Germany special protection against dismissal 2026

API Periods of special protection against dismissal as REST API, JSON and CSV, with the legal basis for every value.

Periods of special protection against dismissal by group since 2015.

The notice period itself is calculated by the notice period calculator.

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

REST /v1/hr/sonderkuendigungsschutzMCP hr_sonderkuendigungsschutzCLI qk sonderkuendigungsschutz

How long pregnant employees, carers, severely disabled persons, works council members, election candidates and data protection officers are protected from dismissal. Also the Integration Office deadlines and the number of protected employees who initiate a works council election, each with legal basis and validity.

Valid on September 26, 2026

Dismissal ban after childbirth, at least: 4 months
Length of employment after which the Integration Office must consent: 6 months
Post-term protection after membership of a works council, youth representation or maritime works council: 1 year

Source: MuSchG, PflegeZG, SGB IX, KSchG, BDSG
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/sonderkuendigungsschutz?datum=2026-10-01

Zur API-Doku →

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/sonderkuendigungsschutz?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.sonderkuendigungsschutz({ datum: "2026-10-01" });

import os
from quellenkontor import Quellenkontor

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

$ qk sonderkuendigungsschutz --datum 2026-10-01

{
  "name": "hr_sonderkuendigungsschutz",
  "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": "sonderkuendigungsschutz",
  "datum": "2026-10-01",
  "vorlaeufig": false,
  "werte": {
    "mutterschutz_nach_entbindung": 4,
    "mutterschutz_nach_fehlgeburt": 4,
    "mutterschutz_mitteilungsfrist": 2,
    "pflegezeit_vorlauf": 12,
    "schwerbehindert_wartezeit": 6,
    "integrationsamt_entscheidungsfrist": 1,
    "kuendigung_nach_zustimmung": 1,
    "ausserordentlich_antragsfrist": 2,
    "ausserordentlich_entscheidungsfrist": 2,
    "anzeige_probezeit": 4,
    "betriebsrat_nachwirkung": 1,
    "bordvertretung_nachwirkung": 6,
    "personalrat_nachwirkung": 1,
    "wahlbewerber_nachwirkung": 6,
    "initiatoren_ohne_wahl": 3,
    "initiatoren_einladung_anzahl": 6,
    "initiatoren_antrag_anzahl": 3,
    "vorfeld_initiatoren_hoechstens": 3,
    "datenschutzbeauftragter_nachwirkung": 1
  },
  "bestandteile": [
    {
      "id": "mutterschutz_nach_entbindung",
      "name": "Kündigungsverbot nach der Entbindung, mindestens",
      "gruppe": "Schwangerschaft und Mutterschutz",
      "art": "schutzdauer",
      "einheit": "monate",
      "wert": 4,
      "gueltig_ab": "2018-01-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 MuSchG",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "Gesetz zur Neuregelung des Mutterschutzrechts vom 23. Mai 2017 (BGBl. I S. 1228)",
        "url": "https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl117s1228.pdf"
      },
      "hinweis": "Bis zum Ende der Schutzfrist nach der Entbindung, mindestens jedoch vier Monate nach der Entbindung. Während der Schwangerschaft gilt das Verbot ohnehin.",
      "naechster_wert": null,
      "status": "festgelegt",
      "erwartet": null,
      "letzter_wert": null
    },
    {
      "id": "mutterschutz_nach_fehlgeburt",
      "name": "Kündigungsverbot nach einer Fehlgeburt nach der 12. Schwangerschaftswoche",
      "gruppe": "Schwangerschaft und Mutterschutz",
      "art": "schutzdauer",
      "einheit": "monate",
      "wert": 4,
      "gueltig_ab": "2018-01-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 MuSchG",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "Gesetz zur Neuregelung des Mutterschutzrechts vom 23. Mai 2017 (BGBl. I S. 1228)",
        "url": "https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl117s1228.pdf"
      },
      "hinweis": null,
      "naechster_wert": null,
      "status": "festgelegt",
      "erwartet": null,
      "letzter_wert": null
    }
  ],
  "hinweise": [
    "Die Kündigungsfrist selbst liefert der Datensatz kuendigungsfrist. Schutz während der Elternzeit steht im Datensatz elternzeit."
  ],
  "lizenz": "Werte aus amtlichen Werken (§ 5 UrhG). Nutzung der Zusammenstellung nach den Nutzungsbedingungen von Quellenkontor.",
  "stand": "2026-09-26",
  "zitat": "Sonderkündigungsschutz am 01.10.2026: Kündigungsverbot nach der Entbindung, mindestens: 4 Monate; Bestand des Arbeitsverhältnisses, ab dem die Zustimmung des Integrationsamts nötig ist: 6 Monate; Nachwirkender Kündigungsschutz nach Ende der Amtszeit im Betriebsrat, in der Jugend- und Auszubildendenvertretung oder im Seebetriebsrat: 1 Jahre. Rechtsgrundlage: § 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 MuSchG. Quelle: Gesetz zur Neuregelung des Mutterschutzrechts vom 23. Mai 2017 (BGBl. I S. 1228), https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl117s1228.pdf. Daten: Quellenkontor (quellenkontor.dev).",
  "datenstand": "2026-09-26.27"
}

