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What Severance Could You Get in Germany?
Germany has no general statutory severance entitlement. Real outcomes follow a market rule of thumb — 0.5 gross monthly salaries per year of service, adjusted for age, tenure, and negotiating position. This calculator shows your range, where it comes from, and what changes it.
Indicative range
12.500 € – 22.500 €
Based on 5.000 € gross and 5,0 years of service. Range, not entitlement.
How the range is built
- —Base: 0.5 × 5.000 € × 5,0 = 12.500 € — the customary settlement formula.
- —Upper end: 0,90× per year of service — adjusted for age (40) and tenure.
- If you negotiate a termination agreement: a severance of at least 0.25 monthly salaries per year of service (here approx. 6.250 €) is the safest calibration to avoid the 12-week unemployment benefit blocking period.
- With a works council and a collective redundancy, the social plan formula (typically 0.5–1.8 per year of service) replaces the individual negotiation — see the social plan guide.
What moves the number
Procedural leverage, not emotion, moves German severance numbers. An employer with a weak case — a flawed works council consultation under §102 BetrVG, thin documentation, questionable operational grounds — pays meaningfully more, because the alternative is a void dismissal.
The calculation ignores one significant source: court settlements after a Kündigungsschutzklage track the same rule of thumb, but the filing deadline is three weeks (§7 KSchG). Severance taxed via the Fünftelregelung (§34 EStG) can reduce the tax burden; social security contributions do not apply to severance.
For the full picture — the five sources of severance, the social plan formula, and the blocking-period trap — read the detailed guide.
Read the severance guideDisclaimer: This calculator is general information and negotiation orientation only — it is not legal or tax advice, and it does not create an entitlement. Individual outcomes depend on the specific facts, the dismissal context, and the negotiation. For individual cases, involve a German employment lawyer and, for larger sums, a tax advisor. If your case sits next to a live restructuring, works council conflict, or post-merger situation, that is precisely the mandate of Wexel Consulting.