Downsizing and dismissal - tips for employees

One of the most important steps in preparing for a stormy period in your professional life is to take out legal protection insurance that also covers the field of employment law. If you already have legal protection insurance, make sure that it also covers employment law cases. If not, make improvements here accordingly.

Anyone fighting for their rights and opportunities needs financial resources. If you always have to pay attention to these, you are unnecessarily burdened with a stumbling block and may have to dig deep into your own pockets.

With legal expenses insurance, you can at least get rid of this problem area. This leaves your head free for the important problems. With legal expenses insurance behind you, you can fight for your rights without financial worries and achieve the best possible result for you.

It is not uncommon for employers to plan job cuts well in advance. In some cases, separate departments are created for this purpose, which serve the purpose of a later simplified social selection.

In addition, there are jobs in almost every company that are more dispensable than others or that are already over-represented. A transfer to such a position should therefore be avoided wherever possible.

These transfers are often accompanied by changes to employment contracts. You should therefore always discuss changes to your employment contract with an experienced employment lawyer before signing it.

Knowledge is power. Therefore, gather information from colleagues in other departments and the works council. It is not uncommon for a major job reduction to be announced in advance by various signs. The more you know about the situation, the better you can prepare for what is to come. This information can be decisive for the outcome of any subsequent legal dispute.

Employers often try to remove their employees from the company by means of termination agreements or as part of a social compensation plan. There are regularly various options for action here, roughly in the sense of: accept, reject or renegotiate.

Such a situation can also be used as an opportunity for any retraining or further training that the employer may be seeking anyway.

If you think about your options at an early stage, you will not be overwhelmed by the situation, but can play your cards right. Let a competent employment lawyer support you and improve your options.

Employers who cut jobs will regularly try to spare top performers. In return, they will use every opportunity to remove people who do not fully meet their obligations under the employment contract through personal or behavioral dismissals.

Therefore, make sure that you fulfill your contractual obligations. If you also have a positive performance record, this will improve your prospects of keeping your job.

If the storm clouds in the firmament are already darkening, it may be advisable to look for career alternatives at an early stage. Once major job losses have occurred, the number of applicants for available positions will increase considerably. Those who start looking early will therefore be in a better position. You can also considerably expand your range of options. It also often gives you the opportunity to move up the ladder and do better in your new job than you did in your old one.

If you negotiate skillfully, you can also have your job change rewarded with a lucrative severance payment, for example.

It is not uncommon for employers to try to organize job cuts by means of termination agreements. Under no circumstances should you simply sign these without thinking. It is advisable to seek experienced legal advice as soon as possible and have the proposed termination agreement checked by them. It is often possible to achieve lucrative results through renegotiation.