Employment: templates and forms

A letter from an employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte to a current or former employer, claiming unpaid wages, bonuses or overtime: it sets out the amounts month by month, refers to the overtime premium (articles L. 3121-28 and L. 3121-36 of the Labour Code) and gives a payment deadline before the employment tribunal (conseil de prud'hommes) is seised. Pay claims become time-barred after three years (article L. 3245-1). Send it by registered post with proof of receipt. In French.

A letter for a former employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte who wants to denounce the final-settlement receipt (reçu pour solde de tout compte) signed at the end of the contract. Sent within six months of signing, it stops the receipt from discharging the employer from the amounts listed in it (article L. 1234-20 of the Labour Code), and can name the amounts disputed. The withdrawal goes by registered post (article D. 1234-8 of the Labour Code) and the six months run from signing: use proof of receipt and send it early enough to arrive in time. In French.

The French labour ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr offers free model letters ending the probation period, for the employee and for the employer. This document is a letter by which the employer or the employee ends the employment contract during the probation period (période d'essai) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: it says who is ending it, refers to the notice period of article L. 1221-25 (employer) or L. 1221-26 (employee) of the Labour Code and gives the end date. No reason has to be given. Hand it over against a signed receipt or send it by registered post with proof of receipt, before the probation period ends. In French.

A letter for an employee whose contract has ended in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte and who has not received the documents due: the certificat de travail (article L. 1234-19 of the Labour Code), the certificate for France Travail, the public employment service (article R. 1234-9), and the final-settlement receipt (article L. 1234-20). It lists what is missing, sets a deadline and says that, failing that, the employment tribunal's urgent-applications judge will be asked to order it. Send it by registered post with proof of receipt. In French.

The written notice of parental part-time work (Elternteilzeit) to an Austrian employer under § 15j of the Maternity Protection Act (MSchG) or § 8b of the Fathers' Leave Act (VKG): start, length, hours and their pattern, the child, and since when you have been employed. You choose whether you claim the statutory right (more than 20 employees, three years' employment) or ask for an agreement. The notice must be in writing, so signed — a plain e-mail is not enough — and must arrive at least three months before the start. In German.

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.

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 agreement between employer and employee on Weiterbildungszeit or Weiterbildungsteilzeit — the AMS's names for full release and reduced hours for training, by statute the educational leave (Bildungskarenz, § 11 of the Austrian Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act, AVRAG) and educational part-time (Bildungsteilzeit, § 11a AVRAG) as reformed for 2026: start and end, hours, current education level, the training and its aim. It takes effect only if the AMS grants the training allowance (Weiterbildungsbeihilfe), to which there is no right. The allowance itself is claimed from the AMS, online or at the regional office. 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.

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.

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 written demand by an employee or former employee in Cyprus to the employer for wages that have not been paid: the job, the salary, the unpaid periods and the amount owed, with seven days to pay into a bank account, the documents attached and a request for a written reply within 14 days. It warns that, if unpaid, a written complaint to the Department of Labour Relations under the Protection of Wages Law and a claim before the Labour Disputes Court will follow, or, above two years' wages, before the District Court, for which it is also the letter of claim the Civil Procedure Rules require. It is sent by registered post or by hand.

The request in which a parent in Greece asks for parental leave under art. 28 of Law 4808/2021: the child, the dates and statements on the conditions. Each parent is entitled to four months until the child turns eight, after a year with the same employer, and DYPA, the public employment service, pays the first two months at the level of the minimum wage. It goes in at least a month ahead, asks for any refusal or postponement to be reasoned in writing, and asks the employer to file form E.14 in ERGANI II.

The letter in which a Romanian employer recommends a current or former employee: the period and position, the main duties, the results and qualities worth pointing out, and a contact person who can confirm them. Unlike the seniority certificate, a reference is voluntary — this lets an employer give one without writing it from scratch.

The notice in which an employee in Romania demands unpaid wages and overtime not made up with time off: the periods, the hours, the sum and a deadline. It cites the rules that give it weight: overtime not compensated with time off within 90 days is paid with a premium of at least 75%, and wage claims can be brought in court for 3 years, free of court fees.

The agreement by which a Romanian employer and employee end the employment contract on an agreed date, without notice or a reason (art. 55(b) of the Labour Code). It fixes the last working day, the final pay — including payment for untaken leave — and the return of company property, and leaves room for any extra sum negotiated. It cannot contain the employee waiving statutory rights.

A Romanian permanent employment contract, following the framework model in Order no. 2171/2022, which replaced the old Order no. 64/2003: the parties, probation, place of work, job with its COR code, working time and schedule, leave, salary and pay date, notice periods, duties, the risks of the job, evaluation criteria, training and each side's rights and obligations, from letter A to T. It must be signed and entered in the general employee register by the day before work starts.

A courteous, practical request to a current or former employer in Poland for a reference: the position and period worked, what it is needed for and what is worth highlighting. In Poland a reference is voluntary — only the certificate of employment is compulsory — so the letter makes agreeing easy by suggesting specific achievements and a date.

An employee's written request for unpaid leave in Poland: dates, number of days and reason. The employer may grant it but does not have to; there is space for the decision on the same sheet. Unpaid leave does not count towards the service on which employee entitlements depend, and for leave over three months the parties can agree that the employee may be recalled earlier for important reasons.

A Polish employment contract with no end date, carrying what art. 29 § 1 of the Labour Code requires: the parties with the employer's registered address, job title and duties, place of work, working time, pay and its components, pay date and start date. Notice periods are written out, and the employer gives the remaining terms separately within 7 days of the employee starting work.

While an agreed probationary period is running, the party in whose favour it was agreed may end the contract with no notice and without giving a reason. The application identifies the contract, the termination date, and that the ground is Art. 71 of the Labour Code. Check your own contract for whose benefit the probationary period was agreed before filing it.

Remote work is not settled by a spoken arrangement — it is written into an amendment to the employment contract, which fixes the place of work, the working hours and who provides the equipment. This application puts the request in writing and proposes a specific arrangement, rather than leaving everything to be decided afresh the next time management changes.

Unpaid leave is not an entitlement — it is granted by the employer, so the application has to be in writing and has to carry a decision on it. State the exact period and the reason, because whether the time counts towards length of service and insurance depends on how long it is. File it early enough for someone to be able to cover your work.

A reference is not a certificate: it is an assessment of your work, and an employer is not obliged to give one. So the request states which period, for what purpose and in which language you need it — a specific request is answered far more often than a general one.