When protection under § 18 BEEG applies
Protection against dismissal begins when you request parental leave. Under § 18 para. 1 sentence 2 BEEG it starts at the earliest eight weeks before the start of parental leave taken up to the child’s third birthday, and at the earliest fourteen weeks before the start of parental leave taken between the third and eighth birthday.
It covers ordinary, extraordinary and variation dismissals under § 2 KSchG. § 18 BEEG sets no threshold for the size of the business. If you work in a business with ten or fewer employees and therefore fall outside general protection against dismissal under § 23 para. 1 KSchG, you are still protected during parental leave.
Protection applies for the whole of your parental leave, regardless of whether you receive parental allowance and regardless of whether you work part time during parental leave or are released from work entirely.
If you split your parental leave into separate periods, the advance protection arises anew before each individual period. This applies even if you requested all periods in a single letter. The Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled accordingly on 18 June 2026 (case 2 AZR 213/25).
When the authority may exceptionally permit a dismissal
In special cases, the supreme state authority responsible for occupational safety may declare a dismissal permissible under § 18 para. 1 sentences 3 and 4 BEEG. In Bavaria, that decision lies with the trade supervisory office (Gewerbeaufsichtsamt) attached to the relevant district government.
The General Administrative Regulation on protection against dismissal during parental leave names three groups of cases for this: closure of the business with no possibility of transfer to another establishment, particularly serious breaches of the employee’s contractual duties or intentional criminal offences by the employee, and a threat to the existence of the business or the employer if the employment relationship continues.
The employer must apply to the authority responsible for the business’s location before issuing the dismissal. Before deciding, the authority gives the employee concerned and the works council the opportunity to comment. If the declaration of permissibility is missing, the dismissal breaches § 18 para. 1 BEEG and is void under § 134 BGB.
Even a void dismissal must be challenged within the deadline. § 4 sentence 1 KSchG gives you three weeks from receipt of the written dismissal; once that deadline has passed, the dismissal is treated under § 7 KSchG as valid from the outset. If the dismissal requires the authority’s approval, the deadline under § 4 sentence 4 KSchG does not begin until the authority’s decision is communicated to you.
Dismissal and return after parental leave
Once parental leave ends, a dismissal is governed solely by the general rules. Your entitlement to return to your job continues regardless.
Dismissal at the end of parental leave
Special protection ends on the last day of parental leave. A dismissal issued from the following day must be socially justified under § 1 KSchG, observe the notice period under § 622 BGB and, where a works council exists, be preceded by its hearing under § 102 para. 1 BetrVG. Without that hearing, the dismissal is invalid.
Changes to working conditions after your return
The employment relationship continues during parental leave; only the duty to work is suspended. After your return, the employer may determine the content, place and time of your work under § 106 GewO only within the limits of your employment contract and at equitable discretion. Art. 10 para. 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 gives you the right to return to the same job, or an equivalent one, on terms no less favourable.
Parental leave itself is not among the characteristics protected under § 1 AGG. But a transfer to a lower-value position after your return can amount to indirect discrimination on grounds of sex under § 3 para. 2 AGG. Claims for damages and compensation under § 15 AGG must be asserted in writing within two months (§ 15 para. 4 AGG).
Termination agreement and part-time work during parental leave
§ 18 BEEG prohibits only a dismissal by the employer. A termination agreement ends the employment relationship by mutual consent and therefore does not fall under the prohibition, even though the result is the same. Your signature takes the place of the authority’s declaration of permissibility that the employer would otherwise have to obtain.
Risks of a termination agreement during parental leave
Anyone who ends their employment relationship through a termination agreement and thereby becomes unemployed intentionally or through gross negligence incurs a suspension period under § 159 para. 1 No. 1 SGB III. It lasts twelve weeks where no good cause applies (§ 159 para. 3 SGB III). Signing also removes your protection under § 18 BEEG.
As long as you do not sign, your employer cannot end the employment relationship without the authority’s declaration of permissibility. Have the draft reviewed by an employment lawyer before you sign.
Protection against dismissal for part-time work during parental leave
§ 18 para. 2 No. 1 BEEG extends protection against dismissal to employees who work part time for the same employer during parental leave. The employer may terminate neither the part-time employment relationship nor the dormant full-time relationship.
If the employer rejects your timely request to reduce or redistribute your working hours, you can bring a claim before the labour court under § 15 para. 7 sentence 8 BEEG.
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