Dormant employment relationship: how to support your employees well through parental leave

Published: May 16, 2025
Last updated: 21. October 2026

Maternity protection and then parental leave – for many employees that's an exciting, challenging and at the same time wonderful phase of life. For companies, however, it holds not only challenges but also real opportunities: for trust, long-term employee retention and a modern, family-friendly company culture.

But what is actually allowed as an employer? How can you support your employees during this time without breaching labour-law requirements? And where is there room to shape things?

We give you a clear overview – and show you how to implement parental leave really well in your company.

The key points at a glance:

we summarise the most important points on maternity protection and parental leave for you
In labour-law terms, parental leave is a “dormant employment relationship” – we explain what that means
What's allowed during parental leave? We answer common questions and also show how you can use the rules to your employees' advantage
We thereby show you that parental leave is an opportunity for improved employee retention

Rules on maternity protection and parental leave explained

There are numerous laws and rules on both maternity protection and parental leave. So you don't lose track, we summarise the most important ones here.

Maternity protection

The Maternity protection is regulated in the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG) and applies to all pregnant employees regardless of the employment relationship. It includes, among other things

✅ protection of health at the workplace

✅ special protection against dismissal

✅ an employment ban in the period before and after the birth

✅ securing income during the employment ban

For calculating maternity protection, the due date is decisive – maternity protection applies 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after, so 14 weeks in total. If there's no issue from a medical standpoint, your employees may keep working before the birth if they want to – after the birth you may not employ them even then. A complete ban applies here.

Parental leave

Now let's come to Parental leave. Parental leave is an unpaid break from working life – not only for mothers, but for everyone who cares for a child themselves. It must be registered by employees at least 7 weeks before it starts – since 1 May 2025 that's also possible by email.

Our tip: employees should know from the outset exactly who they need to register parental leave with – that too is part of visible family-friendliness. You can find more on that in our linked blog article!

Employees are entitled to 3 years of parental leave per child. It can only start after the birth of the child. For mothers, maternity protection counts towards parental leave – parental leave and maternity protection after the birth together amount to 3 years. However, it doesn't have to start right after the birth – parents can freely choose the start and end. From the child's third birthday, though, a maximum of 24 months of parental leave is possible – until the 8th birthday. That's where the right to parental leave ends.

A tip from us on this too: discuss all the options individually with each of your employees. Ask specifically about their wishes and how you can support them. Support for you in such conversations is also part of our heyGuide tool – here find out more!

Dormant employment relationship – what does that actually mean?

When your employees go on parental leave, it means: the employment relationship is “dormant”. The mutual main obligations (i.e. work in exchange for pay) are paused. But:

✅ The employment contract remains in place.

✅ Parental leave counts towards length of service.

✅ The holiday entitlement can be reduced by one twelfth for each full calendar month of parental leave. This also applies to the statutory minimum holiday and requires an express declaration by the employer (§ 17 BEEG).

✅ Special protection against dismissal applies – dismissal is only possible in exceptional cases.

Important to know: even when there's no obligation to work, so-called secondary obligations remain – e.g. confidentiality or non-compete clauses.

What's allowed during parental leave – and how can you support?

Parental leave doesn't mean standstill. Many parents want to upskill, try something new or even work a few hours a week. That's allowed – and can be a gain for you as an employer too. Here are a few options:

✅ Part-time during parental leave (up to 32 hours/week)
Parents may work part-time during their parental leave – as long as the weekly working time is under 32 hours. You may only refuse this if there are urgent operational reasons. Our tip: support flexible part-time models – it shows appreciation and builds retention.

✅ Upskilling & development
Whether studying or further training – some parents use this time for personal development. You can actively encourage this: by inviting them to (digital) trainings or by enabling your employees to do further training. Important: when taking part in training, your employees are covered by the statutory accident insurance.

✅ Integration & connection
Christmas party? Team event? Employees on parental leave may take part – and are insured while doing so. Small gestures like invitations to such events show: you're thinking of them – even when they're not currently in the office.

✅ Abroad & flexibility
A longer stay abroad is allowed during parental leave. If employees inform you about it, you can still stay in touch – e.g. for return conversations or updates via video call.

How you can make parental leave even more supportive is explained in this blog article of ours – and how our heyGuide tool helps you with it, you can find out here!

What about special payments during parental leave?

Payments like Christmas or holiday bonuses depend on their purpose: is the benefit paid for work actually performed? Then there's usually no entitlement during parental leave. Is it a recognition of length of service or loyalty? Then a pro-rata entitlement can also exist during parental leave.

Our tip: communicate transparently how special benefits are made up – that creates clarity on both sides.

Conclusion: maternity protection & parental leave is an opportunity – for your company too

Parental leave doesn't mean radio silence. Your employees remain part of your team – just in a different role for now. A respectful, transparent approach to parental leave shows: here, work-life balance isn't just preached but lived. And that pays off – with loyal, motivated employees and a strong employer brand. On this topic we also have a blog article for you!

If you want to learn more about family-friendliness and its concrete implementation, feel free to read our Whitepaper, subscribe to our Newsletter or write us an email directly! You can reach us at info@heyguide.eu .

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