Dismissal and unfair-dismissal claims
Most dismissals after six months in a company with more than ten staff need a reason. Whether yours has one is decided by the labour court - if you ask it in time.3 weeks from receipt (§ 4 KSchG)
Employment and tenancy law · Cologne
Dismissed, or facing a rent increase? Most of it has a deadline.
We act for employees and tenants - never for employers or landlords - in English and German. In a first consultation of 45 minutes we tell you your deadline, your chances and what it will cost.
- Callback within one working day
- German, English, Turkish, Swedish, French
- Admitted in Cologne since 2009
Deadline check
Tell us what arrived and when. We count the days the way the court will.
Three weeks from the day the letter reached you, to file a claim with the labour court (§ 4 KSchG). A weekend
or a public holiday moves the last day to the next working day.
A guide, not advice. A letter counts as received on the day it landed in your letterbox, opened or not.
Practice
Two fields, one side of the table
Because we never act for employers or landlords, we never meet a former client across the table. Every topic below comes with the deadline that decides it.
Employment law for employees
Settlement and severance agreements
There is rarely a legal right to severance - it is negotiated. We read the offer, the numbers and the wording with you.signing can stop unemployment benefit for 12 weeks (§ 159 SGB III)
Fixed-term contracts
A fixed term without a reason is allowed for two years at most, renewed no more than three times. After that, the contract may already be permanent.3 weeks after the agreed end (§ 17 TzBfG)
References, unpaid wages and overtime
Coded phrases in a reference, a bonus that never came, hours nobody paid for.many contracts cut claims off after 3 months
Tenancy law for tenants
Rent increases and the rent brake
We check the increase against Cologne's rent index and the cap of 15 % in three years that applies in the city.to the end of the 2nd month after receipt (§ 558b BGB)
Service-charge statements
Heating, caretaker, insurance - what may be passed on, and what a statement that arrives too late can no longer ask for.12 months to object after receipt (§ 556 BGB)
Notice for the landlord's own use
Is the need real, is the notice long enough, and does your situation outweigh it? Age, illness and school years count.objection 2 months before the tenancy ends (§ 574b BGB)
Defects, rent reduction and the deposit
Mould, a broken heating system, a deposit that does not come back.a deposit may not exceed three months' net rent (§ 551 BGB)
The lawyers
Four lawyers, five languages
All four are admitted to the bar in Cologne. The partners hold the specialist titles in their field - a Fachanwalt has passed extra exams and run at least a hundred cases in it.
Dr. Johanna Lindholm
Specialist lawyer for employment law
Dismissals of senior staff and the negotiations that follow them.
Emre Kaya
Specialist lawyer for tenancy law
Rent increases, notices for own use and eviction cases.
Amelie Brandt
Lawyer, employment law
Fixed-term contracts, references and unpaid overtime.
Jonas Wiśniewski
Lawyer, tenancy law
Service charges, defects and deposits.
How a mandate works
From the first call to the hearing
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You call or write
Tell us what you received and when. We call back within one working day - the same day when a deadline is close.
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The first consultation
45 minutes at the office, by phone or by video, for a fixed €190 plus VAT. You leave knowing your deadline, your chances and the cost of each next step.
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The mandate
If you instruct us, you sign a power of attorney and, where we charge by the hour, a written fee agreement. We ask your legal expenses insurer for cover.
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Letter, claim, settlement
We write to the other side or file the claim. In a dismissal case the labour court holds a first hearing within weeks, and most cases settle there.
Fees
What it costs, before it costs anything
Prices include nothing hidden; VAT at 19 % comes on top for private clients, as it does on every lawyer's bill in Germany.
| Service | Fee | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| First consultation | €190 €226.10 with VAT | Fixed, 45 minutes, for private clients - the statutory cap for a first consultation (§ 34 RVG). If you instruct us, it is set against the later fee. |
| Advice and letters | €240 an hour plus VAT | Outside court. Agreed in writing beforehand, recorded in six-minute steps, with an itemised statement every month. |
| Court proceedings | Statutory fees RVG scale | Set by law from the value in dispute - in a dismissal case a quarter's gross salary (§ 42 GKG). You get the figure in the first consultation. |
| Labour court, first instance | Your own lawyer win or lose | Each side pays its own lawyer, even the one who wins (§ 12a ArbGG). The court's own fee falls away when the case settles. |
Nothing is billed that was not agreed in writing first - and we tell you before a cost rises.
Legal expenses insurance
If you have it, we ask the insurer for cover before anything costs you money. Employment cases are usually covered once the three-month waiting period has passed.
A low income
With an advice certificate (Beratungsschein) from your local court, our advice costs you €15. In court, legal aid can cover your lawyer.
Consultation
Request a consultation
Pick a time for our call. A lawyer - not a call centre - rings you, asks what happened and books the first consultation.
Request received · LK-26-0000
Thank you.
A deadline ends within seven days, so a lawyer calls you today - have the letter and its envelope at hand.
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This is a demo - nothing left this page. A real request would reach the firm's inbox with this reference.
Questions
What people ask in the first call
My employer dismissed me by email. Is that valid?
No. A dismissal must be a signed letter on paper (§ 623 BGB) - email, text message and WhatsApp are void. Call us anyway: the employer often sends the letter a few days later, and that starts the three weeks.
Do I have a right to severance pay?
Usually not by law. Severance is what an employer pays to end a claim it might lose. A common starting point is half a month's gross salary per year of service - what you get depends on how strong your claim is.
Should I sign the settlement agreement I was handed?
Not on the spot. Signing it can cost you twelve weeks of unemployment benefit, and it ends any claim. Ask for a few days - an employer who refuses is telling you something.
My landlord wants more rent. Do I have to agree?
Only to an increase that is justified - up to the local comparative rent, at most 15 % in three years in Cologne. You have until the end of the second month after the letter arrived. Do not simply pay the new amount: that can count as consent.
What should I bring to the first consultation?
The letter and its envelope, your contract, your last three payslips - or your tenancy agreement and the last two service-charge statements. And a note of the day the letter arrived.
Do you take cases outside Cologne?
Yes. We appear before every labour court in Germany, and most of the work runs by phone and video. A tenancy case is heard by the local court where the flat is.