Employment: templates and forms

An employee in Austria who falls ill on holiday does not lose the days: if the illness lasts more than three calendar days, the days of incapacity are not counted against the holiday entitlement (§ 5 UrlG, the Austrian Holiday Act). The employer must be told without delay after three days, and a doctor's confirmation shown on returning to work. This letter records both, with the holiday dates and the start and expected length of the incapacity, without a diagnosis — and a choice for illness abroad, where an official confirmation or a hospital's confirmation is needed. In German.

The written agreement on care leave (Pflegekarenz, § 14c of the Austrian Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act, AVRAG) or reduced hours for care (Pflegeteilzeit, § 14d AVRAG) to look after a close relative: the relative and their care allowance level, the kind, start and end — one to three months — the hours during part-time (not below ten) and the return. The law requires writing: both sign by hand or with a qualified electronic signature. The care leave allowance (Pflegekarenzgeld) is claimed separately from the Sozialministeriumservice. In German.

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.

For an employee in Spain who needs a few days or weeks off without pay. The request asks the employer for unpaid leave on stated dates, under the collective agreement or as an agreement, because the Spanish Workers' Statute gives no general right to it, and asks for a written answer. It is handed over against a receipt, sent by certified letter or by burofax. In Spanish.

For a mother, father or other parent working in Spain who will take leave for a birth, adoption, guardianship or foster care. The letter tells the employer, with the fifteen days' notice of art. 48.4 of the Spanish Workers' Statute, in which weeks the leave will be taken after the six compulsory ones. The benefit is claimed separately, free of charge, from the INSS. It is handed over against a receipt, sent by certified letter or by burofax. In Spanish.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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.