Application for part-time parental leave rejected – tips for employees

Not all employers have yet realized that part-time employees are also valuable to the company. This leads to the fact that even today the Application for part-time parental leave rejected And often with legally questionable justifications that are not valid.

With this comprehensive guide we would like to support you and Show your possibilitiesWe'll show you whether and under what circumstances employers can reject a request for parental part-time work. In particular, you'll learn:

• when you are entitled to part-time work during parental leave,
• how to properly formulate the application for parental part-time work to the employer,
• under what conditions employers can reject your application for part-time parental leave,
• how you can enforce your rights to parental part-time work in the event of a dispute.

After reading this guide, you will definitely have a very good understanding of the legal situation. However, if you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. This is especially true if your employer Application for part-time parental leave already rejected We are happy to support you. Of course, we also offer support if you have a Disciplinary warning, Termination or a Termination agreement received.

Your right to part-time work during parental leave

The use of parental leave does not preclude employees from continuing to work during parental leave. In fact, employees are allowed to Section 15 paragraph 4 sentence 1 BEEG also during parental leave in 32 hours per week be employed on average throughout the month. This can be with the original employer, another employer, or self-employment.

For the Working for another employer or the independence However, according to Section 15 Paragraph 4 Sentence 3 BEEG, you need the consent of the employer. The (original) employer can only give the consent within four weeks refuse for urgent operational reasons.

If you were already working part-time for up to 32 hours before starting your parental leave, you can simply continue working for your employer. The only difference is that after § 18 BEEG special protection against dismissal have.

However, if you were previously employed full-time and now want to work part-time during parental leave, your working hours will need to be reduced and, if necessary, redistributed. The same applies if you were previously employed part-time and want to further reduce your working hours.

In order for you to work part-time during parental leave, certain legal requirements must be met. Employers can also reject your request for part-time parental leave if certain reasons apply. We'll discuss this in more detail in the following sections.

Basic requirements for parental part-time work

To continue working part-time with reduced hours during your parental leave, certain basic conditions must be met. Otherwise, your employer could legitimately reject your application. Requirements must be present (Checklist):

• The employment relationship with the employer exists longer than 6 months without interruption.
• The employer is usually more than 15 employees employed (trainees are not included).
• The desired reduction in working hours must be at least two months and a volume of not less than 15 hours and no more than 32 hours per week on a monthly average.
• The application must be submitted properly, i.e. in due form and on time be provided (more on this shortly).
• The employer has your Application for part-time parental leave not rejected or rejected in due form and within the deadline.

The point of contention between employer and employee is often the question of whether the employee Application for parental part-time work in due form and on time Just as frequently, the parties dispute whether the employer was entitled to reject the request for part-time work during parental leave. You will find further information on this in the sections below.

Proper application for part-time parental leave – Don’t make mistakes

To ensure your application for part-time parental leave isn't rejected by your employer, you need to keep a few basic things in mind. You must submit your application for part-time parental leave in the correct form and within the deadline – otherwise, you risk rejection. Here are some points to keep in mind:

Deadline for applying for part-time parental leave

Legal deadlines must be observed for applications for part-time parental leave. For children aged 0 to 3 years, the application is at least 7 weeks before the desired start of parental part-time work. However, if the child is between 3 and 8 years old, you must submit the application 13 weeks before the start of part-time employment submitted to the employer.

Form for work in parental part-time

There are also formal requirements to be observed. Unlike normal part-time work, the application for part-time parental leave must be in written form This refers to the written form according to § 126 German Civil Code. Thereafter, a certificate (the application) must be signed by the issuer personally by Signature be signed. In other words: You just have to print out the application and sign it – that’s all.

Alternatively, it is § 126a German Civil Code It is also possible to replace the written form by electronic form However, this requires a qualified electronic signature, which requires some effort to obtain. It's much easier to print out the application and sign it.

Content of the application for parental part-time work

Finally, the application must also contain certain content requirements In the application according to Section 15 Paragraph 7 Sentence 2 BEEG you must Beginning and scope of the reduced working hours. This information is mandatory to ensure the application is sufficiently specific.

In addition, you should also choose the desired Distribution of reduced working hours in the application. This follows from Section 15, Paragraph 7, Sentence 3 of the Federal Employment Agency Act (BEEG).

Further steps after proper application

Once you've done all of this, the ball is in your employer's court. The legal obligations now lie with the employer, who must take care of the application. Under certain circumstances, employers can reject a request for part-time parental leave.

