Germany labour law thresholds 2026 by headcount

API All headcount thresholds as REST API, JSON and CSV, with the legal basis and counting rule for every value.

From how many employees dismissal protection, works councils, data protection officers, whistleblower channels and other duties apply in Germany, since 2015.

The quota for severely disabled employees is under the compensatory levy.

Last checked against the sources on September 26, 2026. Next expected change: only if the law changes.

REST /v1/hr/schwellenwerte-arbeitsrechtMCP hr_schwellenwerte_arbeitsrechtCLI qk schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht

The thresholds at which duties and rights begin in German labour law: dismissal protection, works council and its participation rights, mass redundancy notification, board co-determination, part-time work, bridge part-time, care leave, data protection officer, internal reporting channel, safety officers and the U1 levy. Each value with legal basis, counting rule and validity.

Valid on September 26, 2026

Protection against dismissal applies in establishments with more than: 10 employees
Works council can be elected from: 5 employees
Data protection officer required from: 20 employees

Source: KSchG, BetrVG, DrittelbG, MitbestG, TzBfG, BEEG, PflegeZG, FPfZG, BDSG, HinSchG, SGB VII, SGB IX, ASiG, AAG, SprAuG
License: Values from official works (§ 5 UrhG). Use of the compilation under the Quellenkontor terms of use.
Updates: when the law changes
Coverage: Germany, from 2015

A value doesn't match the official source? Report an error. We check against the primary source and document every correction in the changelog.

Related solutions: For HR software For AI agents and HR chatbots

api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht?datum=2026-10-01

Zur API-Doku →

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht?datum=2026-10-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY"

import { Quellenkontor } from "@quellenkontor/sdk";

const qk = new Quellenkontor(process.env.QK_KEY);
const daten = await qk.hr.schwellenwerteArbeitsrecht({ datum: "2026-10-01" });

import os
from quellenkontor import Quellenkontor

qk = Quellenkontor(api_key=os.environ["QK_KEY"])
daten = qk.hr.schwellenwerte_arbeitsrecht(datum="2026-10-01")

$ qk schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht --datum 2026-10-01

{
  "name": "hr_schwellenwerte_arbeitsrecht",
  "arguments": {
    "datum": "2026-10-01"
  }
}

This is how an agent calls the tool. Server setup is described in the MCP docs.

