Apprentices (Auszubildende) enjoy stronger termination protection than almost any regular employee in Germany. After the probation period, the employer can end an apprenticeship only by extraordinary termination for cause, in writing and stating the reasons — a notice that omits the reasons is void (§ 22 BBiG). Add a mandatory arbitration step before the labor court in many regions, a statutory minimum training allowance and a deemed-employment rule if you keep working after your final exam, and the Berufsbildungsgesetz hands apprentices a toolkit that most Azubis — and quite a few employers — have never read.
Probation: one to four months of thin ice
Every apprenticeship begins with a probation period of at least one and at most four months (§ 20 BBiG). During probation, both sides may terminate at any time, without notice and without giving reasons — only the written form is required (§ 22 Abs. 1, Abs. 3 BBiG). A contractual probation longer than four months is invalid to the extent it exceeds the cap. This is the one phase where an Azubi’s position resembles an ordinary probation dismissal: protection is thin, though terminations motivated by discrimination, pregnancy or representative activity remain contestable.
After probation: cause, in writing, with reasons
Once probation ends, ordinary termination by the employer is excluded for the entire remaining training period. The employer may terminate only:
- extraordinarily for cause (aus wichtigem Grund) without notice, § 22 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 BBiG, and
- in writing, stating the termination reasons in the notice itself, § 22 Abs. 3 BBiG.
Both requirements have real teeth:
- The bar for cause is higher than for regular employees. The purpose of the relationship is training: courts expect the employer to address typical apprentice failures — lateness, mistakes, immaturity, weak grades — through guidance and formal warnings first. Termination is the last resort.
- The reasons must appear in the termination letter itself: specific facts with dates and incidents, not labels. „Repeated misconduct” without particulars does not satisfy § 22 Abs. 3 BBiG. Missing or insufficient reasons make the termination void, whatever actually happened.
- The two-week window applies: a termination for cause is invalid if the underlying facts were known to the employer for more than two weeks before the notice (§ 22 Abs. 4 BBiG).
Your own exit options as an apprentice
The asymmetry favours the Azubi. You can terminate:
- during probation: at any time, without reasons;
- after probation: with four weeks’ notice if you are giving up this type of training altogether or switching to a different occupation (Berufswechsel), § 22 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BBiG — the reasons must be stated in writing here too;
- extraordinarily for cause at any time — for example where training content is not actually delivered, the responsible trainer is permanently absent, or the allowance goes unpaid. Where the employer culpably causes the early end, § 23 BBiG adds a damages claim.
Mind the trap in the other direction: quitting merely to continue the same occupation at a nicer company is not a Berufswechsel. In that scenario an Aufhebungsvertrag with the current employer is usually the clean route.
The Schlichtungsausschuss: mandatory first stop
Many chambers (IHK, Handwerkskammer) have established arbitration committees for disputes arising from apprenticeship relationships. Where such a Schlichtungsausschuss exists, invoking it is a mandatory precondition: a claim filed directly at the Arbeitsgericht is inadmissible (§ 111 Abs. 2 ArbGG). The committee hears both sides quickly and informally; if its decision is not accepted by both parties, a short statutory window opens to take the dispute to the labor court.
Where no committee exists for your occupation and district, you sue directly at the labor court — and the three-week deadline for challenging a termination applies. Even on the committee route, do not sit on your rights: excessive delay can forfeit the claim. Treat three weeks as your working deadline in every scenario.
Training allowance: the statutory floor
§ 17 BBiG guarantees an appropriate allowance and sets an absolute minimum for the first training year (Mindestausbildungsvergütung), adjusted annually — around €680–700 per month for apprenticeships starting in 2026; check the figure published for your own start year. The minimum rises by 18% in the second, 35% in the third and 40% in the fourth training year. Where a collective agreement binds the employer, its rates prevail; and even a non-bound employer pays inappropriately — making the pay clause invalid — if the allowance falls below 80% of the applicable collective rate for the sector. Underpaid allowance can be claimed retroactively.
Special cases: representatives, failed exams, working past the end
Übernahme for employee representatives (§ 78a BetrVG): apprentices who sit on the works council or the youth and trainee representation (Jugend- und Auszubildendenvertretung) hold a remarkable card. If they demand continued employment in writing within the last three months before the apprenticeship ends, an indefinite employment relationship is deemed created by operation of law. The employer escapes only by applying to the labor court for release — on a demanding standard.
Failed final exam (§ 21 Abs. 3 BBiG): if you fail, the apprenticeship extends at your request until the next possible repeat examination, up to a maximum of one year — with continued allowance. Conversely, passing ends the apprenticeship upon announcement of the results, even before the contractual end date (§ 21 Abs. 2 BBiG).
Working past the end (§ 24 BBiG): if you simply keep working after the apprenticeship ends without an express agreement, an employment relationship of indefinite duration is deemed established. A powerful, frequently overlooked rule — more on it in the FAQ.
Worked example
A second-year mechatronics apprentice in Bonn, monthly allowance €1,050, receives a letter terminating the apprenticeship „ordinarily with four weeks’ notice due to unsatisfactory performance.” No concrete incidents are named.
The termination is void twice over: ordinary termination is unavailable to the employer after probation, and the letter states no reasons within the meaning of § 22 Abs. 3 BBiG. We invoke the IHK Schlichtungsausschuss within days. Confronted with the defects, the employer first offers one month’s allowance to „settle”. Because the Azubi wants to finish his training, we insist on continuation: the committee brokers continued training, back pay for the two months since the purported end date (€2,100) and a supervised change of department. Had he preferred to leave, the alternative package on the table was an Aufhebungsvertrag with €3,500 compensation — supported by the damages logic of § 23 BBiG — an organised transfer to another training company, and a good interim Zeugnis. Either way, the void termination converted a weak position into a choice.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Kündigungsschutzgesetz apply to apprentices?
The BBiG regime is stronger and takes precedence: after probation the employer cannot terminate ordinarily at all, so the KSchG’s social-justification test rarely matters. Procedurally, however, the deadlines and the Kündigungsschutzklage route — or the Schlichtungsausschuss where one exists — work similarly. Act immediately.
My contract says six months’ probation. Is that valid?
No. § 20 BBiG caps probation at four months. From the first day of month five you have full § 22 BBiG protection, whatever the contract says.
Can I be dismissed for failing exams or bad Berufsschule grades?
Practically never for that alone. Training deficits are precisely what the employer is obliged to address with support and warnings. Only persistent refusal-type conduct, serious misconduct such as theft or violence, or long-term impossibility of continuing the training reach the wichtiger-Grund threshold.
Do apprentices get severance?
There is no statutory severance. But a void termination creates leverage: back pay, continuation of the training, or a negotiated exit package. Where the employer culpably caused the early termination, § 23 BBiG adds damages — for example allowance differences and losses from a delayed career start.
I kept working after passing my final exam, without a new contract. What am I now?
A permanent employee: § 24 BBiG deems an indefinite employment relationship established. Your pay should move from allowance to a proper salary — negotiate that expressly, but the employment relationship itself already exists by operation of law.