🛡️ Protection against dismissal during pregnancy and maternity protection
In brief
During pregnancy and until the end of four months after delivery you generally cannot be dismissed. This special protection against dismissal applies regardless of the size of the business and your length of service – unlike general protection against dismissal under the Kündigungsschutzgesetz (Protection Against Dismissal Act). The requirement is that the employer knew of the pregnancy at the time of the dismissal or is notified of it within two weeks of receiving the dismissal.
Step by step
- React immediately to a dismissalIf you receive a termination notice (Kündigung) despite being pregnant, tell the employer about the pregnancy without delay if they did not yet know – the two-week period is decisive.
- Consider a dismissal protection claimAs a precaution, file a dismissal protection claim (Action against dismissal) with the labour court within three weeks of receiving the termination notice, even if you rely on maternity protection.
- Have the authority's approval checkedAsk whether the state supervisory authority approved an exceptional dismissal in advance – without this approval, a dismissal during the protection period is invalid.
- Get adviceIf you are unsure, contact a pregnancy counselling centre, the works council/staff council, a trade union or an employment law lawyer immediately.
Deadlines
- Protection against dismissal protects against dismissal by the employer – it does not prevent you from resigning yourself or signing a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag) (think carefully, as this does not automatically affect entitlements such as parental allowance, but may become relevant e.g. for unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld I)).
- In very narrow exceptional cases (e.g. closure of the business) the responsible state authority can exceptionally approve a dismissal in advance – this is the exception, not the rule, and without this official approval a dismissal during the protection period is invalid.
- Regardless of when the 8- or 12-week maternity protection period ends, the special protection against dismissal ends only after a full four months after the birth – these two periods are not identical and should not be confused.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Scope of § 17 MuSchG
§ 17 Abs. 1 MuSchG prohibits dismissal during pregnancy and until the end of four months after delivery if the employer knew of the pregnancy or delivery at the time of the dismissal or is notified within two weeks of receiving the dismissal; exceeding this period is harmless if it was not the woman's fault and the notification is made without delay. The protection applies regardless of the size of the business, waiting period or fixed-term nature of the employment relationship (unless it ends regularly by expiry of the term anyway – maternity protection does not automatically extend fixed-term contracts).
Requirement of approval
Under § 17 Abs. 2 MuSchG, a dismissal can exceptionally be declared permissible in special cases (such as complete closure of the business or serious breaches); this requires prior approval by the supervisory authority responsible under state law, which hears the woman before its decision. Without this approval, a dismissal that has been issued is void under § 134 BGB.
Relationship to general protection against dismissal
The special protection against dismissal under the MuSchG applies alongside the general protection against dismissal under the KSchG. Since the three-week period for filing a claim under § 4 KSchG runs regardless of the maternity protection ground, it is always advisable as a precaution to file a dismissal protection claim on time, even if the invalidity actually already follows from § 17 MuSchG.
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