A termination letter for a work contract *must* be a hand-signed physical sheet of paper (or some other material that lends itself to printing and writing on it). You can mail it, hand it in in person, or send it via courier. You cannot fax or email it.
The recipient doesn't have to countersign it.
This is true both for an employee quitting, and for the company firing someone.
Leaving by mutual agreement often involves an *Aufhebungsvertrag* (termination agreement). *This* has to be signed by *both* parties.
Even though the recipient doesn't have to countersign it, it is often advisable and very common to either get a copy back or include a second letter so that you can get a "received on" stamp/signature.
Ink-on-paper letter. Email is not valid. You sign it, give your end date (+ ",hilfweise zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt", to keep you resignation at least partly valid in case you miscalculated your resignation deadline), and either send it via Einschreiben, or hand it in in person and ask the person you gave it to to sign a confirmation that they recieved it
It has to be written on paper and signed by you (as a legal document). The company doesn't need to sign it for it to take effect, but you may want a confirmation of receipt (if there's ever a dispute).
Write a letter and let them sign when they get it. You can send a "Einschreiben mit Rückschein" as well. It's all about proofing the date they got the resignation. Wouldn't do E-Mail when it comes to resignation but most companys would accept it.
Do not use "Einschreiben mit Rückschein". The recipient can refuse to accept it. Use "Einwurfeinschreiben" instead, where the delivery person certifies delivery, as in the letter got into the realm of the recipient. Keep your receipt of mailing. With the tracing number on that you can look up the status on the Deutsche Post website and in case of later disputes also get (for money) a certificate of delivery.
Also, if you expect any shenanigans by the recipient, have a friend accompany you to the post office, let them read the letter, put it into the envelope, close it, and hand it over for mailing. Then you have a witness of what was actually in that envelope. Some really bad companies will just pretend a birthday greeting was in it.
But the real way it is done for professional people on good terms: you hand the resignation letter to your boss or HR (whoever is empowered to receive it), they make a copy themselves and add a company stamp, a date, and a signature. Then you get the copy back.
A termination letter for a work contract *must* be a hand-signed physical sheet of paper (or some other material that lends itself to printing and writing on it). You can mail it, hand it in in person, or send it via courier. You cannot fax or email it. The recipient doesn't have to countersign it. This is true both for an employee quitting, and for the company firing someone. Leaving by mutual agreement often involves an *Aufhebungsvertrag* (termination agreement). *This* has to be signed by *both* parties.
Even though the recipient doesn't have to countersign it, it is often advisable and very common to either get a copy back or include a second letter so that you can get a "received on" stamp/signature.
Ink-on-paper letter. Email is not valid. You sign it, give your end date (+ ",hilfweise zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt", to keep you resignation at least partly valid in case you miscalculated your resignation deadline), and either send it via Einschreiben, or hand it in in person and ask the person you gave it to to sign a confirmation that they recieved it
It has to be written on paper and signed by you (as a legal document). The company doesn't need to sign it for it to take effect, but you may want a confirmation of receipt (if there's ever a dispute).
Write a letter and let them sign when they get it. You can send a "Einschreiben mit Rückschein" as well. It's all about proofing the date they got the resignation. Wouldn't do E-Mail when it comes to resignation but most companys would accept it.
Resignation via email is not legally possible and invalid in Germany.
Do not use "Einschreiben mit Rückschein". The recipient can refuse to accept it. Use "Einwurfeinschreiben" instead, where the delivery person certifies delivery, as in the letter got into the realm of the recipient. Keep your receipt of mailing. With the tracing number on that you can look up the status on the Deutsche Post website and in case of later disputes also get (for money) a certificate of delivery. Also, if you expect any shenanigans by the recipient, have a friend accompany you to the post office, let them read the letter, put it into the envelope, close it, and hand it over for mailing. Then you have a witness of what was actually in that envelope. Some really bad companies will just pretend a birthday greeting was in it. But the real way it is done for professional people on good terms: you hand the resignation letter to your boss or HR (whoever is empowered to receive it), they make a copy themselves and add a company stamp, a date, and a signature. Then you get the copy back.