self-employed only with a majority or a blocking minority over all company business. In German.

The record a landlord and tenant in Austria fill in and sign together when the tenant moves in: meter readings, keys handed over, the condition of each room, the equipment (bath, WC, heating, boiler) that sets the category and the reference rent under the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG), known defects noted with rent reduction reserved under the Austrian Civil Code (§ 1096 ABGB), the inventory, the energy certificate and the deposit. It reminds both sides to register within three days. In German, for every Land.

The record a landlord and tenant in Germany sign when a rented flat is handed over at move-in: meter readings for electricity, gas, water and heating, every key handed over, the condition of each room and an inventory of what is let with the flat. Defects already there are accepted only with the tenant's rights reserved — under § 536b of the German Civil Code (BGB), a tenant who takes over a flat knowing of a defect otherwise loses rent reduction and damages for it. In German, to print, fill in together and sign by both sides.

The contract between an Austrian GmbH or FlexCo and its managing director, separate from the appointment by the shareholders: duties and standard of care (§ 25 of the Austrian Limited Liability Companies Act, GmbHG), scope of the work, gross monthly salary paid 14 or 12 times a year, variable pay, leave, competition and confidentiality, term and notice. Whether the director is insured under the ASVG or the GSVG depends not on the contract's label but on the shareholding and actual influence (§ 539a ASVG); the contract records the shareholding. Removal ends the office, not the contract (§ 16 GmbHG). In German.