HR-Glossar
Zwischenzeugnis (interim reference)
When an interim reference can be requested in Germany, how it differs from the final one and why it binds what comes later.
1. What is Zwischenzeugnis (interim reference)?
A Zwischenzeugnis is an employment reference issued during an ongoing employment relationship. Its content and structure correspond to the qualified final reference; the difference lies in the occasion – and in the tense: the interim reference is written in the present.
There is no express statutory entitlement: Section 109 GewO governs the reference on termination of the employment relationship. It is recognised, however, where there is a legitimate interest, and the typical occasions are uncontroversial:
- A change of manager or of reporting line
- A transfer, change of duties or promotion
- An upcoming transfer of undertaking or restructuring
- An application of one's own, parental leave, a longer absence
- Long service without any appraisal so far
Its most important feature in practice is its binding effect: a later final reference may not, without objective reason, be worse than an interim reference issued earlier. Anyone who words it too generously is therefore binding themselves.
The first occasion in that list is the one that matters most in an international group, where managers commonly rotate through a posting every few years.
2. Origin and development
The interim reference grew out of practice, not out of statute. It answers a real problem: if the appraising manager changes, or a person changes role, the basis for appraisal is lost – and a final reference produced years later then rests on hearsay.
The courts recognised it as an entitlement where there is a legitimate interest and at the same time gave it its binding effect. The two together make it an instrument that benefits employees and compels employers to take care.
3. Core principles and how it works
A legitimate interest as the precondition
Not at any time and without reason, but regularly on the recognised occasions.
Present tense rather than past
The employment relationship continues; the tense shows it.
Binding effect on the final reference
A later deterioration needs an objective reason. That is the main reason for care in the wording.
No closing formula in the narrow sense
Thanks and good wishes for the future belong in the final reference; the interim reference regularly ends with the occasion or a brief turn of phrase.
Securing the basis for appraisal
A change of manager is the right moment – later, the knowledge is missing.
4. Who is Zwischenzeugnis (interim reference) relevant for?
- Employees facing a change – on a change of manager, a transfer or an application of their own. - Employers in restructuring – an interim reference secures the appraisal before responsibilities dissolve. - Managers – they should appraise while they still can. - HR – consistency and the binding effect are their responsibility.
5. How it differs from related terms
- Interim and final reference – ongoing versus ended employment; present tense versus past. - Interim and provisional reference – a provisional reference is issued where the ending has already been settled. - Interim reference and performance appraisal – an internal appraisal serves staff development and is not a reference. - Interim reference and an informal referee – an informal reference has no form requirements and no binding effect.
6. Variants and adaptations
- Occasion-driven interim reference – on a change of manager, a transfer, restructuring. - At the employee's request – for an application of their own or a longer absence. - Before parental leave or a sabbatical – secures the appraisal before the interruption. - On a regular cycle – in some businesses issued periodically; then more an appraisal instrument than an application document.
7. Advantages and challenges
Advantages
- The appraisal is made while the basis for it still exists
- Usable for applications without ending the employment relationship
- Security for employees in periods of upheaval
- For employers, an occasion to acknowledge performance expressly
- The binding effect protects against a later downgrade
Challenges
- The binding effect binds the employer too — generous wording carries forward
- It is often read as a signal that a dismissal is coming
- Additional effort with no immediate operational benefit
- No express statutory entitlement; in case of doubt the occasion must be justified
- Several interim references must be consistent with one another
8. Best practices for implementation
Offer one on a change of manager rather than waiting
The departing manager can appraise, the new one cannot. That is the most effective occasion of all – and in a group with rotating management postings it recurs predictably.
Keep the binding effect in mind
What is written here continues to apply later. Kindness out of awkwardness binds.
Align the building blocks with the final reference
The same structure and language; later documents then fit together.
Name the occasion
A sentence about the occasion prevents the reading that a dismissal had been in prospect.
9. Tips for employers and employees
For employers
- **Offer one actively on a change of manager** – later the basis for appraisal is missing
- **Take the binding effect seriously** – a later deterioration needs an objective reason
- **Name the occasion in the reference** – that removes the basis for misreading it
For employees
- **Request one on a change of manager** – that is a recognised occasion
- **Ask for one before parental leave or a longer absence** – afterwards the memory has faded
- **Check it carefully** – it also binds for the later final reference
- **Keep it** – it is the record of where things stood at that point
10. Conclusion
The interim reference is the instrument against a banal problem: appraisals are lost when the appraising person changes. Where there is a legitimate interest – and a change of manager is the clearest case – there is a recognised entitlement. Its particular feature is the binding effect: what it says may not be undercut in the final reference without an objective reason. That makes it valuable to employees and, for employers, a document not to be written in passing.
In an international group the recurring case is built into the operating model. Where managers are posted for a few years and then move on, the person who could appraise a German employee is regularly gone long before the final reference falls due – and that reference is owed, in substance, whatever anyone still remembers. Offering an interim reference at each handover is the cheapest way to keep the obligation answerable.
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); its German text governs. The Civil Code has one, 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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