Response shortened. All parameters and response fields are in the Special dismissal protection reference.

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Start for free →Read the reference

Pregnancy and maternity protection 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
Dismissal ban after childbirth, at least	4 months	schutzdauer	from January 1, 2018	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 MuSchG	Source
Dismissal ban after a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy	4 months	schutzdauer	from January 1, 2018	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 MuSchG	Source
Deadline to inform the employer after receiving notice	2 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 MuSchG	Source

Care leave 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Protection before care leave starts at most	12 weeks	vorlauf	from January 1, 2015	§ 5 Abs. 1 Satz 1 PflegeZG in der Fassung von Artikel 2 Nr. 4 des Gesetzes vom 23. Dezember 2014	Source

Severely disabled persons 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Length of employment after which the Integration Office must consent	6 months	wartezeit	from January 1, 2018	§ 173 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 SGB IX	Source
Integration Office decision period for ordinary dismissal	1 month	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 171 Abs. 1 SGB IX	Source
Deadline to give notice after the consent is served	1 month	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 171 Abs. 3 SGB IX	Source
Application deadline with the Integration Office for summary dismissal	2 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 174 Abs. 2 SGB IX	Source
Integration Office decision period for summary dismissal	2 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 174 Abs. 3 SGB IX	Source
Deadline to notify the Integration Office of probationary hiring and termination in the first six months	4 days	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 173 Abs. 4 SGB IX	Source

Works council and other employee representatives 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Post-term protection after membership of a works council, youth representation or maritime works council	1 year	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Post-term protection after membership of an on-board representation	6 months	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Post-term protection after membership of a staff council	1 year	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Post-election protection for candidates and election committee members	6 months	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 3 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Protection for employees who call the election meeting if no body is elected	3 months	schutzdauer	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Protected employees named in the invitation to the election meeting	6	personen	from June 18, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 1 KSchG in der Fassung von Artikel 2 Nr. 1 Buchst. a des Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetzes	Source
Protected employees who apply for an election committee	3	personen	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 1 KSchG	Source
Protection for employees preparing a works council election, at most	3 months	schutzdauer	from June 18, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 3b Satz 2 KSchG in der Fassung von Artikel 2 Nr. 1 Buchst. b des Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetzes	Source

Data protection officers 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Post-term protection after serving as data protection officer	1 year	nachwirkung	from May 25, 2018	§ 6 Abs. 4 Satz 3 in Verbindung mit § 38 Abs. 2 BDSG	Source

