Parental leave in instalments: the protection against dismissal starts afresh each time

Parental leave in instalments: the case

Anyone taking parental leave cannot be dismissed during that time. The protection even starts earlier, up to eight weeks before parental leave begins. What applies when parents split their parental leave into several periods has now been clarified by the Federal Labour Court (BAG) in its judgment of 18 June 2026 (2 AZR 213/25): the protection starts afresh before each individual period. That is so even where all the periods were applied for in a single letter.

The employee in the decided case had started his job on 1 July 2024. By letter of 23 July 2024 he applied for parental leave for four individually listed periods between 11 July 2024 and 10 July 2027. For the second period, from 11 November 2024 to 10 July 2025, he also wanted to continue working part-time. The employer granted the parental leave on 1 August 2024 and also agreed to the part-time work. The schedule was therefore before it in writing.

Dismissed between two periods

On 9 October 2024 the employer nevertheless terminated the employment relationship, with ordinary notice to 31 October 2024 and, in the alternative, to the next possible date. Beforehand it had consulted the staff council, that is, the employee representative body. It did not, however, obtain a declaration of admissibility from the competent supreme state authority. That is the official permission which exceptionally allows a dismissal despite parental leave. At that point the employee was not on parental leave; his second period was not due to begin until 11 November 2024.

The employee brought an unfair dismissal claim. He relied on the fact that he had also requested parental leave from 11 November 2024 and was therefore already protected before that date. The labour court and the Hamm Regional Labour Court found in his favour. The employer appealed to the Federal Labour Court, but without success: the dismissal is invalid.

Protection against dismissal before parental leave

Employees who request parental leave enjoy special protection against dismissal, that is, a prohibition on dismissal which goes beyond the general protection and applies only to certain groups. During parental leave the employer may not give notice. Only in special cases may the supreme state authority responsible for occupational safety exceptionally declare a dismissal admissible. Without that declaration, the dismissal is invalid.

The protection begins before the first day of parental leave, namely as soon as the employee has effectively requested it, but at the earliest eight weeks before it starts. Lawyers call this anticipatory effect. The reason is obvious: otherwise the employer could end the employment relationship shortly before parental leave, and the protection during parental leave would come to nothing. This rule applies until the child's third birthday.

Why each period counts afresh

The law allows each parent to spread parental leave over several periods. Parents may therefore request parental leave more than once, precisely in instalments. The Federal Labour Court takes from the wording of the statute that the anticipatory protection against dismissal applies to each of these requests. Before each period, a new window of protection of up to eight weeks therefore opens. Anything else would hollow out the protection during parental leave, because the employer could then give notice shortly before the next period.

Whether the employee sends a separate letter before each period or applies for all the periods at once makes no difference to the court. Here the employer had known since the end of July 2024 that the second period would begin on 11 November 2024. Eight weeks before that, that is, from 16 September 2024, it could no longer give notice without official permission. The dismissal of 9 October 2024 fell right in the middle of that window.

The short length of service did not help the employer either. During the first six months of an employment relationship the general protection against dismissal does not yet apply; during this qualifying period the employer normally needs no reason for dismissal. The parental leave legislation, however, contains no exception from the special protection against dismissal for this time. The protection before and during parental leave therefore also applies in the first six months.

What this means for parents

For parents planning their parental leave in instalments, the decision is good news. Each period brings its own protection: up to eight weeks beforehand and during the period itself, in each case until the child's third birthday. Anyone who returns to work after the first period initially has no such special protection in the gap between two periods. As soon as the next period is less than eight weeks away, the prohibition on dismissal applies again.

The protection attaches to the request. It therefore matters that all periods are requested from the employer in good time and effectively. A letter listing all the planned periods is enough for that. Parents do not have to take action again before each period in order to trigger the protection.

The decision also helps parents who start a new job shortly before or after the birth. In the first six months the employer can normally give notice without a reason, and a dismissal during this time therefore quickly looks unassailable. Before and during parental leave, however, that is not so, because the special protection against dismissal has no qualifying period. Anyone who nevertheless receives a dismissal must not lose sight of the time limit for bringing a claim: an unfair dismissal claim must reach the labour court within three weeks of receipt of the dismissal, otherwise the dismissal is deemed valid.