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Need to quit job, but when?
It's been almost six months since I started a new job as a a UX designer for a startup that is not doing well. The company has no strategy, no mission, no nothing and everyone just dogpiles… Hey all,
It's been almost six months since I started a new job as a a UX designer for a startup that is not doing well. The company has no strategy, no mission, no nothing and everyone just dogpiles onto me even though I wasn't even onboarded. I still don't know what's going on or who to call for what. And I've been continuously at odds with management for how my role has been switching up every 10 seconds. Real startup behaviour. I don't need to stick around for years to know this isn't the place for me. So I'm quitting.
I'm from another EU country so my residency status won't be affected.
But I've mostly been a freelancer so I'm wondering how to navigate this. If I quit now, I only need to give 2 weeks notice. But if I quit next month, I need to give 4 weeks and I get the rest of my vacation days paid out?
(I did take a 2-week holiday in July, and they paid me my regular salary during that time, do I have to pay that back??)
I'm honestly thinking about just quitting now because I'm over everything.
Can anyone offer advice on how to do this, and which documents I should ask for? Please no handwringing about protecting the company, because they have made it clear just how much they don't care about me.
You're right to get out. One thing nobody's mentioned yet is the Arbeitsgericht. If they try to withhold your Zeugnis or anything else, that's the labor court route, but honestly for a startup that's flailing they'll probably be happy to just have you gone quietly.
On the timing, I'd quit now. The difference between two weeks and four weeks of notice isn't worth a vacation payout for a place that's already burning you out. Plus if you wait, you're giving them another month to pile more work on you. Kreuzberg and Neukölln have plenty of co-working spaces if you want to ease back into freelancing while you look for something proper.
Make sure you get the Zeugnis in writing before your last day. Once you're out the door, chasing them for it becomes a hassle even if you're legally entitled to it.
The holiday pay question is straightforward. Since you're quitting in the second half of the year, you've already earned that July vacation time. No clawback.
For the timing, check exactly when your Probezeit ends. If it's six months from your start date and you're at five and a half, you could technically still give two weeks' notice right now. The startup chaos you're describing won't get better, and there are UX roles at places like Zalando, HelloFresh, or even smaller agencies around Torstraße that are hiring. I'd get out now rather than drag it out another month for a vacation payout that probably isn't worth the misery.
Two weeks notice is the standard during Probezeit, which is usually the first six months. If you're past that point, the four weeks applies. Check your contract for the exact Probezeit end date, it might be exactly six months.
For the holiday pay, you don't have to pay it back if you quit now. German law says you're entitled to the full annual vacation if you leave in the second half of the year, which you are. Your July holiday is already earned.
Documents you need: a written termination letter signed by you, keep a copy. Ask for an Arbeitszeugnis, which is your reference letter. By law it has to be "wohlwollend" or benevolent, but check the wording before you leave. Also get a copy of your contract and any signed amendments.
If you quit now, you can walk out in two weeks. If you wait, you get the vacation payout but have to work four more weeks. Given how you describe it, I'd take the early exit. Berlin has plenty of UX roles, especially for people who know what they're doing.
What is the correct spelling for a street name that appears differently on multiple signs in Charlottenburg?
Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.
if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point
honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.
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