Antwort200 OK · JSON

{
  "datensatz": "schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht",
  "datum": "2026-10-01",
  "vorlaeufig": false,
  "werte": {
    "kuendigungsschutz": 10,
    "kuendigungsschutz_altfaelle": 5,
    "massenentlassung_betrieb": 20,
    "massenentlassung_klein_entlassungen": 5,
    "massenentlassung_mittel_betrieb": 60,
    "massenentlassung_mittel_prozent": 10,
    "massenentlassung_mittel_entlassungen": 25,
    "massenentlassung_gross_betrieb": 500,
    "massenentlassung_gross_entlassungen": 30,
    "massenentlassung_zeitraum": 30,
    "betriebsrat": 5,
    "wirtschaftsausschuss": 100,
    "freistellung_betriebsrat": 200,
    "betriebsaenderung": 20,
    "betriebsaenderung_berater": 300,
    "betriebsrat_vereinfachtes_wahlverfahren": 100,
    "personelle_einzelmassnahmen": 20,
    "jugend_auszubildendenvertretung": 5,
    "sprecherausschuss": 10,
    "schwerbehindertenvertretung": 5,
    "drittelbeteiligung": 500,
    "mitbestimmung": 2000,
    "teilzeitanspruch": 15,
    "brueckenteilzeit": 45,
    "brueckenteilzeit_zumutbarkeit": 200,
    "elternzeit_teilzeit": 15,
    "pflegezeit": 15,
    "familienpflegezeit": 25,
    "datenschutzbeauftragter": 20,
    "hinweisgeber_meldestelle": 50,
    "sicherheitsbeauftragte": 50,
    "sicherheitsbeauftragte_gefaehrdung": 20,
    "arbeitsschutzausschuss": 20,
    "umlage_u1": 30
  },
  "bestandteile": [
    {
      "id": "kuendigungsschutz",
      "name": "Kündigungsschutz gilt im Betrieb ab mehr als",
      "gruppe": "Kündigungsschutz",
      "art": "schwelle_mehr_als",
      "einheit": "beschaeftigte",
      "wert": 10,
      "gueltig_ab": "2015-01-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 3 KSchG",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "§ 23 KSchG (Geltungsbereich)",
        "url": "https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/kschg/__23.html"
      },
      "hinweis": "Gilt für Arbeitsverhältnisse, die nach dem 31.12.2003 begonnen haben. Die zu ihrer Berufsbildung Beschäftigten zählen nicht mit (§ 23 Abs. 1 Sätze 2 und 3 KSchG), Teilzeitkräfte anteilig (§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 4 KSchG). Wert seit 01.01.2004 unverändert.",
      "naechster_wert": null,
      "status": "festgelegt",
      "erwartet": null,
      "letzter_wert": null
    },
    {
      "id": "kuendigungsschutz_altfaelle",
      "name": "Kündigungsschutz für Altfälle (Beginn vor 2004) ab mehr als",
      "gruppe": "Kündigungsschutz",
      "art": "schwelle_mehr_als",
      "einheit": "beschaeftigte",
      "wert": 5,
      "gueltig_ab": "2015-01-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "§ 23 KSchG (Geltungsbereich)",
        "url": "https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/kschg/__23.html"
      },
      "hinweis": "Für Arbeitnehmer, deren Arbeitsverhältnis vor dem 01.01.2004 begonnen hat. Später Eingestellte zählen bei dieser Schwelle nicht mit, bis der Betrieb in der Regel zehn Arbeitnehmer hat (§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 3 KSchG).",
      "naechster_wert": null,
      "status": "festgelegt",
      "erwartet": null,
      "letzter_wert": null
    }
  ],
  "hinweise": [
    "Ob ein Wert als „mehr als“ oder „ab“ gilt und wie Teilzeitkräfte zählen, steht im Namen und im Hinweis des Bestandteils."
  ],
  "lizenz": "Werte aus amtlichen Werken (§ 5 UrhG). Nutzung der Zusammenstellung nach den Nutzungsbedingungen von Quellenkontor.",
  "stand": "2026-09-26",
  "zitat": "Schwellenwerte im Arbeitsrecht am 01.10.2026: Kündigungsschutz gilt im Betrieb ab mehr als: 10 Beschäftigte; Betriebsrat wählbar ab: 5 Beschäftigte; Datenschutzbeauftragter ab: 20 Beschäftigte; Interne Meldestelle für Hinweisgeber ab (private Beschäftigungsgeber): 50 Beschäftigte. Rechtsgrundlage: § 23 Abs. 1 Satz 3 KSchG. Quelle: § 23 KSchG (Geltungsbereich), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/kschg/__23.html. Daten: Quellenkontor (quellenkontor.dev).",
  "datenstand": "2026-09-26.34"
}

Response shortened. All parameters and response fields are in the Headcount thresholds reference.

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Protection against dismissal 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Legal citations stay in German, exactly as they appear in the official sources.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Protection against dismissal applies in establishments with more than	10 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 3 KSchG	Source
Protection against dismissal for employment begun before 2004, more than	5 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG	Source

Collective redundancies 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Notification duty for collective redundancies in establishments with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 21 to 59 employees: dismissals of more than	5	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy: middle band from establishments with at least	60 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 60 to 499 employees: dismissals from share of workforce	10%	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 60 to 499 employees: or dismissals of more than	25	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy: large band from establishments with at least	500 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 500 or more: dismissals of at least	30	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy: period in which dismissals are added up	30 days	zeitraum	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 KSchG	Source

