HR-Glossar
Qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis (qualified employment reference)
What the German right to a qualified reference covers, how such a reference is built and which principles govern its wording.
1. What is Qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis (qualified employment reference)?
A qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis is a written appraisal of an employee's performance and conduct by the employer, issued on termination of the employment relationship.
The basis is Section 109 GewO, under which an employee is entitled on termination to a written reference. The reference must state at least the nature and duration of the work – the simple reference. Only on request do the particulars extend to performance and conduct as well.
Two principles govern the content, they stand in tension with each other, and balancing them is the real difficulty:
- Truth — the reference may not mislead; future employers are entitled to rely on it.
- Benevolence — it may not make professional progress unnecessarily difficult.
From that tension the well-known wording conventions arose: assessments are expressed through gradations in word choice and completeness rather than through grades. These conventions are practice, not law – circulating "secret code" tables therefore suggest a more precise picture than the legal position supports. What the statute requires is set out in Section 109(2) GewO: the reference must be worded clearly and intelligibly and may not contain features intended to convey a statement other than the one apparent from its form and wording.
Formally: customary business paper, company letterhead, signature by someone with authority, free of errors, with no features that devalue it – folds in the wrong place, conspicuous marks, unusual typography.
For an employer arriving from a jurisdiction where references are deliberately kept to name, title and dates, this is the point to register first: that policy does not work in Germany, because the appraisal is owed.
2. Origin and development
The entitlement to a reference is old and is found in trade law as well as in the Industrial Code. Its present shape was given to it by the courts, which over decades worked out what "true and benevolent" means.
The wording conventions arose as a by-product: because unfavourable matters could not be said openly, a language of gradations developed. The courts have assessed individual phrases but have never confirmed a closed system. Caution is therefore warranted with any table claiming to know the code in full.
3. Core principles and how it works
An entitlement on request
The qualified reference must be issued where it is requested. Without a request the simple reference suffices.
True and benevolent
Both at once. Neither an embellished account nor a settling of scores is permissible.
Completeness of the description of duties
Substantial tasks belong in it. Omissions read as an assessment, even where they are not meant as one.
No devaluing features
Spelling mistakes, unusual formatting, insinuations or a signature by someone without authority reduce its value and are open to challenge.
The closing formula
Thanks, regret and good wishes cannot be enforced, but their absence is read. A reference without a closing formula comes across as cold.
4. Who is Qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis (qualified employment reference) relevant for?
- Departing employees – for them the reference is an application document.
- Employers and managers – they draft it and carry the responsibility.
- HR – it ensures consistency and legal certainty.
- Recipients of applications – they read references and know the conventions.
5. How it differs from related terms
- Qualified and simple reference – the simple one states only the nature and duration; the qualified one appraises performance and conduct. - Final and interim reference – the interim reference is issued during ongoing employment; it has an entry of its own. - Reference and an informal referee – an informal reference is an oral or unstructured statement with no statutory requirements. - Reference and employment certificate for the agency – the employment certificate goes to the employment agency and appraises nothing.
6. Variants and adaptations
- Final reference – on termination of the employment relationship.
- Provisional reference – where the ending is settled but has not yet occurred.
- Interim reference – during ongoing employment, where there is a legitimate interest.
- Training reference – for apprentices, with requirements of its own.
- Corrected reference – following a justified objection.
7. Advantages and challenges
Advantages
- A recognised, comparable document for applications
- The principle of benevolence protects against settling of scores
- Clear formal requirements make defects identifiable
- There is a right to correction where the account is inaccurate
Challenges
- The wording conventions are hard for a lay reader to see through
- Balancing truth and benevolence is prone to dispute
- References are produced under time pressure and are then error-prone
- Circulating code tables produce misinterpretation in both directions
- For small businesses, producing them is a considerable effort
8. Best practices for implementation
Draft early, not on the last day
A prepared draft prevents the rush and the errors that have to be corrected later.
Describe the duties fully and concretely
This is the part later readers genuinely need – and the part that most often turns out too thin.
Use consistent building blocks
They secure comparability within the business and prevent wordings from devaluing someone unintentionally.
Have it read by someone else
By someone who did not appraise the person. Unintended devaluations are more likely to strike a third party.
Take the formalities seriously
Company letterhead, the leaving date, a signature by someone with authority, no errors.
9. Tips for employers and employees
For employers
- **True and benevolent at the same time** – a poor appraisal must be capable of being evidenced
- **Omissions read as an assessment** – incomplete descriptions of duties are noticed
- **No hidden signals** – they are impermissible and give rise to claims for correction
- **Date the reference with the leaving date** – a later date raises questions
For employees
- **Request the qualified reference expressly** – otherwise the employer owes only the simple one
- **Read it carefully** – completeness of the duties often matters more than the appraisal formulas
- **Ask for correction where something is wrong** – promptly, because claims can lapse
- **Read code tables with caution** – they are convention, not law, and easily mislead
10. Conclusion
The qualified employment reference lives with a contradiction it has to bear: it is to be true and must not harm. From that a language of gradations arose, which has nonetheless remained convention – closed code tables suggest more certainty than the legal position supports. More important in practice than the appraisal formula is therefore the description of duties: that is what later readers actually need, and it is what most often turns out too thin. Drafting early, using consistent building blocks and having the text read by someone else avoids most disputes.
For an international group one point has to be settled before any of this. German law gives the employee an entitlement to an appraisal of performance and conduct. A group policy of issuing neutral confirmations only – name, title, dates – exists in other jurisdictions precisely to avoid liability for what is said. Here it creates liability for what is not said, because the appraisal is owed and can be enforced.
This entry does not replace advice on an individual case.
A note on sources: there is no official English version of the Industrial Code (checked on 2026-09-27). The provisions above are summarised, not quoted; the German wording governs. The Civil Code has an official English version, cited below.
Sources
- Section 109 GewO – Employment reference (German original; no official English version) (opens in a new tab)
- Section 630 BGB – Duty to issue a reference (official English version of the German Civil Code) (opens in a new tab)
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