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A letter by which the employed father, or the mother's employed spouse, civil partner (PACS) or cohabiting partner, tells the employer the expected date of birth and the dates of paternity and childcare leave (congé de paternité et d'accueil de l'enfant, article L. 1225-35 of the French Labour Code) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: four compulsory days after the birth leave, then twenty-one days (twenty-eight for multiple births) in one or two periods within six months. Send it at least one month ahead, by registered post with proof of receipt or against a receipt. In French.

For an unmarried couple without a PACS who are asked to prove they live together: by an insurer, a health fund, an employer, a landlord, a pension fund or a foreign authority. Both partners declare on their honour that they live together in a stable and continuous way (article 515-8 of the French Civil Code), since when and at which address, and enclose their ID and proof of address. The French document recalls the penalty for a false declaration (article 441-7 of the French Criminal Code).

The request to Austria's tax office, the Finanzamt Österreich, to extend the deadline for an income tax, VAT or other tax return under § 134 Abs 2 of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (BAO): with the return, the year, the current and the requested deadline, and the reasons. It must be filed before the deadline runs out; if it is refused, the office sets a further period of at least one week. Missing the deadline without excuse risks a late-filing surcharge of up to 10% (§ 135 BAO). By post, fax or FinanzOnline: an e-mail is no submission at all (§§ 85, 86a BAO). In German.

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.

The out-of-court notice (εξώδικη δήλωση) in which an employee in Greece calls on the employer to pay overdue wages and declares that work is withheld under art. 325 of the Greek Civil Code from a set date: the periods, the amount in words, the IBAN. While a lawful withholding lasts, the employer owes pay as if work continued. A court bailiff serves it, and the bailiff's report of service proves what was said and when — which is what counts at the Labour Inspectorate and in court.

A car owner's authorisation for another person to drive it for a set time and in a set territory — for a trip abroad, or when lending the car to family or an employee. It gives both people's details, the vehicle, the OC policy, what is authorised, and states plainly that selling or passing the car on is not. There is room below the signature for notarisation, which some non-EU countries require.

An order imposing a disciplinary penalty is challenged in writing and quickly — the time limit runs from its service, so the first thing to note down is the date you received it. The objection says specifically which of the alleged breaches you dispute and why: you were not heard, the act was not committed, the penalty does not match the gravity. Keep a copy with a reference number.

For an employee in Cyprus who considers the dismissal unjustified: a written challenge to the termination, a request that the employer state in writing the reasons and the facts behind them, and a request to pay what is owed. The employer bears the burden of proving a lawful reason (sections 5 and 6 of the Termination of Employment Law). The next step is an application to the Labour Disputes Court, on its own prescribed form, within twelve months of the termination. Send it by registered post or by hand against a signature.

For a worker dismissed in Italy who wants to keep the right to contest the dismissal. The law requires a written act within sixty days of receiving the dismissal (art. 6 of Italian Law 604/1966): this letter is that act, without going into the grounds. After sending it, there are one hundred and eighty days to file the claim in court or ask for conciliation or arbitration. Send it by registered post or PEC, as early as possible. In Italian.

Changing banks is a small matter until a salary goes to a closed account. This application tells the payroll office what the new account is and from which month it applies. File it before payday rather than after — the transfer is prepared in advance.

For an employee in Italy with at least eight years of service with the same employer who asks for an advance on the end-of-service allowance (TFR). Art. 2120 of the Italian Civil Code allows it once during the employment, up to 70% of the TFR accrued, for exceptional medical costs or for buying a first home for oneself or a child; art. 7 of Italian Law 53/2000 adds costs during parental or training leave. The letter states the reason and encloses the documents. If the TFR goes to a pension fund, the advance is asked of the fund. Send it by registered post, PEC or by hand. In Italian.

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.

Your request to the German tax office (Finanzamt) to bring the quarterly income tax advance payments into line with lower income under § 37(3) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) — after fewer orders, higher business costs, parental leave, illness or the end of an activity. The letter gives the year, the current and the requested payment and the expected income, explains the change, covers the solidarity surcharge and church tax, and asks for overpaid amounts to be refunded. For the self-employed, freelancers and landlords. In German.

An Italian letter, in Italian, to a company, bank, employer, app or public body asking whether it processes your personal data and for a copy, with purposes, recipients, retention periods and source (art. 15 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679). The controller must answer within one month, and the first copy is free. The Italian data protection authority (Garante) publishes a free model on its website. Send it by PEC, by e-mail to the privacy address in the privacy notice, or by registered post with proof of receipt.

For finding out what a company, administration or association based in France knows about you. The CNIL publishes a free model letter; this letter, in French, follows the same right and goes further: confirmation of processing, a copy of the data, purposes, recipients, retention period, source and automated decisions (article 15 of the GDPR), an answer within one month (article 12), first copy free. It announces a complaint to the CNIL if there is no reply. Send it by post or through the channel named in the privacy policy.

Used where an original document has been lost, stolen or destroyed — a diploma, a certificate, an employer's letter. The particulars of the lost document and the reason for the loss are stated.

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.

For a business engaging another for a continuing service in Spain (cleaning, maintenance, IT support, marketing, consulting): a Spanish contract with scope, term and renewal, the price in words and figures, invoicing and the payment term within the 60-day limit of Spain's Law 3/2004, late-payment interest, confidentiality, personal data, termination for breach and the attempt to negotiate before going to court (Organic Law 1/2025). Signed in two copies. In Spanish.

For declaring in writing, on your own responsibility, a fact about yourself when an administration, employer, school, bank or landlord in France asks for it: family situation, lack of income, residence, a lost document, the accuracy of information. In French under French law, the statement identifies the declarant, sets out the facts, names the recipient if you wish and recalls the penalties for a false statement (article 441-7 of the French Criminal Code). For evidence in court, use the witness statement instead.

For two private persons, or a private person and a business, who want to end a dispute in France without going to court: damage, poor work, a disputed sum, a quarrel between neighbours. The agreement, in French under French law, describes the dispute, each party's reciprocal concessions and the waiver of any action on the same matter (articles 2044 and 2052 of the French Civil Code). A standard form: it does not suit a dispute between employer and employee, or a divorce. Two originals, signed by both parties.

A model holographic will and instructions for copying it out in your own hand. A printed or typed text is not a will: a holographic will is valid only if written entirely, dated and signed in its author's hand (article 970 of the French Civil Code), and a will made by two people in one document is void (article 968). The instructions cover the heirs' reserved shares, the authentic will made before a notary, and the option of lodging the will with a notary, who registers it in the central register of last wishes (FCDDV). In French.

For a self-employed person or business whose invoices another business in Spain will not pay: a Spanish demand for the principal, the late-payment interest and the 40 euros per invoice of Spain's Law 3/2004, with the invitation to negotiate within thirty days that Organic Law 1/2025 requires before a court claim, including the payment-order procedure (monitorio). Sent by burofax with certified content and acknowledgement of receipt, proving what was sent and when. In Spanish.

For an employer in Spain that needs a temporary contract for an occasional, unforeseeable rise in activity or for an occasional, foreseeable and short situation. It makes the employer describe the cause, the specific circumstances and their link with the term precisely, as art. 15 of the Spanish Workers' Statute has required since the 2021 labour reform: without that cause the contract is open-ended. It sets the term (up to six months, or a year if a sector agreement extends it), trial period, hours, pay and the final payment of twelve days per year. Signed before work starts. In Spanish.

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.