Parental leave is intended to enable employees to spend time with their children without jeopardizing their position. Individuals on parental leave therefore enjoy special protection against dismissal.
Here you can find out which dismissal regulations apply during parental leave and what you can do after a dismissal. An experienced employment law attorney can assist you in such situations.
- Can an employer dismiss an employee during parental leave?
- Protection against dismissal for part-time work during parental leave
- When does the special protection against dismissal apply?
- Exceptions to protection against dismissal
- Legal action against dismissal during parental leave
- Can employees resign during parental leave themselves?
- Conclusion
1. Can an employer dismiss an employee during parental leave?
Parental leave is a leave of absence from work that parents can use to care for their children. Although this leave is unpaid, you receive parental allowance from the state. Parental leave can last up to three years and is only possible until the child’s 8th birthday.
During parental leave, you do not lose your job. The employment relationship resumes as soon as the parental leave ends. This promotes the compatibility of family and career.
To ensure this purpose is not circumvented, Section 18(1) of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG) establishes a general prohibition on dismissal by the employer. Employees are therefore generally not subject to ordinary dismissal during parental leave. Terminations are only permitted “in special cases” (more on this below).
2. Protection against dismissal for part-time work during parental leave
If you work part-time during parental leave, you also enjoy special protection against dismissal pursuant to Section 18(2) No. 1 BEEG. You may therefore generally not be dismissed.
Example: Mr. H works full-time at company U. He would like to spend more time with his two-year-old son, but does not want to stop working completely. H can apply for parental leave during which he will only work part-time for U. The company may generally not dismiss him during this part-time parental leave.
Note: The protection against dismissal only applies to the employer with whom you have taken parental leave. However, if you work part-time for another employer during parental leave, you do not enjoy special protection against dismissal with that employer.
If you already worked part-time before the birth of your child and continue to do so afterwards, the special protection against dismissal applies even if you do not take parental leave (Section 18(2) No. 2 BEEG). However, the prerequisite is that you are entitled to parental allowance during that time and that you invoke the special protection against dismissal within two weeks of receiving the dismissal notice. The protection ends after the child’s 14th month of life.
3. When does the special protection against dismissal apply?
The special protection against dismissal does not only apply from the start of parental leave. Rather, you are already protected as soon as you apply for parental leave. Since parental leave can theoretically be applied for years in advance, the protection applies at the earliest one week before the start of the registration period.
This means:
- At the earliest 8 weeks before the start of parental leave if it is taken before the child’s 3rd birthday.
- At the earliest 14 weeks before the start of parental leave if it is only taken between the child’s 3rd and 8th birthday.
Example: F would like to apply for parental leave to care for her two-year-old son. The registration period for this is 7 weeks. However, F wants to be sure and registers for parental leave 9 weeks before the desired start date. She is then only protected against dismissal 8 weeks before the start of parental leave. In the week before that, her employer can still dismiss her in accordance with the general statutory provisions.
The special protection against dismissal ends when the parental leave expires. Employees can also divide their parental leave into several periods. The special protection against dismissal then only applies during these periods, but not in between.
Tip: It can be advantageous not to apply for parental leave too early. Otherwise, there is a risk that the employer will issue a dismissal notice while the special protection against dismissal has not yet taken effect.
Important: Even if the special protection against dismissal due to parental leave does not apply, parents always enjoy general protection against dismissal under the Protection Against Dismissal Act (KSchG) as long as they have worked in a company with more than 10 employees for longer than 6 months. You may therefore only be dismissed for ordinary reasons if there is an operational, behavioral, or personal reason for dismissal. This already provides you with quite good protection against termination.
4. Exceptions to protection against dismissal
Exceptions to the prohibition on dismissal during parental leave are only possible for particularly important reasons. Continued employment of the parent must be unreasonable for the employer.
Important reasons for dismissal during parental leave include, for example:
- The employer’s insolvency.
- The closure or partial shutdown of the business.
- The employer cannot find a replacement for the interim period and the business cannot continue without a qualified employee in this position. Furthermore, the replacement cannot be hired on a fixed-term basis.
- A particularly serious breach of duty by the parent, such as committing a criminal offense to the detriment of or insulting the employer.
However: Even if such a reason exists, the employer may not dismiss immediately. The employer must first apply for the dismissal with the competent supervisory authority. If the authority refuses its consent, the dismissal is unlawful.
Important: The supervisory authority must always give the affected employee the opportunity to comment on the dismissal beforehand.
5. Legal action against dismissal during parental leave
Despite the high level of protective regulations, dismissals during parental leave occur time and again. Affected parents can, however, defend themselves by filing a dismissal protection claim.
I recommend:
- Act quickly! As soon as both the dismissal has been received and the consent of the supervisory authority has been communicated to you, you must file a claim with the competent labor court within 3 weeks. If you miss the deadline, the dismissal can no longer be challenged.
However: If the employer deliberately did not involve the supervisory authority even though they knew about the special protection against dismissal, no claim deadline runs pursuant to Section 4 sentence 4 KSchG. To avoid any risk, you should nevertheless file a claim as quickly as possible and consult an experienced employment law attorney.
- An experienced employment law attorney increases the chance of winning your dismissal protection claim or successfully negotiating an attractive severance payment. An attorney can better assess the chances of success of the claim and your negotiating position.
In addition to a claim against the dismissal, in most cases it is not necessary or expedient to also challenge the authority’s consent. I will advise you on this.
6. Can employees resign during parental leave themselves?
Employees are not prevented from resigning by parental leave. Your normal notice period applies. This is usually regulated in the employment or collective agreement. If nothing has been agreed there, the statutory provisions of Section 622 of the Civil Code (BGB) apply.
Note, however: Resignation at the end of parental leave is only possible with a special notice period of 3 months pursuant to Section 19 BEEG. The length of the parental leave is irrelevant.
Important: The right to parental leave is not lost through resignation. The resignation does not prevent you from taking parental leave again with another employer, provided the requirements are met.
7. Conclusion
- During parental leave, employees enjoy special protection against dismissal. You are then very difficult to dismiss.
- The special protection against dismissal also applies if parents work part-time during parental leave; however, only with the employer with whom they registered for parental leave.
- For parents who already worked part-time before the birth and continue to do so afterwards, the special protection against dismissal also applies, even if they do not register for parental leave.
- The protection against dismissal begins as soon as employees register for parental leave, but at the earliest one week before the start of the registration period.
- Dismissal during parental leave may be permissible in special cases despite the special protection against dismissal. The employer must first apply for the termination with the competent supervisory authority.
- Parents can defend themselves against an unlawful dismissal during parental leave with a dismissal protection claim. To do so, they must comply with the three-week deadline and should consult legal counsel.
- Employees can also resign themselves during parental leave in the normal manner. Resignation at the end of parental leave is only possible with a special notice period of 3 months pursuant to Section 19 BEEG.