German Court Orders Employers to Issue Job References on Official Letterhead

Key German labour rulings and reforms: job references require letterhead, fixed-term contracts extended to 4 years, and digital scan receipts lack proof of delivery.

A ruling by the Regional Labour Court of Hamm is forcing companies in Germany to revisit how they handle final employment documents. According to the decision (case number: 9 Ta 319/25), a simple printout on plain white paper no longer qualifies as a proper job reference. Instead, employers must use official stationery that includes a letterhead carrying the organisation’s name and address. If a business possesses such paper, it is obligated to use it.

Failure to comply carries real consequences. Former employees can enforce their right to a correctly formatted reference through compulsory execution. The court reasoned that defects in external presentation could lead potential future employers to draw negative conclusions about the candidate. The ruling puts a sharp focus on something many firms treat as a routine administrative step.

Reform of Fixed-Term Contracts Set for 2027

While the courts sharpen procedural standards, Berlin is preparing a major overhaul of labour legislation. In July 2026, the coalition committee agreed on key points for a reform of fixed-term employment law. Under the planned changes, the maximum duration for fixed-term contracts without a specific reason would rise from two to four years. Up to six extensions would become possible. The government also intends to scrap the ban on re-hiring someone who was previously employed by the same company.

Another element of the package would reintroduce the requirement for a doctor’s certificate from the very first day of illness, effectively abolishing the current option of phone-based sick notes. Though the law would make this a universal rule, employers already have the right under a 2012 Federal Labour Court ruling to demand a certificate from day one in individual cases. The reform also plans to replace the written form requirement for fixed-term contracts with the simpler text form. The changes are expected to take effect on 1 January 2027. Public opinion is divided: only 26 percent of surveyed individuals support the reforms, while 54 percent oppose them.

Burden of Proof Tightened for Important Company Letters

A separate decision by the Federal Labour Court in May 2026 (case number: 2 AZR 184/25) has added another layer of complexity for employers. The court clarified that a digital scan receipt for a registered letter dropped into a mailbox does not provide prima facie evidence of actual delivery. The system generates the scan before the item is even deposited.

That distinction proved decisive in a specific case. A dismissal on grounds of illness failed because the employer could not prove that an invitation to a return-to-work meeting (betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement, or bEM) had actually reached the employee. The judges also stressed that if an employee again becomes unable to work for more than six weeks, the employer must offer a new bEM process — even if the individual had previously turned down an earlier invitation. Without such an offer, a dismissal based on illness is generally invalid. The cumulative effect of these rulings and the coming reforms means German employers are navigating an increasingly detailed legal landscape.