I. Legal Claim to a Work Reference
According to § 630 BGB, § 109 GewO, and § 16 BBiG, employees are entitled to receive a work reference upon termination of their employment relationship. In addition to employees, this entitlement extends to home workers, freelancers, trainees, and temporary workers.
The right to a reference generally arises with the end of the employment or training relationship.
II. Types of References
Pursuant to § 630 BGB and § 109 GewO in conjunction with § 262 BGB, the employee has the right to choose whether to request a simple or a qualified work reference.
A simple work reference includes only the employee’s name, profession, and job title, as well as the type and duration of employment. A qualified work reference, on the other hand, also includes assessments of the employee’s performance and conduct.
III. Format of the Reference
According to § 109 Para. 1 GewO, the reference must be issued in written form, and electronic form is excluded under § 109 Para. 3 GewO. Furthermore, the reference must be written on company letterhead and signed by the employer or a duly authorized representative.
IV. Content of the Reference
A typical work reference consists of a job description, a performance and behavior evaluation, and a concluding statement.
In the job description, the tasks assigned to the employee must be listed fully and accurately so that a knowledgeable third party can obtain a proper understanding of the employee’s duties.
The performance evaluation assesses the employee’s skills, knowledge, work method, and success at work.
The behavior evaluation rates the employee’s conduct towards superiors, colleagues, employees, customers, and business partners.
The concluding statement usually includes information about the termination of the employment relationship, often accompanied by an expression of thanks or regret and good wishes for the future.
The Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) has ruled in several decisions that a work reference must be truthful (principle of testimonial truthfulness) and written with “reasonable goodwill” (see e.g., BAG, Judgment of June 23, 1960, AP No. 1 to § 73 HGB). Therefore, the employer is obliged to avoid using cryptic, contradictory, or ambiguous statements that could hinder the employee’s future career opportunities.
The legal basis for this regulation is § 109 Para. 2 GewO.
Understandably, the obligation for a favorable evaluation is somewhat in tension with the principle of testimonial truthfulness. This stems from the dual purpose of a work reference: to serve as a basis for the employee’s future job applications while also informing the new employer about the employee’s performance and conduct.
Over time, certain standard phrases have developed to provide sufficient information to the future employer, roughly corresponding to school grades:
- “always to our fullest satisfaction” = Very Good
- “to our fullest satisfaction” = Good
- “to our full satisfaction” = Satisfactory
- “to our satisfaction” = Sufficient
- “overall to our satisfaction” = Poor
V. Limitation Period for the Reference Claim
The claim for a work reference is subject to the regular limitation period under § 195 BGB. The limitation period begins, according to § 199 BGB, at the end of the year in which the claim arises and ends after three full years.
Important Note: This content has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter require us to exclude any liability and warranties.
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