{"id":4445,"date":"2026-07-06T10:28:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/?page_id=4445"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:53:00","slug":"warning-letter-abmahnung","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/knowledge-base\/warning-letter-abmahnung\/","title":{"rendered":"Abmahnung: what an employer warning letter means and how to react"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"progress\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\n<header>\n  <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <a href=\"\/en\/\" class=\"brand\" aria-label=\"BWLAW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/bwlaw-child-1\/assets\/img\/logo-bw.png\" alt=\"BWLAW\" width=\"42\" height=\"28\"><\/a>\n    <nav aria-label=\"Main navigation\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/practice-areas\/construction-law\/\">Construction law<\/a>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/practice-areas\/debt-collection\/\">Debt collection<\/a>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/practice-areas\/company-formation\/\">Corporate law<\/a>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/practice-areas\/employment-law\/\">Employment law<\/a>\n      <a href=\"\/en\/defective-car-from-germany\/\">Cars<\/a>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/knowledge-base\/\" class=\"active\">Knowledge base<\/a>\n      <a href=\"\/en\/#zespol\">Team<\/a>\n    <\/nav>\n    <a href=\"\/en\/#kontakt\" class=\"btn\">Contact a lawyer <span class=\"arr\">\u2192<\/span><\/a>\n    <button class=\"burger\" aria-label=\"Menu\">\u2630<\/button>\n  <\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n<section class=\"shero\" style=\"padding-bottom:3.5rem\">\n  <div class=\"glow\"><\/div>\n  <div class=\"wrap\" style=\"grid-template-columns:1fr\">\n    <div>\n      <nav class=\"crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\"><a href=\"\/en\/\">Home<\/a><span>\/<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/knowledge-base\/\">Knowledge base<\/a><span>\/<\/span><b>Employment<\/b><\/nav>\n      <span class=\"eyebrow\">Employment<\/span>\n      <h1 style=\"max-width:24ch\">Abmahnung: what an employer warning letter means and how to react<\/h1>\n      <p class=\"lead\">A written warning (Abmahnung) is not just a &#8220;yellow card&#8221; \u2014 it is the formal step that can justify dismissal if the conduct repeats. React with a plan, not with emotions.<\/p>\n      <div class=\"art-meta\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/bwlaw-child-1\/assets\/img\/dr-artur-barczewski.webp\" alt=\"Dr. Artur Barczewski\" width=\"46\" height=\"46\" loading=\"lazy\">\n        <div><b>Dr. Artur Barczewski<\/b>Rechtsanwalt \u00b7 attorney-at-law<\/div>\n        <div style=\"margin-left:1rem;border-left:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);padding-left:1rem\">\u2248 5 min read<br>updated: July 2026<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<article class=\"sec\">\n  <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"prose rv\" style=\"font-size:1.02rem\">\n      <h3 style=\"font-size:1.35rem;margin-top:2.2rem\">What an Abmahnung is \u2014 and what it is for<\/h3>\n      <p>With a warning letter the employer criticises specific conduct (lateness, mistakes, ignoring instructions), demands a change and threatens consequences \u2014 usually dismissal \u2014 if it happens again.<\/p>\n      <p>Before a conduct-based dismissal German labour courts generally expect a valid prior warning. That is why employers &#8220;collect&#8221; warnings when they prepare a termination.<\/p>\n      <h3 style=\"font-size:1.35rem;margin-top:2.2rem\">When a warning letter is challengeable<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li>the accusation is generic \u2014 no date, place or specific behaviour,<\/li>\n        <li>the criticised conduct was not a breach of duty or was justified,<\/li>\n        <li>a &#8220;bundled&#8221; warning \u2014 several accusations in one letter, some of them untrue (this can invalidate the whole letter),<\/li>\n        <li>the threat of consequences is missing.<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <h3 style=\"font-size:1.35rem;margin-top:2.2rem\">Your three options<\/h3>\n      <p>First: a counter-statement (Gegendarstellung), which the employer must add to your personnel file. Second: demanding removal of an unjustified warning from the file \u2014 through the labour court if necessary. Third: consciously doing nothing \u2014 sometimes tactically best, if preparing for a possible dismissal matters more.<\/p>\n      <p>Which route fits depends on the situation in the company \u2014 that is exactly what we assess first.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"hl rv\" style=\"max-width:760px\">\n      <span class=\"eyebrow\">Important<\/span>\n      <h3>A warning letter often precedes dismissal<\/h3>\n      <p>If a dismissal follows, you have only 3 weeks to file a claim. Keep the warning letter and all correspondence \u2014 they become key evidence.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"mini-cta rv\"><b>Does this affect you?<\/b><span style=\"color:var(--ink-soft);font-size:.92rem\">Describe your case \u2014 we reply concretely and quickly.<\/span><a href=\"\/en\/#kontakt\" class=\"btn\">Contact a lawyer <span class=\"arr\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n    <div class=\"prose rv\" style=\"margin-top:1.5rem\">\n      <h3 style=\"font-size:1.1rem\">Related topics<\/h3>\n      <div class=\"chips\" style=\"margin-top:.8rem\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/practice-areas\/employment-law\/\">Employment law in Germany \u2192<\/a>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/knowledge-base\/immediate-dismissal-germany\/\">Immediate dismissal \u2192<\/a>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/knowledge-base\/arbeitszeugnis-reference-code\/\">Employment reference \u2192<\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n<section class=\"sec alt\">\n  <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"lawyer rv\">\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/bwlaw-child-1\/assets\/img\/dr-artur-barczewski.webp\" alt=\"Dr. Artur Barczewski\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\" loading=\"lazy\">\n      <div>\n        <b>Dr. Artur Barczewski<\/b>\n        <div class=\"role\">Rechtsanwalt \u00b7 attorney-at-law<\/div>\n        <p>Author of this article. Represents clients before courts across Germany. <a href=\"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/team\/artur-barczewski\/\">View profile \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <p style=\"font-size:.78rem;color:var(--ink-soft);margin-top:1.2rem;max-width:70ch\">This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The law may change \u2014 consult a lawyer about your individual case.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"cta-end\">\n  <div class=\"glow\"><\/div>\n  <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <span class=\"eyebrow rv\">Contact<\/span>\n    <h2 class=\"rv d1\">Does your situation look similar?<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"rv d2\">Every case has details that change the outcome. 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[&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4417,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-bwlaw-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","rank_math_title":"Abmahnung \u2014 a warning letter from your employer | BWLAW","rank_math_description":"An Abmahnung often prepares the ground for dismissal. When it is unjustified, how to file a counter-statement and have it removed from your personnel file.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Abmahnung warning letter employer Germany","rank_math_robots":[]},"class_list":["post-4445","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"bwlaw_import":{"lang":"en","template":"template-bwlaw-page.php"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4445"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4840,"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445\/revisions\/4840"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwlaw.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}