A Kündigungsschutzklage — literally a “protection-against-dismissal claim” — is the formal action you file at the competent labor court (Arbeitsgericht) to have the dismissal declared void. It is the only way to keep your employment alive after the employer has issued a written dismissal.
What you’re asking the court to decide
The claim asks the court to find that the employment relationship has not been terminated by the dismissal in question. If you win, your employment continues, and the employer owes you all wages from the dismissal date forward (Annahmeverzugslohn). If you lose, the dismissal stands.
When the Kündigungsschutzgesetz applies
The substantive protection of the Kündigungsschutzgesetz (KSchG) only kicks in if both of the following are true at the time of the dismissal:
- You have been employed by the same employer for more than six months without interruption (§ 1(1) KSchG); and
- Your employer regularly employs more than 10 full-time-equivalent staff in Germany (§ 23(1) KSchG; part-timers count proportionally).
If both apply, your employer must justify the dismissal under one of three headings: operational reasons (betriebsbedingt), personal reasons (personenbedingt), or behavioural reasons (verhaltensbedingt). If the employer cannot, the dismissal is void.
If the KSchG doesn’t apply, can I still file?
Yes — and you usually should. Even outside the KSchG, a dismissal can be void on other grounds (form defects, discrimination under the AGG, breach of special protection rules for pregnant employees or works-council members, abusive behaviour by the employer). Filing the claim is also the only way to start negotiations: most small-business dismissals settle with a smaller severance even though the merits are weaker.
How the procedure runs
- Filing. We draft and file the claim electronically at the competent labor court — usually the court for the location where you regularly perform your work.
- Conciliation hearing (Gütetermin). Within 4–8 weeks a single judge invites both sides to an attempt at settlement. The vast majority of cases settle here, typically with a severance payment in exchange for ending the relationship.
- Chamber hearing (Kammertermin). If no settlement is reached, a chamber of one professional judge and two lay judges hears witnesses and decides on the merits months later.
- Judgment. Either side may appeal to the regional labor court within one month.
What it costs
The labor court does not charge any filing fee to the employee up front. Each side pays its own lawyers in the first instance regardless of the outcome (the “American rule” applies before the Arbeitsgericht — § 12a ArbGG). If you have legal-protection insurance, your insurer typically covers your lawyer’s fees minus a small deductible. Without insurance, the fee under the German RVG is roughly €1,500–€2,500 plus VAT for a first-instance claim based on a salary of around €5,000/month.
Practical example
Maria, a software engineer, receives a written dismissal on 5 March citing operational reasons. Her gross monthly salary is €6,500 and she has worked at the company for four years. We file the Kündigungsschutzklage on 12 March (well within the 3 weeks). The Gütetermin is scheduled for 28 April. The employer’s social-selection list shows that two colleagues with shorter tenure and fewer dependants were kept on. We use this point to negotiate; the case settles at the Gütetermin for a severance of €19,500 (0.75 monthly salaries per year of service) plus a Grade 2 reference letter and garden leave until 30 June at full pay. Total time elapsed: roughly seven weeks from dismissal to signed settlement.
Common mistakes that weaken your claim
- Not noting the exact date of receipt. Without this, calculating the 3-week deadline becomes guesswork.
- Communicating directly with HR after the dismissal. Innocuous emails sometimes contain admissions that the employer later uses.
- Refusing to perform the work during the notice period. Unless the employer has placed you on garden leave in writing, refusing to come in can be reinterpreted as you walking away.
- Signing a release as part of receiving the dismissal letter. Some employers add a small “acknowledgement” with broader waiver wording; only sign that the letter was received, nothing more.
- Failing to register as job-seeking within 3 days. Separate from the 3-week claim deadline, this is a one-week Sperrzeit issue.
What the employer cannot do once you file
- Cannot stop the running notice period — the contract continues until the notice expires unless you both agree otherwise.
- Cannot deduct from your wages or freeze your benefits without a separate legal basis.
- Cannot retaliate (e.g. by issuing further unjustified warnings) without inviting additional claims.