Works constitution 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Works council can be elected from	5 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Economic committee in companies with more than	100 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 106 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Full-time release of a works council member from	200 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 38 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Works council involvement in operational changes in companies with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 111 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Adviser for the works council in operational changes in companies with more than	300 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 111 Satz 2 BetrVG	Source
Simplified works council election procedure in establishments with up to	100 employees	schwelle hoechstens	from June 18, 2021	§ 14a Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG, geändert durch Art. 1 Nr. 4 des Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetzes vom 14.06.2021 (BGBl. I S. 1762), in Kraft seit 18.06.2021	Source
Works council consent to hiring, grading and transfers in companies with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 99 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Youth and apprentice representation from	5	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 60 Abs. 1 BetrVG	Source
Executive staff committee from	10	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 SprAuG	Source
Representative body for severely disabled employees from	5	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2018	§ 177 Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB IX in der Fassung des Bundesteilhabegesetzes vom 23.12.2016 (BGBl. I S. 3234), in Kraft seit 01.01.2018 (Art. 26 Abs. 1)	Source

Board-level codetermination 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
One-third employee representation on the supervisory board, more than	500 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 DrittelbG	Source
Parity codetermination on the supervisory board, more than	2,000 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 MitbestG	Source

Part-time work and leave 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Right to part-time work at employers with more than	15 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 8 Abs. 7 TzBfG	Source
Right to temporary part-time work at employers with more than	45 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2019	§ 9a Abs. 1 Satz 3 TzBfG, eingefügt durch Gesetz vom 11.12.2018 (BGBl. I S. 2384), in Kraft seit 01.01.2019	Source
Temporary part-time: reasonableness limit applies to employers with up to	200 employees	schwelle hoechstens	from January 1, 2019	§ 9a Abs. 2 Satz 2 TzBfG, eingefügt durch Gesetz vom 11.12.2018 (BGBl. I S. 2384), in Kraft seit 01.01.2019	Source
Right to part-time work during parental leave at employers with more than	15 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Right to care leave at employers with more than	15 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 PflegeZG	Source
Right to family care leave at employers with more than	25 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 2 Abs. 1 Satz 4 FPfZG	Source

Compliance 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Data protection officer required from	20 employees	schwelle mindestens	from November 26, 2019	§ 38 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BDSG, geändert durch Art. 12 Nr. 9 des 2. DSAnpUG-EU vom 20.11.2019 (BGBl. I S. 1626), in Kraft seit 26.11.2019	Source
Internal whistleblowing channel required from (private employers)	50 employees	schwelle mindestens	from December 17, 2023	§ 12 Abs. 2 HinSchG	Source

Occupational safety 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Safety representatives required in companies from	50 employees	schwelle mindestens	from May 29, 2026	§ 22 Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB VII, neu gefasst durch Art. 3 Nr. 1 des Gesetzes vom 12.05.2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 140), in Kraft seit 29.05.2026 (Art. 4)	Source
Safety representative where there is a particular hazard, companies with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from May 29, 2026	§ 22 Abs. 1 Satz 3 SGB VII, neu gefasst durch Art. 3 Nr. 1 des Gesetzes vom 12.05.2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 140), in Kraft seit 29.05.2026	Source
Occupational safety committee in establishments with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 11 Satz 1 ASiG	Source

Social insurance 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
U1 levy (sick pay reimbursement) for employers with up to	30 employees	schwelle hoechstens	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 AAG	Source

Headcount thresholds since 2015

Every change to a component with its validity, newest first.