Special dismissal protection since 2015

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

Show all 30 entriesHide 30 entries

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Protected employees named in the invitation to the election meeting	6	personen	from June 18, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 1 KSchG in der Fassung von Artikel 2 Nr. 1 Buchst. a des Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetzes	Source
Protection for employees preparing a works council election, at most	3 months	schutzdauer	from June 18, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 3b Satz 2 KSchG in der Fassung von Artikel 2 Nr. 1 Buchst. b des Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetzes	Source
Post-term protection after serving as data protection officer	1 year	nachwirkung	from May 25, 2018	§ 6 Abs. 4 Satz 3 in Verbindung mit § 38 Abs. 2 BDSG	Source
Dismissal ban after childbirth, at least	4 months	schutzdauer	from January 1, 2018	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 MuSchG	Source
Dismissal ban after a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy	4 months	schutzdauer	from January 1, 2018	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 MuSchG	Source
Deadline to inform the employer after receiving notice	2 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 1 MuSchG	Source
Length of employment after which the Integration Office must consent	6 months	wartezeit	from January 1, 2018	§ 173 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 SGB IX	Source
Integration Office decision period for ordinary dismissal	1 month	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 171 Abs. 1 SGB IX	Source
Deadline to give notice after the consent is served	1 month	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 171 Abs. 3 SGB IX	Source
Application deadline with the Integration Office for summary dismissal	2 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 174 Abs. 2 SGB IX	Source
Integration Office decision period for summary dismissal	2 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 174 Abs. 3 SGB IX	Source
Deadline to notify the Integration Office of probationary hiring and termination in the first six months	4 days	frist	from January 1, 2018	§ 173 Abs. 4 SGB IX	Source
Dismissal ban after a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy	4 months	schutzdauer	May 30, 2017 to December 31, 2017	§ 9 Abs. 1 Satz 1 MuSchG a. F. in der Fassung von Artikel 8 des Gesetzes vom 23. Mai 2017	Source
Dismissal ban after childbirth, at least	4 months	schutzdauer	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 9 Abs. 1 Satz 1 MuSchG a. F.	Source
Deadline to inform the employer after receiving notice	2 weeks	frist	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 9 Abs. 1 Satz 1 MuSchG a. F.	Source
Protection before care leave starts at most	12 weeks	vorlauf	from January 1, 2015	§ 5 Abs. 1 Satz 1 PflegeZG in der Fassung von Artikel 2 Nr. 4 des Gesetzes vom 23. Dezember 2014	Source
Length of employment after which the Integration Office must consent	6 months	wartezeit	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 90 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 SGB IX a. F.	Source
Integration Office decision period for ordinary dismissal	1 month	frist	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 88 Abs. 1 SGB IX a. F.	Source
Deadline to give notice after the consent is served	1 month	frist	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 88 Abs. 3 SGB IX a. F.	Source
Application deadline with the Integration Office for summary dismissal	2 weeks	frist	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 91 Abs. 2 SGB IX a. F.	Source
Integration Office decision period for summary dismissal	2 weeks	frist	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 91 Abs. 3 SGB IX a. F.	Source
Deadline to notify the Integration Office of probationary hiring and termination in the first six months	4 days	frist	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017	§ 90 Abs. 3 SGB IX a. F.	Source
Post-term protection after membership of a works council, youth representation or maritime works council	1 year	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Post-term protection after membership of an on-board representation	6 months	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 1 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Post-term protection after membership of a staff council	1 year	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Post-election protection for candidates and election committee members	6 months	nachwirkung	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 3 Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Protection for employees who call the election meeting if no body is elected	3 months	schutzdauer	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 2 KSchG	Source
Protected employees named in the invitation to the election meeting	3	personen	January 1, 2015 to June 17, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 1 KSchG a. F.	Source
Protected employees who apply for an election committee	3	personen	from January 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 3a Satz 1 KSchG	Source
Post-term protection after serving as data protection officer	1 year	nachwirkung	January 1, 2015 to May 24, 2018	§ 4f Abs. 3 Satz 6 BDSG a. F. in der Fassung von Artikel 1 Nr. 6 des Gesetzes vom 14. August 2009	Source

