[chokma]

The time frame is symmetrical - both employers and employees have to give 4 weeks notice (default). In my case, the US parent company decided on 12 weeks, probably to retain the software developers.

Note that depending on unions (rare in IT) and mandatory employee representation (Betriebsrat) for big companies, firing people can be harder, especially for long-term employees.

[KekDemaga]

Is the 4 weeks on the employee side a social custom that can be ignored (it is considered rude to do so here but not illegal) or is it actually a law or contractual obligation? Can you quit on the spot if say you feel the work load is unreasonable?

[user5994461]

Can't speak for Germany, but that's usually both a law and contractual obligation on that side of the Atlantic.

[chokma]

No, it's by law. You have a minimum of 4 weeks notice in Germany (some exceptions apply, for example you are hired for temp work). So you cannot quit on the spot, and your employer cannot fire you on the spot, unless it is for gross reasons on one side which makes it extremely unreasonable to continue employment.

Examples of this would be if you're caught stealing or harassing a coworker - or if your employer is breaking the law by repeatedly not paying you on time or endangering your health etc. You cannot be fired for being late once. Your employer has to document that he has told you "Do not be late again, or else" (and you have to sign off on this).

Work load may not be unreasonable. Usual work load is 40 hour weeks, and overtime is dependent on contractual definitions. Some people are (by union) not able to work more, others are exempt from overtime restrictions (managers), others will receive money or free time as compensation. You can enter contracts that specify a certain amount of overtime work, but unless they are specific enough, those clauses are void. You cannot get less than 24 days / year of holidays, you must not work on Sunday (unless: emergency or working in an exempt job, like healthcare), and employers risk fines/prison if they deny you those rights.

Overtime usually requires an explicit order, and is limited to 48h total work time /week. Anything more (for example: seasonal workers) needs to be compensated with free time in the following 6 months. So an employer can demand a death march for a project, but even that is limited to not more than 10 h/day.

That said, while the law may be on your side, people may work more than the contractually defined amount "because it's necessary / they need me there" or other strange reasons.

(note: there are exceptions for all rules. When your data center is down for some reason, you are not going to tell your boss "sorry, my 8 hours today are up, find someone else to restart those servers. I'll be back tomorrow.")

[sgs1370]

So if you're not allowed to give less than 4 weeks notice, what happens if you say "I am quitting in 4 weeks" then you come to work and do nothing all day, I guess the employer can fire you then?

[chokma]

You have a contractual obligation to do the stuff you're getting paid for, else that may be cause for a immediate termination (after being reprimanded). But of course no one expects you to go out of your way and put in overtime. During our last round of layoffs, the people leaving the company got ~2 months of free time and were told not to work.

On your last day, you (should) receive your letter of recommendation (Arbeitszeugnis), which by law needs to be a positive statement of what you have done, enabling you to get another job.

Slacking off in the last 4 weeks _may_ cause your employer to give you slightly less than a glowing review. Some employers take those letters seriously and if your last boss writes "he did the best he could with the tasks that were given to him", that's not going to reflect well on you.

edit: there is a whole "secret" language for those certificates of employment / recommendation letters, where employers may try to sneak in outrageous stuff ("He had an open ear for the concerns of his female coworkers" - grabbing them or being otherwise inappropriate towards them ), but since most companies do not want to haggle in front of a judge about the exact phrasing, it mostly is written in an okay way. Often you will be told: "Write this letter yourself, you know best what you did here, I am going to sign off on it."

[TulliusCicero]

If you want to quit and the firing notice period is also four weeks, what can they threaten you with if you refuse to work overtime?

[KekDemaga]

I'm not sure what the legal or contractual penalties are, if they are nothing then you are right and in real terms you can just quit on the spot.