Employment: templates and forms

An agreement ending a German employment relationship by mutual consent (Aufhebungsvertrag), in German: end date, pay and garden leave, severance, remaining leave, a reference with an agreed grade, employment papers and a clean-break clause. Its preamble records the reason that decides whether unemployment benefit is blocked for 12 weeks (§ 159 SGB III), and it warns of that block and of the duty to register as a job-seeker. Under § 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB) it is valid only if printed and signed by hand by both sides: the electronic form is excluded.

A request to an Austrian employer for unpaid leave (Karenzierung), with the agreement both sides sign below it: the period, the reason, the return to work, the collective agreement and what applies to annual leave and special payments. There is no right to unpaid leave in Austria — it is agreed. The letter records that compulsory social insurance continues only for unpaid leave of up to one month (§ 11(3)(a) of the Austrian General Social Insurance Act, ASVG). No form is prescribed. In German, ready to print and sign.

A letter by which an employee in Austria gives the employer a concrete final deadline (Nachfrist) for pay withheld, announcing that the employee will leave early if it is not paid (§ 26 Z 2 AngG; for blue-collar workers § 82a lit d GewO 1859). Leaving over unpaid wages without such a deadline has been held unjustified, so this letter is the first step. It also meets the forfeiture deadlines of the collective agreement. With a receipt for hand delivery. In German.

An agreement on repaying training costs under § 2d of the Austrian Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act (AVRAG), in German: in writing, before the training begins and with the exact amount, as the law and the courts require, for training that gives specialist skills usable with other employers too. With a bond of at most four years (eight in special cases), a monthly pro-rata reduction, the cases in which the law excludes repayment (probation, the employer's notice, justified resignation, end of a fixed term) and the rule of § 11b AVRAG that the employer pays for training the job requires.

A termination by mutual consent of an employment in Austria (einvernehmliche Auflösung), as an agreement between employer and employee: end date, final pay and garden leave, leave and pay in lieu, statutory and voluntary severance (Abfertigung), the written reference and the return of work equipment. It asks about protection under Austria's Maternity Protection Act (MSchG) and Fathers' Parental Leave Act (VKG), which requires writing (§ 10 Abs 7 MSchG), and about the works council (§ 104a ArbVG). The AMS imposes no waiting period afterwards. Not for apprenticeships. In German.

The notice telling an Austrian employer when your parental leave (Karenz) starts and how long it lasts, under the Maternity Protection Act (§ 15 MSchG) or the Fathers' Leave Act (§ 2 VKG): child and date of birth, leave from–to, the other parent's parts. For children born from 1 November 2023, Karenz runs to the end of the 22nd month, or the 24th if shared — the document prints the rule for your child. With a receipt block. Childcare benefit (Kinderbetreuungsgeld) is claimed separately from the health insurer, usually the ÖGK. In German.

A fixed-term contract of employment (befristeter Dienstvertrag) for salaried employees or workers in Austria, in German, with every Dienstzettel item under § 2 AVRAG: the end date and the objective justification that a chain of fixed terms needs, a probation month, a choice between excluding notice during the term and allowing it, § 21 AngG and § 1158 Abs 3 ABGB for terms over five years, the suspension on pregnancy under § 10a of the Maternity Protection Act (MSchG), collective agreement, hours, pay, leave, the severance fund and the social insurer.

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.

An agreement barring an employee in Germany from competing after the job ends, in German, under §§ 74 ff. of the German Commercial Code (HGB): the barred activities, the area, a length of at most two years and the compensation of at least half the last pay without which the ban is not binding. With the offset of other earnings, the duty to report them and the employer's waiver under § 75a HGB. Written form: print it, both sign by hand, and the employee is handed an original signed by the employer.

A permanent employment contract for full- or part-time work in Germany, in German, with every essential term the German Evidence Act (Nachweisgesetz, NachwG) requires: start, job, place of work, probation, hours and breaks, overtime, pay and when it is due, the minimum wage, leave, notice periods under § 622 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the written form of a dismissal and the deadline to sue, collective agreements, training and pension. Its time limit for claims leaves the minimum wage untouched and asks only for text form.

An open-ended contract of employment (Dienstvertrag) for salaried employees or workers in Austria, in German, carrying every item the Dienstzettel must state under the Austrian Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act (§ 2 AVRAG) as amended on 28 March 2024: seat, job and a short description of the work, collective agreement and pay group, probation month, working time and overtime, pay, leave under the Leave Act (UrlG), notice periods under § 20 AngG and § 1159 ABGB, the termination procedure, the severance fund (Abfertigung neu) and the social insurer.

A letter asking the employer in Austria for a written reference (Dienstzeugnis) under § 1163 ABGB and § 39 AngG — a final reference when the employment ends, or an interim one during it, which is issued at the employee's cost. Austrian law owes only the simple reference stating the length and kind of the work, and it may contain nothing that makes finding a new job harder; the letter also asks politely for a favourable description of duties and achievements. In German, to print and sign.

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.

A German resignation letter (Eigenkündigung): ordinary notice ending your employment on the date you choose, or else on the next possible date, asking for confirmation of receipt, a full employment reference (qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis) and for remaining leave to be granted or paid out. Under § 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB), notice ending employment is valid only on paper signed by hand — e-mail, fax, scans and every other electronic form are void. In German, to print, sign and hand over with proof of delivery.

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 letter asking a German employer for a full employment reference (qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis) on leaving, or an interim reference (Zwischenzeugnis) while still employed — expressly covering performance and conduct, because without that request the employer owes only a basic reference stating the type and length of the work (§ 109 of the German Trade Regulation Act, GewO). It gives the job, the period of employment, the reason and a date by which the reference should be posted. No form is prescribed for the request. In German.

A resignation letter for an employee in Austria (Selbstkündigung): notice ending your employment with the notice period, or during the probation month, on the date you choose or else on the next possible date, asking for confirmation, a written reference (Dienstzeugnis), the final pay and pay in lieu of untaken leave. Austrian law prescribes no form, but many collective agreements (Kollektivverträge) require writing: print, sign and hand it over against a receipt. For white- and blue-collar workers; not for apprentices. In German.