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

Dismissing a woman is not permitted during pregnancy, until four months after a miscarriage after the twelfth week of pregnancy, and until the end of the protection period after childbirth, at least four months after it, if the employer knows or is told within two weeks of the notice being received (§ 17 Abs. 1 MuSchG).
The ban also covers preparatory steps the employer takes with a view to dismissal (§ 17 Abs. 1 Satz 3 MuSchG).
In exceptional cases not connected with the woman's condition during pregnancy, after a miscarriage or after childbirth, the highest state authority for occupational safety, or a body it designates, may declare a dismissal admissible; the notice must then be in writing and state the reason (§ 17 Abs. 2 MuSchG).
From the request for parental leave, at the earliest eight weeks before it starts (14 weeks for leave between the third birthday and the end of the eighth year), and during parental leave, the employer may not dismiss; this also applies to part-time work with the same employer during parental leave (§ 18 BEEG). The values by birth date are in the elternzeit dataset.
From the announcement of a short-term absence or care leave until its end, the employer may not dismiss (§ 5 Abs. 1 PflegeZG).
Dismissing a severely disabled or equivalent person requires prior consent of the Integration Office (§ 168, § 151 Abs. 3 SGB IX), once the employment has lasted six months (§ 173 Abs. 1 SGB IX).
The protection does not apply if the severe disability was not proven when notice was received or the pension office could not decide for lack of cooperation (§ 173 Abs. 3 SGB IX).
A dismissal without involving the representative body for severely disabled employees is invalid (§ 178 Abs. 2 Satz 3 SGB IX).
Members of the works council, youth and trainee representation, on-board representation and maritime works council may only be dismissed for cause and with the works council's consent under § 103 BetrVG (§ 15 Abs. 1 KSchG).
If the business closes, protected representatives may be dismissed at the earliest as of the closure date (§ 15 Abs. 4 KSchG).
Where a data protection officer must be appointed, dismissal is only permitted for cause (§ 6 Abs. 4 Satz 2, § 38 Abs. 2 BDSG). Private bodies must appoint one if, as a rule, at least 20 persons are constantly engaged in automated processing of personal data (§ 38 Abs. 1 BDSG).
From service of the call-up notice until the end of basic military service and during a military exercise, the employer may not dismiss, and otherwise not because of military service (§ 2 Abs. 1 and 2 ArbPlSchG). This also applies to voluntary military service under § 58b SG (§ 16 Abs. 5 ArbPlSchG).
If notice is received after the call-up notice or during service, the three-week deadline to sue under § 4 KSchG starts only two weeks after service ends (§ 2 Abs. 4 ArbPlSchG).

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/sonderkuendigungsschutz/verlauf?format=csv&trennzeichen=semikolon" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY" -o sonderkuendigungsschutz.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 Special dismissal protection reference.

Questions about this dataset

How long does protection last after childbirth?

Until the end of the protection period after childbirth, at least four months after the birth. The employer must know, or be told within two weeks of the notice being received (§ 17 Abs. 1 MuSchG).

How long is a works council member protected after the term ends?

One year, dismissal only for cause. Candidates and election committee members are protected for six months after the result is announced (§ 15 Abs. 1 and 3 KSchG).

Does the employer always need Integration Office consent?

Only if the employment has lasted more than six months when notice is received and the severe disability is proven. After consent, notice must be given within one month (§§ 171, 173 SGB IX).

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 special protection against dismissal 2026

Pregnancy and maternity protection 2026

Care leave 2026

Severely disabled persons 2026

Works council and other employee representatives 2026

Data protection officers 2026

Special dismissal protection since 2015

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

As JSON and CSV

Parameters

Questions about this dataset

Related datasets

Notice period calculator

Maternity protection calculator

Parental leave: duration, deadlines and part-time work

Disability compensatory levy

Related datasets

Notice period calculator
Statutory notice period and end date under § 622 BGB from start date and date of receipt.
APIMCPwhen the law changes

Maternity protection calculator
Start and end of the maternity protection periods from the expected due date.
APIMCPwhen the law changes

Parental leave: duration, deadlines and part-time work
Maximum duration, notice periods, dismissal protection and part-time limits of German parental leave under the BEEG, by the child's date of birth.
APIMCPwhen the law changes, transition by date of birth

Disability compensatory levy
Amount per unfilled mandatory position by employment rate, with a calculator for the yearly levy.
APIMCPon adjustment under § 160 Abs. 3 SGB IX, on January 1