Employment Legal Insurance in Germany [2026 English Guide]

Key takeaways

• Employment legal insurance covers the legal costs of disputes with your employer. These can involve wrongful termination, failure to pay wages or overtime, and related violations.
• Employment legal insurance has a 3-month waiting period. The insurer doesn’t cover the legal costs for disputes arising during the waiting period.
• A good labor law legal insurance policy costs between 20 € and 40 € per month.
• The loser doesn’t pay the legal costs of the winner in labor law disputes. It’s to protect employees from incurring significant legal fees for their employer’s lawyers if they lose.

This is how you do it

• Suppose you have a legal dispute with your employer. Contact your workers’ council for support.
• If your company doesn’t have a workers’ council, you can seek legal advice by calling your legal insurance provider’s service hotline.
• You should consider getting employment legal insurance to support you in such situations. In our comparison and test, we found the legal insurance plans of Arag*, KS-Auxilia*, and WVG the best.
• The legal insurance company can terminate your contract if you file 2 claims within 12 months.
• Before hiring a lawyer, get your insurer’s written confirmation of cost coverage. The letter confirms that the insurer will cover the legal costs.

Table of Contents

What can you do if the employer terminates you in Germany?

You received a termination letter from your employer unexpectedly. You think you didn’t do anything wrong to deserve it. So, what can you do in this situation?

• First, stay calm, even if you are outraged.
• Contact your workers’ council if your company has any. The workers’ council can help you negotiate with the employer.
• Suppose your company doesn’t have a workers’ council, or the workers’ council cannot help. You should contact your legal insurance company’s service hotline for free legal advice. Your insurer can provide you with options and explain your rights in this situation. If needed, you can file a suit against your employer.
• If you don’t have legal insurance, contact a lawyer for a consultation. The lawyers charge between 180 € and 250 € for a 1-hour consultation. But they’ll explain your rights and the legal costs you may incur. Then, you can decide whether to pursue the matter further.

What is employment legal insurance in Germany?

Employment legal insurance (Arbeitsrechtsschutzversicherung) covers the legal costs of disputes with your employer. It is also called professional legal insurance (Berufsrechtsschutzversicherung). 

The dispute could concern wrongful termination, the employer’s failure to pay overtime or wages, or another issue. Employment legal insurance covers the lawyer’s fees and court costs for the dispute.

Legal fees are regulated by law and depend on the value of the dispute. This means you never pay more than the dispute value to the lawyer.

How are the legal costs calculated in Germany ->

Is employment legal protection insurance worth it?

Yes, employment legal insurance is worth it for the following reasons.

• It covers the legal costs of disputes with your employer. To give you an idea, you will spend around 2000 € in lawyer’s fees and court costs for a dispute valued at 9000 €. Legal costs increase with the dispute’s value.
• In employment law, the losing party doesn’t cover the winner’s legal costs. So, even if you win the legal dispute, you won’t get the legal costs back. This protects the employees from paying huge lawyers’ bills to their company if they lose.
• Many times, you want to know your rights in a particular situation. Every legal insurance company offers a hotline for free legal advice. 
• Legal insurance also brings peace of mind and confidence. You can assert your rights at the workplace without worrying about the legal costs. 
• Labor law conflicts that end up in court usually last several years. And it’s very expensive.
• Your company doesn’t have a workers’ council to protect your rights.

However, a lot depends on your employer and how high you see the risk of a legal dispute. If you are unhappy and anticipate disputes, you should obtain legal insurance as soon as possible.

This is because employment legal insurance has a 3-month waiting period. And legal insurance doesn’t cover the costs of disputes arising during the waiting period.

Are there legal insurance plans without a waiting period ->

Best employment legal insurance plan in Germany

We analyzed the legal insurance policies rated highly by leading German rating agencies and shortlisted those that received the highest ratings across all agencies.

In our comparison and test, we found that KS-Auxilia*—Jurprivat, Arag*—Aktiv-Premium, and WGV—Optimal PBV are the best legal insurance plans.

Unfortunately, no legal insurance provider in Germany offers services in English. Insurance agents like Feather* and Getsafe* offer basic English support. However, when you need legal advice, you must contact the insurance company, which only offers advice in German.

Feather and Getsafe sell Roland’s legal insurance plans.

NOTE: Top rating agencies in Germany rated Arag—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS / Auxilia—Jurprivat as the best legal insurance plans in Germany (as of Jan 2026).

