A landmark ruling from Germany’s Federal Labor Court (BAG) has clarified that the special dismissal protection for workers on parental leave applies individually to each requested time block — even when an employee submits multiple periods in a single application. The decision, handed down on June 18 (case reference 2 AZR 213/25), means employers must now track separate protection windows for every segment of parental leave an employee takes.
The court’s judgment arose from a case involving an employee hired in July 2024. He applied on July 23, 2024 for parental leave across four distinct periods stretching into 2027. His employer issued a dismissal notice in October 2024 — just weeks before the second leave period was set to begin on November 11. The BAG ruled the termination invalid because it fell within the eight-week protective window that precedes each parental leave period for children under three years old.
Under German law, the protection period runs eight weeks before parental leave for children up to age three, and 14 weeks for children between three and eight. The court now explicitly confirmed that these deadlines restart independently for every approved leave segment. The protection applies regardless of the six-month waiting period required under the general Dismissal Protection Act, meaning even employees still in their probationary period can invoke it. During this protected window, a termination is only possible with approval from the highest state authority — for instance, during a company closure.
The ruling is the latest in a string of BAG decisions that have tightened the screws on employers. On May 7, the court ruled that a registered mail delivery receipt no longer constitutes valid proof that a termination letter was received, citing changes in postal scanning procedures that have replaced handwritten signatures. Labour law experts now advise companies to deliver dismissal notices in person or via a courier service.
Earlier, on April 1 (case 6 AZR 157/22), the BAG determined that errors in a mass-dismissal notification cannot be retroactively fixed — a notification filed before completing the consultation process with the works council renders all subsequent dismissals permanently void.
The mounting procedural hurdles come at a time when major German companies are restructuring. Specialty chemicals group Evonik announced on June 18 plans to cut around 3,200 jobs globally by 2029, with roughly 2,150 of those in Germany. The company has largely ruled out compulsory redundancies until the end of 2032, though the closure of specific sites — such as the Witten plant — will still bring significant changes for workers.
For those in parental leave, financial rules also apply. The basic parental allowance (Basiselterngeld) is capped at 1,800 euros per month, and since April 2025 the income threshold for eligibility stands at 175,000 euros of taxable income. In a separate decision on January 28 (case 10 AZR 261/24), the BAG held that employers may deny a collectively bargained inflation bonus to employees on parental leave who receive no salary during that time. Only those working part-time while on leave are entitled to a proportional share.