Then employers can reject the application for part-time parental leave

As soon as the application has been duly received by the employer, the employer is also obliged to respond to it in due form and within the deadline. Firstly, the law stipulates in Section 15 Paragraph 5 Sentence 2 BEEG that the employer and employee must inform themselves about the application for parental part-time work. within four weeks If the employer wishes to reject the request for part-time work during parental leave, they must first comply with certain formalities:

• Deadline (Children between 0 – 3 years): The employer can submit the application within 4 weeks after receipt refuse.
• Deadline (Children between 3 – 8 years): Here you can apply for part-time parental leave no later than 8 weeks after receipt be rejected.
• Form: The rejection of the application for part-time work during parental leave can only be made in writing.

Application for part-time parental leave not rejected in due form and on time – these are the consequences

If the employer has not rejected the request in due form and within the deadline, then they have a problem. Conversely, you are legally in a good position because the law treats you as if the employer had agreed to the reduction in working hours and the desired distribution. This is therefore a Presumption of consentwhich the law makes here in favour of the employees.

In practice, it's rare for employers to miss these deadlines. Instead, we're dealing with quite a few cases where employers have acted in accordance with the formalities and deadlines. However, the law sets quite high hurdles for refusing to allow part-time work during parental leave.

Refusal of part-time work during parental leave – Under these circumstances, employers can refuse

According to Section 15 Paragraph 7 Sentence 1 No. 5 BEEG, employers can reject the application for part-time parental leave if the entitlement

urgent operational reasons

In principle, these are the same reasons as for a normal part-time request. Even with a normal part-time request, the employer can reject the part-time request for operational reasons.

An operational reason exists if the reduction in working hours affects the organization, workflow or safety in the company. significantly impaired. Also disproportionate costs entitle the employer to reject the application for part-time parental leave.

However, the legal hurdles for employers are relatively high. blanket reference to operational reasons And an organizational concept is by no means sufficient. The courts examine whether there are grounds for rejection based on three steps:

3-step check if parental part-time work is rejected

(1) Does the employer have a specific operational organisational concept that dictates the working time arrangements considered necessary by the employer?

(2) Does the employee's request for working hours conflict with this working time arrangement? If so, can it be reconciled with the request for parental part-time work through reasonable modifications?

(3) Are the opposing operational reasons so important that the business task is significantly impaired?

In contrast to the normal part-time application, the employer can only reject the application for part-time work during parental leave if there are any conflicting reasons “urgent“ This means that compelling obstacles or there must be compelling reasons against implementation.

Federal Labor Court, judgment of November 13, 2007 – 9 AZR 36/07

The hurdles here are even higher than when rejecting standard part-time work. It is necessary that the opposing business interests clearly outweigh the opposing interests and carry particular weight.

Federal Labor Court, judgment of 19 April 2005 – 9 AZR 233/04

As a result, the employer is required to examine and implement all conceivable organizational and personnel measures.

Examples of unfounded rejections:

• Additional effort in coordination and organization
• Required distribution of tasks to other employees
• Impairment of organization and workflow, provided that disruptions can be eliminated or reduced to a reasonable level through reorganization
• Higher personnel costs
• Costs of training replacement staff
• Costs due to handover discussions due to several part-time employees

Examples of justified rejections:

• No need for employment due to overcapacity
• There is no replacement staff available as required by the work and organisational concept
• Hiring a temporary replacement and no willingness to reduce working hours
• Change in the company's organizational structure due to existing part-time and full-time shift models
• Risk to the company's purpose due to part-time employment, e.g. in the case of full-time educational organisational concepts
• Need to hire a full-time replacement

As you can see, the legal requirements for employers are not easy. Therefore, you should always have your employer check whether the employer was right to reject your request for part-time parental leave.

Application for part-time parental leave rejected – What you can do

If your employer has rejected your application for part-time work during parental leave with a corresponding reduction in working hours, your only option is to Labor CourtThis is also stated in Section 15, Paragraph 7, Sentence 7 of the Parental Leave Act (BEEG). The purpose of the lawsuit is to ensure that the employer agrees to the reduction in working hours and the distribution of working hours you have requested. That's why it's so important that you submit your application for parental part-time work properly.

Once the decision in the labor court proceedings becomes final, the consent is deemed to be in accordance with § 894 Code of Civil Procedure as granted. The problem with this is that it can take a long time for a final decision to be made. If your case goes to appeal, you can expect the process to take more than a year.

Therefore, it might make legal sense to appeal against the rejection of parental part-time employment by preliminary injunction However, this requires a particular urgency, which your lawyer would have to examine on a case-by-case basis.

The good news for you: In the process, the employer bears the Burden of proof that there are urgent operational reasons. If your employer has rejected your request for part-time parental leave, they must transparently disclose the reasons during the process. Many employers fail to overcome this hurdle.