Dismissal during pregnancy

The prohibition on dismissal under § 17 MuSchG: start and duration

The prohibition on dismissal under § 17(1) sentence 1 MuSchG covers three periods: the pregnancy, the four months after a miscarriage occurring after the twelfth week of pregnancy, and the protective period after the birth, at least four months. The type of dismissal does not matter; ordinary, extraordinary and variation dismissals are equally covered.

The start of protection is calculated backwards. The prohibition under § 17(1) sentence 1 no. 1 MuSchG begins 280 days before the expected date of birth (Federal Labour Court, judgment of 24.11.2022, case no. 2 AZR 11/22). The date of the pregnancy test or the medical confirmation does not shift this point in time.

The prohibition applies if the employer knows about the pregnancy when the dismissal is received, or is informed of it within two weeks of receipt (§ 17(1) sentence 1 MuSchG). If the woman exceeds this deadline for a reason she is not responsible for, that is harmless provided she makes the notification without delay afterwards (§ 17(1) sentence 2 MuSchG).

The size of the business and the length of employment do not matter. § 17 MuSchG recognises neither the six-month qualifying period of § 1(1) KSchG nor the small-business clause of § 23(1) sentence 3 KSchG. Also prohibited are preparatory measures the employer takes with a view to a dismissal (§ 17(1) sentence 3 MuSchG).

Approval by the authority under § 17(2) MuSchG

A dismissal within the protective periods is permissible only if the supreme state authority responsible for occupational safety, or the body it designates, has first declared it permissible (§ 17(2) sentence 1 MuSchG). The ground must be a special case unconnected with the woman’s condition during or after pregnancy.

In Bavaria, the decision rests with the Gewerbeaufsichtsamt (trade supervisory office) at the district government (Regierung) responsible for the place of employment. For Augsburg, that is the Regierung von Schwaben (Government of Swabia). According to that authority, the employee concerned is heard in the approval procedure on the grounds put forward by the employer in the application.

In administrative practice, a special case is recognised above all where the business, or a part of it, is closed down and the employee cannot be kept on in any other business of the company either.

If the authority declares the dismissal permissible, it must be in writing and must state the ground for dismissal (§ 17(2) sentence 2 MuSchG). If approval is missing, the dismissal violates a statutory prohibition and is void under § 134 BGB.

What to do once you receive the dismissal

From receipt of the dismissal, two deadlines run side by side: two weeks to notify the pregnancy under § 17(1) sentence 1 MuSchG, and three weeks to file an unfair dismissal claim under § 4 sentence 1 KSchG.

Notify the pregnancy within two weeks

Notify your employer of the pregnancy in writing and secure proof of receipt, for example by registered post with acknowledgement of delivery or a receipt confirmation. The two-week period under § 17(1) sentence 1 MuSchG begins with receipt of the dismissal.

If you yourself did not yet know about the pregnancy at that point, exceeding the deadline is harmless provided you make the notification without delay afterwards (§ 17(1) sentence 2 MuSchG).

You only need to produce a medical certificate or a certificate from a midwife if the employer requests it (§ 15(2) MuSchG). It should state the expected date of birth. The start of the prohibition on dismissal is calculated from this date.

File an unfair dismissal claim within three weeks

File an unfair dismissal claim within three weeks of receiving the written dismissal (§ 4 sentence 1 KSchG). Besides the general place of jurisdiction, the labour court in whose district you ordinarily work also has jurisdiction (§ 48(1a) sentence 1 ArbGG).

If you miss the deadline, the dismissal is deemed valid from the outset under § 7 KSchG, even if it violates § 17 MuSchG. Learning of the pregnancy late does not suspend the time limit for filing a claim.

If, through no fault of her own, a woman learns only after the deadline has expired that she was already pregnant when the dismissal was received, the late claim must be admitted retrospectively on her formal and timely application under § 5(1) sentence 2 KSchG (Federal Labour Court, judgment of 03.04.2025, case no. 2 AZR 156/24).

The application is admissible only within two weeks of the obstacle being removed. It is excluded six months after the end of the missed time limit for the claim (§ 5(3) KSchG).

Probation, small businesses and termination agreements

Two situations regularly lead to disputes over special protection against dismissal: protection during probation and in small businesses, and the termination agreement, which § 17 MuSchG does not cover.

Protection against dismissal during probation and in small businesses

§ 17 MuSchG contains neither a qualifying period nor a company-size threshold. The prohibition on dismissal therefore applies from the first day of the employment relationship, including during an agreed probationary period.

General protection against dismissal works differently. Under § 1(1) KSchG the employment relationship must have existed without interruption for more than six months, and § 23(1) sentence 3 KSchG excludes employment relationships that began after 31 December 2003 in a business that as a rule has ten or fewer employees. Maternity protection exists independently of this.

Termination agreement during pregnancy

A termination agreement ends the employment relationship by agreement of both sides. § 17(1) MuSchG covers only dismissal and therefore does not apply here. Anyone who signs gives up their special protection against dismissal.

A termination agreement is nevertheless invalid if it was concluded in breach of the duty to negotiate fairly (Federal Labour Court, judgment of 07.02.2019, case no. 6 AZR 75/18). There is also the possibility of rescission under § 123(1) BGB where the employer obtained the signature through fraudulent misrepresentation or an unlawful threat.

Have the draft reviewed before you sign it.

Further information on employment law

These topics may also be of interest:

• Dismissal during parental leave
• Unfair dismissal claim
• Received a dismissal

This information does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.