Overview
- Section 18 of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG) makes employer-initiated termination void from the moment parental leave is requested.
- The protection kicks in no earlier than eight weeks before leave for children under three and 14 weeks before leave for children aged three to eight, and it lasts for the whole leave period.
- A narrow exception allows a betriebsbedingte Kündigung when the business is fully closed but only with written approval from the competent authority, usually a municipal or state workplace oversight office.
- Parents do not receive their employer salary during parental leave but can claim Basiselterngeld under fixed rules that total 14 months shared between parents with minimum month requirements.
- In practice employers facing restructuring must file for authority consent promptly to include a parent in mass‑layoff procedures and parents should challenge any dismissal that lacks the required approval in labor court.