Abmahnung: what an employer warning letter means and how to react

What an Abmahnung is — and what it is for

With a warning letter the employer criticises specific conduct (lateness, mistakes, ignoring instructions), demands a change and threatens consequences — usually dismissal — if it happens again.

Before a conduct-based dismissal German labour courts generally expect a valid prior warning. That is why employers “collect” warnings when they prepare a termination.

When a warning letter is challengeable

• the accusation is generic — no date, place or specific behaviour,
• the criticised conduct was not a breach of duty or was justified,
• a “bundled” warning — several accusations in one letter, some of them untrue (this can invalidate the whole letter),
• the threat of consequences is missing.

Your three options

First: a counter-statement (Gegendarstellung), which the employer must add to your personnel file. Second: demanding removal of an unjustified warning from the file — through the labour court if necessary. Third: consciously doing nothing — sometimes tactically best, if preparing for a possible dismissal matters more.

Which route fits depends on the situation in the company — that is exactly what we assess first.

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