The minimum one month notice does not mean you see your desk again, it just means you will be paid at least for one more month (plus what is reached in the settlement).

But an employee that really wants to stay can be on payroll for quite some time. But he cannot work for another company during that time. He has to be available.

But most people, I think, take the severance pay and move on. I did.

I don't really know what you mean by "settlement". There's no settlement that I know of when you get fired in the USA.

Here, a "settlement" is something you might get if you were to sue someone for something and the court awarded you money.

My bad english. I meant severance pay. I was still talking about Germany.

Ah. In the states, you only get severance if you're laid off. If you're fired, I don't think there's any severance pay involved.

Also, in the states, if you're laid off, you can apply for "unemployment benefits" from the state. If you're fired, you cannot.