Show all 40 entriesHide 40 entries

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Safety representatives required in companies from	50 employees	schwelle mindestens	from May 29, 2026	§ 22 Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB VII, neu gefasst durch Art. 3 Nr. 1 des Gesetzes vom 12.05.2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 140), in Kraft seit 29.05.2026 (Art. 4)	Source
Safety representative where there is a particular hazard, companies with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from May 29, 2026	§ 22 Abs. 1 Satz 3 SGB VII, neu gefasst durch Art. 3 Nr. 1 des Gesetzes vom 12.05.2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 140), in Kraft seit 29.05.2026	Source
Internal whistleblowing channel required from (private employers)	50 employees	schwelle mindestens	from December 17, 2023	§ 12 Abs. 2 HinSchG	Source
Internal whistleblowing channel required from (private employers)	250 employees	schwelle mindestens	July 2, 2023 to December 16, 2023	§ 12 Abs. 1 und 2 i. V. m. § 42 Abs. 1 HinSchG, Art. 10 Abs. 2 des Gesetzes vom 31.05.2023 (BGBl. 2023 I Nr. 140)	Source
Simplified works council election procedure in establishments with up to	100 employees	schwelle hoechstens	from June 18, 2021	§ 14a Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG, geändert durch Art. 1 Nr. 4 des Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetzes vom 14.06.2021 (BGBl. I S. 1762), in Kraft seit 18.06.2021	Source
Data protection officer required from	20 employees	schwelle mindestens	from November 26, 2019	§ 38 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BDSG, geändert durch Art. 12 Nr. 9 des 2. DSAnpUG-EU vom 20.11.2019 (BGBl. I S. 1626), in Kraft seit 26.11.2019	Source
Right to temporary part-time work at employers with more than	45 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2019	§ 9a Abs. 1 Satz 3 TzBfG, eingefügt durch Gesetz vom 11.12.2018 (BGBl. I S. 2384), in Kraft seit 01.01.2019	Source
Temporary part-time: reasonableness limit applies to employers with up to	200 employees	schwelle hoechstens	from January 1, 2019	§ 9a Abs. 2 Satz 2 TzBfG, eingefügt durch Gesetz vom 11.12.2018 (BGBl. I S. 2384), in Kraft seit 01.01.2019	Source
Data protection officer required from	10 employees	schwelle mindestens	May 25, 2018 to November 25, 2019	§ 38 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BDSG in der Fassung des DSAnpUG-EU vom 30.06.2017 (BGBl. I S. 2097), in Kraft seit 25.05.2018	Source
Representative body for severely disabled employees from	5	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2018	§ 177 Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB IX in der Fassung des Bundesteilhabegesetzes vom 23.12.2016 (BGBl. I S. 3234), in Kraft seit 01.01.2018 (Art. 26 Abs. 1)	Source
Protection against dismissal applies in establishments with more than	10 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 3 KSchG	Source
Protection against dismissal for employment begun before 2004, more than	5 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 23 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Notification duty for collective redundancies in establishments with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 21 to 59 employees: dismissals of more than	5	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy: middle band from establishments with at least	60 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 60 to 499 employees: dismissals from share of workforce	10%	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 60 to 499 employees: or dismissals of more than	25	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy: large band from establishments with at least	500 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy in establishments with 500 or more: dismissals of at least	30	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 KSchG	Source
Collective redundancy: period in which dismissals are added up	30 days	zeitraum	from January 1, 2015	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 KSchG	Source
Works council can be elected from	5 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Economic committee in companies with more than	100 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 106 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Full-time release of a works council member from	200 employees	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 38 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Works council involvement in operational changes in companies with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 111 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Adviser for the works council in operational changes in companies with more than	300 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 111 Satz 2 BetrVG	Source
Simplified works council election procedure in establishments with up to	50 employees	schwelle hoechstens	January 1, 2015 to June 17, 2021	§ 14a Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG a. F.	Source
Works council consent to hiring, grading and transfers in companies with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 99 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BetrVG	Source
Youth and apprentice representation from	5	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 60 Abs. 1 BetrVG	Source
Executive staff committee from	10	schwelle mindestens	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 SprAuG	Source
Representative body for severely disabled employees from	5	schwelle mindestens	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 94 Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB IX in der bis 31.12.2017 geltenden Fassung	Source
One-third employee representation on the supervisory board, more than	500 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 DrittelbG	Source
Parity codetermination on the supervisory board, more than	2,000 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 MitbestG	Source
Right to part-time work at employers with more than	15 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 8 Abs. 7 TzBfG	Source
Right to part-time work during parental leave at employers with more than	15 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Right to care leave at employers with more than	15 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 PflegeZG	Source
Right to family care leave at employers with more than	25 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 2 Abs. 1 Satz 4 FPfZG	Source
Data protection officer required from	10 employees	schwelle mindestens	January 1, 2015 to May 24, 2018	§ 4f Abs. 1 Satz 4 BDSG in der bis 24.05.2018 geltenden Fassung	Source
Safety representatives required in companies from	21 employees	schwelle mindestens	January 1, 2015 to May 28, 2026	§ 22 Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB VII a. F.	Source
Occupational safety committee in establishments with more than	20 employees	schwelle mehr als	from January 1, 2015	§ 11 Satz 1 ASiG	Source
U1 levy (sick pay reimbursement) for employers with up to	30 employees	schwelle hoechstens	from January 1, 2015	§ 1 Abs. 1 AAG	Source

