Dismissal protection during parental leave, by country
Every country here shields a parent on leave from dismissal, but the statutes differ in how they do it. Germany and Austria bar dismissal outright and start the shield before the leave begins, eight weeks ahead in Germany and four months ahead in Austria. Norway bars notice that takes effect during the leave but lets lawful earlier notice stand and simply extends it, Spain declares a dismissal void rather than forbidden, and Sweden, Japan and the United Kingdom frame the rule around the reason for the dismissal.
| Country | What is barred | Protection starts | Protection lasts until | Exception or condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | No notice and no summary dismissal | On notifying the leave, at the earliest 4 months before it begins | 4 weeks after the leave ends (mothers) | Summary dismissal only with court consent |
| Germany | Employer may not give notice | From the request for leave, at the earliest 8 weeks before leave that runs to the child’s third birthday | End of the parental leave | The labour authority may declare a dismissal admissible in special cases |
| Spain | Dismissal is void (nulo) | 12 months after birth, adoption or fostering, for those back at work from that leave | Not void if the dismissal is declared justified for reasons unrelated to the protected situation | |
| Japan | No dismissal or other disadvantageous treatment because of taking or applying for childcare leave | |||
| Norway | No notice taking effect during the leave | Leave of up to one year | Notice already given lawfully stays valid but is extended by the length of the leave | |
| Sweden | Dismissal or notice solely because of parental leave is declared invalid on request | |||
| United Kingdom | Dismissal for a prescribed reason linked to parental leave is unfair |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Väter-Karenzgesetz § 7; Mutterschutzgesetz § 15
- The first quote is the rule for fathers taking Karenz (Väter-Karenzgesetz); the end date is quoted from the Mutterschutzgesetz rule for mothers. The ingested text of Väter-Karenzgesetz § 7 is cut off where it states the end date for fathers, so no end date is shown for them here.
- Karenz is unpaid leave to care for a child, so this is the Austrian equivalent of parental leave.
darf weder gekündigt noch entlassen werdenfrühestens jedoch vier Monate vor Antritt einer KarenzEine Entlassung kann nur nach Zustimmung des Gerichts ausgesprochen werden. bis zum Ablauf von vier Wochen nach Beendigung der Karenz Germany
- Rule
- BEEG § 18
- For leave taken between the child’s third and eighth birthday the protection starts at the earliest 14 weeks before the leave; the statute text is in § 18(1) sentence 2.
- Section 18(2) extends the same protection to employees who work part-time during parental leave.
Während der Elternzeit darf der Arbeitgeber das Arbeitsverhältnis nicht kündigen.frühestens acht Wochen vor Beginn einer Elternzeit bis zum vollendeten dritten Lebensjahr des KindesIn besonderen Fällen kann ausnahmsweise eine Kündigung für zulässig erklärt werden. Spain
- Rule
- Estatuto de los Trabajadores art. 55
- Article 55(5) lists the protected situations, including contract suspension for birth and the parental permit of article 48 bis. Void dismissal means immediate reinstatement with back pay under the same article.
- The statute text quoted here does not give a start date for the parental permit, so that column is left empty.
Será también nulo el despido, en los siguientes supuestos:disfrute del permiso parental a que se refiere el artículo 48 bissiempre que no hubieran transcurrido más de doce meses desde la fecha del nacimientosalvo que, en esos casos, se declare la procedencia del despido por motivos no relacionados con el embarazo Japan
- Rule
- 育児・介護休業法 第十条
- The rule is tied to the reason (applying for or taking childcare leave) rather than to a protected period, so no start or end date is stated.
労働者が育児休業申出等（育児休業申出及び出生時育児休業申出をいう。以下同じ。）をし、若しくは育児休業をしたこと当該労働者に対して解雇その他不利益な取扱いをしてはならない Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 15-9
- Covers pregnancy leave, birth leave and parental leave under sections 12-2 to 12-5; section 15-9(3) applies the first subsection’s protection to parental leave beyond one year.
- The employer must know the absence is for this reason, or the employee must tell it without undue delay.
må ikke sies opp med virkning i fraværsperiodenpermisjon etter §§ 12-2, 12-3, 12-4 eller 12-5 første ledd i inntil ett årgyldig, men oppsigelsen forlenges med et tilsvarende tidsrom Sweden
- Rule
- Föräldraledighetslag 16 § and 17 §
- The protection depends on the reason (“enbart av skäl” connected with parental leave), not on a fixed period, so no start or end date is stated.
- Section 16 separately bans disadvantageous treatment of an employee because of parental leave, including dismissal.
enbart av skäl som har samband med föräldraledighetskall uppsägningen eller avskedandet ogiltigförklaras, om arbetstagaren begär det United Kingdom
- Rule
- Employment Rights Act 1996 s. 99
- Section 99 only empowers regulations to prescribe the reasons; the regulations themselves are not in the ingested law, so the exact reasons, periods and exceptions are not shown.
- The reasons that may be prescribed include parental leave and shared parental leave.
An employee who is dismissed shall be regarded for the purposes of this Part as unfairly dismissed ifbb shared parental leave, bc carer’s leave, c parental leave, Countries not in this table yet
The United States, Australia, Canada, France and the Netherlands are not shown: the ingested text of their statutes does not state a dismissal rule tied to parental leave in a form that can be quoted.
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The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Dismissal protection during parental leave, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/parental-leave-dismissal-protection (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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