Work & career

It's the most notorious kill-phrase in German HR: "war stets bemüht" ("always endeavored") certifies that you tried — and thereby denies that you succeeded. It signals grade 5–6, the bottom of the scale. If it appears in your Arbeitszeugnis, you should demand a correction before using the letter in applications.

It sounds good but it's the legal average — Note 3. Germany's Federal Labor Court confirmed this in 2014 (BAG 9 AZR 584/13). The real top grades read "stets zu unserer vollsten Zufriedenheit" (Note 1) and "stets zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit" (Note 2); the words "stets" and "vollste" carry the grade.

Formally yes — §109 Abs. 2 GewO bans hidden meanings. But case law also requires the Zeugnis to be both truthful and benevolent, so employers grade you through degrees of praise and calculated omissions instead of open criticism. That's why the code persists: formally positive, factually devastating, legally defensible.

Yes, and it's serious. Courts ruled you have no legal right to a Schlussformel (BAG 9 AZR 227/11) — which means an employer who omits it does so deliberately, and every HR reader understands the signal. A full closing has regret, thanks, and future wishes including "weiterhin viel Erfolg"; each missing part is a step down.

It does. The canonical order is "Vorgesetzten, Kollegen und Kunden" — superiors first. Reversing it is a deliberate signal that you clashed with management, and leaving a group out entirely (e.g. superiors never mentioned) signals serious problems with that group.

Often, yes. Note 3 ("zur vollen Zufriedenheit") is the legal default: if the employer grades you worse, they must prove documented facts justifying it; if you want Note 1–2, you carry the proof burden. A Zeugnisberichtigung (correction claim) is a normal, low-drama request — most employers correct rather than litigate.

Check the clock: you have only 3 weeks to file a Kündigungsschutzklage at the Arbeitsgericht (§4 KSchG). Dismissal protection applies once you've been employed more than 6 months in a company with more than 10 employees. Also check the form — a dismissal is only valid with a wet-ink signature; termination by email or WhatsApp is void (§623 BGB).

13.90 €/hour since 1 January 2026, rising to 14.60 € on 1 January 2027. The Minijob earnings ceiling moved with it to 603 €/month (7,236 €/year); a one-off unforeseen month up to double that keeps your Minijob status.

Maximum 6 months (§622 BGB), during which either side can terminate with just 2 weeks' notice on any day. Note that probation and dismissal protection are separate clocks: even without an agreed Probezeit, full KSchG protection only starts after 6 months of tenure.

Weeks 1–6: your employer continues 100 % of your pay (Entgeltfortzahlung, after 4 weeks of employment). From week 7 your Krankenkasse pays Krankengeld — 70 % of gross, capped at 90 % of net — for up to 78 weeks within 3 years per illness. Your employer pulls the sick note electronically (eAU); by law you need one from day 4, or earlier if the employer demands it.