Special protection against dismissal applies to employees who take family care leave to care for relatives.
Family caregiver leave supports family members in reconciling care and work. Employees can take up to 24 months of partial leave to care for relatives in need of care and are subject to special protection against dismissal during this time. This is pointed out by the Saarland Chamber of Labor in its magazine “AK-Konkret” (issue 03/2023).
As soon as an employer is notified of the leave of absence under the Family Care Leave Act, but no earlier than twelve weeks before the announced date, the employer may terminate the employment relationship until the end of the family care leave only in special exceptional cases and with official approval. This would be conceivable, for example, in the event of the closure of a plant.
Family caregiver leave: Who is entitled?
Family caregiver leave is available to employees who care for close relatives in need of care with at least care level 1 in their home environment. The working time during the family care time must be at least 15 hours per week. There is a legal entitlement to this in companies with more than 25 employees.
Good to know: In companies with more than 15 employees, family caregivers have a legal right to be released from work completely or partially for up to six months. The special protection against dismissal also applies to this so-called care leave from the time the care leave is registered with the employer until its end.
Further information on the Caregiver Leave Act can be obtained
from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
.