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

Thresholds refer to the headcount "as a rule": what matters is the usual number of the establishment or company, not a snapshot. Whether part-time staff count fully or partially is set by each provision, partially for example in § 23 Abs. 1 Satz 4 KSchG, § 11 ASiG and § 3 Abs. 1 Satz 6 AAG; the counting rule is in the note for each value.
For protection against dismissal, part-time staff with up to 20 hours a week count as 0.5 and with up to 30 hours as 0.75; apprentices do not count (§ 23 Abs. 1 Sätze 2 bis 4 KSchG).
Protection against dismissal applies after six months of employment in establishments with more than ten employees as a rule; for employment that began before 1 January 2004, more than five is enough (§ 1 Abs. 1, § 23 Abs. 1 KSchG).
Some thresholds refer to the establishment (dismissal protection, works council, release, collective redundancies, youth and apprentice representation, executive staff committee, disability representation, safety committee), others to the company (economic committee, operational changes, individual personnel measures, safety representatives, supervisory board) or the employer (part-time, care leave, U1 levy).
"More than" means the threshold itself is not enough: "more than 10" applies from 11 (field art: schwelle_mehr_als, schwelle_mindestens, schwelle_hoechstens).
Collective redundancies must be notified to the employment agency before dismissals within 30 calendar days reach the band; the works council must be informed in writing beforehand (§ 17 Abs. 1 to 3 KSchG).
For the data protection officer, the persons who as a rule are permanently engaged in automated processing of personal data count; with a data protection impact assessment or commercial data transfer the duty applies regardless of headcount (§ 38 Abs. 1 BDSG).
The duty to employ severely disabled persons from 20 positions is in the dataset ausgleichsabgabe, the thresholds of the Pay Transparency Act in the dataset entgelttransparenz.

The API returns these statements in the regeln field, so software and agents can display them.

As JSON and CSV

Every request returns JSON. The history since 2015 is also available as a CSV file with format=csv, and with trennzeichen=semikolon it fits Excel with German regional settings. More in Responses and CSV.

Terminal

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht/verlauf?format=csv&trennzeichen=semikolon" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY" -o schwellenwerte-arbeitsrecht.csv

Parameters

Parameters	Type	Meaning
`datum`date	date	Effective date in the format YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to today.
`bestandteil`text	text	Return and cite only this component, for example for a single question (optional). Allowed values are the component ids.

All response fields with types, allowed values, defaults and error cases are in the Headcount thresholds reference.

Questions about this dataset

From how many employees does the Dismissal Protection Act apply?

In establishments that regularly employ more than ten employees, apprentices not counted. Part-time staff count 0.5 up to 20 hours a week and 0.75 up to 30 hours (§ 23 Abs. 1 KSchG).

From how many employees is a data protection officer required?

If at least 20 people are regularly and constantly involved in automated processing of personal data (§ 38 Abs. 1 BDSG, since November 26, 2019, previously 10).

From how many employees is an internal whistleblower channel required?

For private employers with at least 50 employees (§ 12 Abs. 2 HinSchG), for 50 to 249 employees since December 17, 2023.

How often is the dataset updated?

When the law changes. We check the data against the official sources every week, and every change is logged in the changelog. On the Pro plan, a webhook notifies your server.

Germany labour law thresholds 2026 by headcount

Protection against dismissal 2026

Collective redundancies 2026

Works constitution 2026

Board-level codetermination 2026

Part-time work and leave 2026

Compliance 2026

Occupational safety 2026

Social insurance 2026

Headcount thresholds since 2015

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

As JSON and CSV

Parameters

Questions about this dataset

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