Returning Company Property When You Leave a Job in Germany

When you leave a job, you must return everything that belongs to your employer: the company car, laptop, phone, keys, access cards, documents and files. That sounds simple. In practice, it raises questions: Can your employer take the car away during your notice period? What happens to private photos on your work phone? And how do you return a laptop if you have already moved abroad?

What Must Be Returned

Typically:

• company car, keys, fuel card and charging card,
• laptop, tablet, phone, chargers and other equipment,
• access cards, keys and ID badges,
• documents, files, customer data and passwords,
• credit cards and other means of payment.

Your employer cannot ask you to return items you have bought yourself, or gifts that became your property.

When to Return

At the end of the employment. The default is your last day. Before then, you need the equipment to work.

During garden leave. If your employer releases you from work, it can ask for work equipment back. Items you may also use privately are different: see the next section. See garden leave.

After a dismissal without notice. The employment ends immediately, so everything must be returned immediately. If you challenge the dismissal, you must still return the items. If the dismissal turns out to be invalid, you can claim compensation for the lost private use of a car.

Private Use: Company Car and Phone

If your contract allows you to use a company car or phone privately, this private use is part of your salary. It is taxed as a benefit, usually at one percent of the car's list price per month, or less for electric cars.

Your employer may only take a car you are allowed to use privately back before the end of the employment if:

• your contract contains a clear clause allowing this, for example during garden leave, and
• using the clause is reasonable in your case. Taking the car away immediately can be unreasonable, for example if it is your only car.

Once your sick pay has ended during a long illness, your employer can usually ask for the car back without compensation.

If your employer takes the car without a valid basis, it must compensate you, typically with the monthly taxable value of the private use. The same principle applies to a phone or laptop that you were allowed to use privately, although the amounts are smaller.

No Keeping Items as Security

Even if your employer owes you salary, holiday pay or severance, you may not keep the company car or laptop until you are paid. This would be a breach of your duties and can lead to claims for damages. Claim what you are owed separately. See holiday pay on termination.

Data on Your Devices

Your private data. Back up and delete private photos, messages and files before you return a device. Your employer may generally not access clearly private data without your consent, except in narrow cases such as a concrete suspicion of a criminal offence.

Company data. Do not copy company data to private devices or accounts, and do not delete it without permission. Taking company data can breach trade secret rules and lead to claims or even a dismissal without notice.

Phone number. If you used a private phone number on a company contract, or a company number you want to keep, agree on this in writing. Transferring the number usually needs your employer's consent.

Damage and Wear

Normal wear and tear is your employer's risk. For damage caused at work, your liability is limited: for slight negligence, you are generally not liable; for medium negligence, liability is shared; only for gross negligence or intent are you usually fully liable.

Your employer may not simply deduct the cost of damage or missing items from your final pay. Even where a claim exists, any deduction is generally limited to the part of your salary that could be seized by creditors. Your employer must also prove that you were at fault.

The Handover Record

Return everything in person, if possible, and ask for a signed handover record (Übergabeprotokoll) that lists:

• each item and its serial number or registration,
• the date and place of return,
• its condition, including existing damage, ideally with photos,
• mileage and fuel level for a car.

Bike Leasing and Similar Benefits

If you have a leased bike through your employer, the lease usually ends with your employment. Your contract will say whether you must return the bike, can buy it or must pay the remaining instalments. Check this early, as the costs can be significant. Clauses that shift the remaining lease payments onto you are not always valid, so have them checked before you pay.

Points for Expats

• Leaving Germany. Return items before you move. The place of return is usually your workplace, so if you have moved abroad, you generally bear the extra shipping cost and risk. Agree the details in writing and use insured shipping with tracking.
• Car registered in Germany. A company car may not be taken abroad permanently without permission. Check insurance and the employer's travel rules.
• Your own documents. Keep copies of documents you are entitled to, such as payslips, your contract and your reference, before your access ends.

Frequently Asked Questions