Who doesn’t need employment legal insurance in Germany?

• Self-employed and freelancers don’t need employment legal insurance.
• People working in companies that have strong workers’ councils can also get by without legal insurance.

Large employers such as Bosch, Deutsche Bahn, and Daimler have a strong workers’ council (Betriebsrat) that protects employees’ rights. You can seek legal advice from the workers’ council members. They can even help in resolving disputes with employers.

However, smaller companies and start-ups don’t have strong workers’ unions. So, to assert your legal rights, you need support from a lawyer. To cover the lawyer’s fees and court costs, it’s best to have a legal insurance policy.

What is insured under employment legal insurance in Germany?

Legal insurance covers the legal costs for the following legal disputes with your employer.

• Unjustified terminations
• Unfair severance pay

What is a fair severance pay in Germany ->

• Employer not paying the salary, bonus, or vacation

Steps you can take if your employer refuses to pay the wages ->

• The employer refuses to pay the overtime
• You leave the company and don’t get a good reference letter, or you get a bad reference letter
• Employer fires you during maternity leave
• Bullying and discrimination in the workplace
• Company pension
• Unemployment benefits claims

NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list. You should check your legal insurance contract to determine what is insured.

What is NOT insured under employment legal insurance in Germany?

• Criminal offense: Legal insurance doesn’t cover the costs if you commit a criminal offense and get fired. You can get extended criminal protection to cover such costs. But you must pay the legal costs back to the insurance company if you lose.
• No chance of success: If there is no chance of success, the legal insurance company can refuse to cover the costs. However, the insurer must provide valid reasons. Moreover, you have the right to object to the insurer’s decision. You can get support from the insurance ombudsman. They offer their service for free.
• General legal advice on employment law: Employment legal insurance doesn’t cover the costs of legal consultation for events that haven’t occurred yet. For example, you fear the employer will fire you and want to know what you can do in such a situation. The legal insurance provider won’t cover the costs of such consultation as the event (i.e., firing) hasn’t happened yet.  
• Existing legal disputes: The legal insurance company doesn’t cover legal costs of disputes that arise before taking legal insurance or during the waiting period. 

NOTE: The point at which the legal dispute arises is important, not when you hire a lawyer or take the matter to court. So, if the cause of the dispute was before you took the legal insurance, the insurer will not cover the costs, even if you hired a lawyer after the waiting period.

What services does a good employment legal insurance offer?

• Sum insured: Many labor legal insurance tariffs offer unlimited coverage. However, it should cover at least 5 million euros. 
• Free legal advice on the phone: Your legal insurance contract must include free legal advice. Some providers even offer free advice on areas not covered by the contract.
• Right to choose your lawyer: Ensure that your legal insurance contract offers you the right to choose your lawyer (Freie Anwaltswahl). It allows you to choose the lawyer you want, not the one the insurer recommends.
• No-claims bonus: Some legal insurance providers reduce the deductible amount if you don’t make a claim for a few years. However, such contracts are double-edged swords, as they can increase the deductible if you make a claim. You should not decide on a legal insurance policy based on this point.
• Waiting period: Employment legal insurance always includes a 3-month waiting period. The only time you have no waiting period is when you change insurers. The only prerequisite is that there is no gap between the switch.
• Cancellation by the insurer: Usually, the legal insurance provider can cancel the contract if you make two insurance claims within 12 months. You should check what your insurer considers a claim. Ensure that legal advice given over the phone isn’t considered a claim eligible for terminating the contract. If your insurer sends a contract termination notice, you should request a contract cancellation reversal. It allows you to cancel the contract instead of your insurer. It’s because getting a new legal insurance policy is tough if your insurer terminates the contract.

How much does employment legal protection insurance cost?

You cannot get employment legal insurance independently. You must get it together with private legal insurance.

Good employment legal insurance with private legal insurance costs between 20€ and 40€ per month as of Jan 2026.

FAQs

References

• https://www.allianz.de/recht-und-eigentum/rechtsschutzversicherung/arbeitsrecht/arbeitsrechtsschutz/
• https://www.verivox.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/arbeitsrechtsschutz/
• https://www.check24.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/arbeitsrechtsschutz/
• https://www.arag.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/arbeitsrechtsschutz/
• https://www.huk.de/haus-haftung-recht/ratgeber/rechtsschutz-arbeitsrecht.html
• https://www.brak.de/presse/zahlen-und-statistiken/