Dismissal Sent by Registered Post – Is Receipt Actually Proven?

Your employer relies on the proof of posting and the postal tracking status? Under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, that alone is not enough to prove that the notice of dismissal was received.

You have received a notice of dismissal by registered post delivered to your letterbox (a German “Einwurfeinschreiben”) – or you are said to have received one, because the letterbox was in fact empty. Your employer points to the proof of posting from the postal service and an online tracking status, assuming that this already establishes receipt. Under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht), that alone is precisely what does not suffice.

In brief

A dismissal only takes effect once it has actually reached you – merely sending it is not enough. Under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, the proof of posting and an online tracking status of a letterbox-delivery registered letter do not, on their own, give rise to prima facie evidence of receipt. If, on the other hand, the employer produces the reproduced delivery record, the prima facie evidence still applies. If you dispute receipt and the employer can only produce the proof of posting and the tracking status, they must prove receipt by other means – and that is often impossible. This can have a significant impact on the validity of the dismissal and on when your deadline for bringing a claim starts to run.

How I can help

• Reviewing whether and when the notice of dismissal actually reached you
• Assessing whether your employer is able to prove receipt
• Monitoring the deadline for your unfair dismissal claim, so that you do not lose any rights because of a disputed date of receipt
• Representing you before the labour court where the validity or timing of the dismissal is in dispute
• Communicating with your employer to ensure the facts are properly documented

Why receipt matters in the first place

A dismissal is a unilateral declaration of intent. Under § 130 Abs. 1 BGB, it only takes effect vis-à-vis a person who is not present at the moment it reaches them. “Receipt” means that the letter must have entered your sphere of control in such a way that, in the ordinary course of events, you had the opportunity to take note of it – typically, delivery into your letterbox at a time when it could still be expected to be emptied. No receipt, no valid dismissal – at its core, it is as simple as that. Whoever relies on receipt, because they wish to derive a favourable legal consequence from it, must also prove it if it is disputed. In the case of a dismissal, that is the employer.

What the recent case law of the Federal Labour Court changes

In practice, everything turns on what evidence the employer can actually produce. If they present the reproduced delivery record of the registered letter, prima facie evidence continues to support the conclusion that the item was in fact delivered. Under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, however, the proof of posting and an online tracking status alone are not sufficient for this purpose: the proof of posting documents only that the item was handed in at the post office, and the tracking status merely reflects the processing state within the postal service’s system – neither shows that the letter actually ended up in your letterbox. If, as an employee, you credibly dispute ever having received the letter, the employer cannot prove receipt with the proof of posting and the tracking status alone.

Who has to prove what in a dispute

If you dispute receipt, the evidential position shifts noticeably in the employee’s favour:

• The employer must prove that – and when – the notice of dismissal reached you.
• Under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, the proof of posting and an online tracking status alone are not sufficient for this; if, however, the employer produces the reproduced delivery record, the prima facie evidence still applies.
• If the employer fails to provide that proof, receipt remains unproven – and the dismissal has then never taken effect.
• If, in future, employers choose more secure methods of delivery, such as handing the letter over in person against written acknowledgement or delivery by a courier with a documented record (date, time, photos, witness statement), receipt is considerably easier to prove.

Important: do not dispute receipt “just in case”. Anyone who untruthfully claims never to have received anything risks serious damage to their credibility in court – and, in the worst case, the loss of their own unfair dismissal claim.

What this means for your claim deadline

Deadline under § 4 KSchG: you must challenge a dismissal by filing an unfair dismissal claim with the labour court within three weeks of its receipt; if you miss that deadline, the dismissal is deemed legally valid from the outset under § 7 KSchG. This is exactly why the precise date of receipt matters so much: if the employer relies on an earlier date than is actually correct, a claim filed after the “official” deadline has expired may nevertheless be in time. Conversely, you should not rely on an unclear date of receipt as a reason to let the deadline pass – it is almost always safer to file a precautionary claim within three weeks of the day on which you actually became aware of the dismissal, and to leave the dispute over receipt to the court.

A typical case from practice

An employee finds no dismissal letter in her letterbox, but is told by her employer that the dismissal was delivered three weeks earlier by registered post to her letterbox and that the deadline for bringing a claim has therefore expired. When asked, the employer can only produce the proof of posting from the postal service and an online tracking status, but not the reproduced delivery record. After taking legal advice, the employee disputes receipt at that point in time in substantiated terms and immediately files a precautionary unfair dismissal claim. Since, under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, the proof of posting and the tracking status alone do not establish receipt, and the employer is also unable to name a witness to the actual delivery into the letterbox, they must prove receipt by other means – which, in this case, they cannot.

Common mistakes

• Relying on the assertion “but the registered letter was delivered” without actively disputing receipt
• Waiting too long and letting the three-week deadline under § 4 KSchG expire, even though receipt is unclear
• Untruthfully disputing receipt even though the letter was in fact in the letterbox
• Failing to make notes of when the letterbox was last emptied and when the letter actually was (or was not) found
• Hastily accepting a settlement of the employment relationship without having the validity of the dismissal reviewed at all

Frequently asked questions

Are the proof of posting and the online tracking status of a letterbox-delivery registered letter sufficient proof of receipt?

No. Under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, the proof of posting and an online tracking status alone do not give rise to prima facie evidence of receipt. If, on the other hand, the employer produces the reproduced delivery record, the prima facie evidence still applies.

What happens if I dispute receipt but the letter did in fact reach me?

If you dispute receipt untruthfully, you risk your credibility in court and, in the worst case, the loss of your claim. Receipt should only be disputed if you genuinely did not receive the letter, or only received it at a later date.

Do I still have to file a claim within three weeks even though receipt is unclear?

Yes. As a precaution, you should calculate the three-week deadline under § 4 KSchG from the day on which you actually became aware of the dismissal, and file a precautionary claim rather than wait. Whether the earlier date of receipt asserted by the employer is correct is then a matter for the labour court to decide.

Does this also apply to other important letters, for example a written warning or the occupational reintegration process?

Yes. The principles governing receipt apply, as a rule, to declarations of intent that require receipt and to comparable legal communications delivered by registered post to a letterbox – including, for example, invitations to occupational reintegration management (betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement).

What should I do if I am unsure whether and when the dismissal reached me?

Document immediately what you know: when you last emptied your letterbox, when you found the letter and what your employer tells you. Have the facts reviewed by a lawyer promptly, so that the claim deadline does not pass unused.

Your next step

Whether a dismissal sent by registered post to your letterbox has validly been received depends, under recent case law of the Federal Labour Court, on considerably more than a postal receipt. Do not wait – every day counts towards the three-week deadline. Contact me for an initial consultation in which we review your documents and protect the deadline; you can find out more about my work in employment law at /en/topics/employment-law.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-07-17.

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