Notice & Demand: templates and forms

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 a business or self-employed person in Spain ending a services or supply contract with another business: a Spanish letter giving notice of termination, choosing the ground (the right to terminate or withdraw that the contract gives, or the other party's breach under art. 1124 of the Spanish Civil Code), setting the effective date and asking for materials back and the final invoice. Sent by burofax with certified content and acknowledgement of receipt. In Spanish.

For an individual, self-employed person or business with a dispute of up to 2,000 euros in Spain who wants to settle it without a trial: the Spanish confidential binding offer of art. 17 of Organic Law 1/2025, stating the dispute, the amount and the terms, with an acceptance at the foot. If the other side accepts it expressly, it binds the offeror; if it refuses or stays silent for a month, the pre-court requirement is met. Sent by burofax. In Spanish.

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.

For a landlord in Italy who lets without the cedolare secca and whose lease has an indexation clause: the letter to the tenant applying the change in the ISTAT consumer-price index for blue- and white-collar households (FOI) at the share the lease sets, with the current rent, the new rent and the month from which it applies. A landlord who chose the cedolare secca may not ask for any update while the option lasts. Sent by registered post with proof of receipt, by PEC if the tenant has one, or by hand. In Italian.

For an employee in Spain caring for a child under twelve, a person with a disability or a relative who cannot look after themselves, who wants to work fewer hours. The letter gives notice of the reduction (between one eighth and one half, with pay cut in proportion), the hours chosen within the ordinary working day and the dates, with the fifteen days' notice of art. 37.7 of the Spanish Workers' Statute. It is handed over against a receipt, sent by certified letter or by burofax. In Spanish.

For a self-employed person or business in Spain with an overdue unpaid invoice: a courteous Spanish reminder identifying the invoice, its amount and due date, asking for payment or for proof if already paid, and recalling that late-payment interest and recovery costs under Spain's Law 3/2004 run from the due date. Sent by e-mail or, for proof of content, by burofax; if payment does not follow, the next step is the demand with an invitation to negotiate. In Spanish.