Asking Your Frankfurt Employer for Elternzeit: Seven Weeks' Notice and Protection From the Day You Ask
Elternzeit is a federal right under the BEEG, so a Frankfurt employer cannot approve or reject it. You request it from your employer in text form (an e-mail is enough) at least seven weeks before it starts for time up to your child's third birthday, or 13 weeks for time between the third and eighth birthdays, and you must say which periods within the next two years you want. Each parent can split the leave into three blocks. Dismissal protection starts once you have asked, at the earliest eight weeks before the leave begins. A dismissal during Elternzeit needs an exception declared by the competent authority, for Frankfurt employers the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt, and disputes with an employer in Frankfurt go to the Arbeitsgericht Frankfurt am Main (Gutleutstraße 130).
What You Are Actually Asking For
When people say “applying for Elternzeit”, they imagine a form that an office or the employer approves. In Germany this is a right you notify, not a permission you obtain. The Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz (BEEG) gives employees who live with their child in one household and look after that child themselves a claim to Elternzeit. § 15 says it cannot be excluded or limited by contract, and its wording sets no condition about nationality or residence permit. (Elterngeld, the money, has its own conditions. See our Frankfurt Elterngeld guide.)
Three practical consequences follow.
- Nobody in Frankfurt’s administration processes the request. You send it to your employer.
- Your employer certifies it afterward. It does not decide it.
- Elternzeit is unpaid by the employer. Money during the leave comes from Elterngeld, which is a separate application to a different office.
How Long, and in How Many Pieces
Under § 15 Absatz 2 the claim lasts until the child’s third birthday. Up to 24 months can be taken between the third birthday and the eighth birthday instead. Parents may take it alone or together (§ 15 Absatz 3), and each child gives its own claim. Mothers have the period of maternity protection counted toward the limit.
§ 16 lets each parent split Elternzeit into three blocks. More blocks need the employer’s agreement. For a third block that falls between the child’s third and eighth birthdays, the employer may refuse within eight weeks of the request for urgent operational reasons.
The Request, Step by Step
| Leave period | Latest request before the start | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Up to the child's third birthday | 7 weeks | Text form, and you must state which periods within the next two years you will take |
| Between third and eighth birthday | 13 weeks | Text form (the two-year statement is only required for leave before the third birthday) |
| Urgent reasons | A reasonably shorter period | Text form |
- Decide the dates.Starting date and end date for the first block, and a plan for the first two years. The periods you state for the first two years bind you.
- Write the request.A short letter or e-mail is enough. The [Familienportal](https://www.familienportal.de/familienportal/familienleistungen/elternzeit/faq) offers a sample.
- Send it so you can prove it.Use an address the employer uses for HR, and keep the sent mail or a copy.
- Ask for confirmation.The employer must certify the Elternzeit to you under § 16 Absatz 1. If you change jobs later, the new employer can ask for this proof of leave already taken.
- Apply for Elterngeld separately.The Elternzeit request does not start it.
A short German text you can adapt:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, hiermit verlange ich gemäß § 16 BEEG Elternzeit für mein Kind [Name], geboren am [Datum], für die Zeit vom [Datum] bis [Datum]. Weitere Zeiten innerhalb der ersten zwei Jahre nehme ich wie folgt: [Zeiträume]. Bitte bestätigen Sie mir die Elternzeit. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, [Name]
Every request has to meet the notice period before the leave it covers. If you later want a block that was not part of your first declaration, send a new request in time and remember that it counts as one of your three blocks.
Dismissal Protection From the Day You Ask
§ 18 BEEG says the employer may not terminate from the time Elternzeit was requested. It starts at the earliest eight weeks before the leave for leave until the third birthday, and 14 weeks before for leave between the third and eighth birthdays. During the leave the ban continues. The same applies to employees who work part-time for the same employer during Elternzeit.
Exceptions are possible only in special cases and only if the competent authority declares the dismissal admissible. In Frankfurt, that authority is part of the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt. Its Kündigungsschutz page says the employer applies, that employees are informed and heard, that the decision costs the employer a fee, and that the Servicestelle Kündigungsverfahren can be reached at arbeitsschutz@rpda.hessen.de or 069 2714 0. The page names closure of a business, insolvency or proven serious misconduct as examples of exceptional cases.
Part-Time During Elternzeit
You may work up to 32 hours a week, averaged over the month (§ 15 Absatz 4). If you want part-time at your own employer, § 15 Absatz 5 to 7 sets out a request:
- the employer has more than 15 employees,
- your employment has lasted more than six months,
- the working time is reduced to between 15 and 32 hours for at least two months,
- no urgent operational reasons stand against it,
- you ask in text form seven weeks before (13 weeks for the older period).
The request must say when the reduced time begins and how many hours it will cover, and should say how you want the hours distributed. If the employer does not refuse in text form within four weeks (eight weeks for the older period), your wishes are treated as agreed. A refusal must give reasons and be in text form within the deadline. If a refusal is made on time, you can sue at the labour court.
Vacation and Money
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | The employer may cut it by 1/12 for each full calendar month of Elternzeit, except while you work part-time for the same employer |
| Leave not yet taken | Must be granted after Elternzeit in the current or next leave year |
| Leave if employment ends | Unused leave must be paid out |
| Salary | None from the employer during Elternzeit |
| Elterngeld | Separate application, not required to take Elternzeit |
| Health insurance | See our guide on health insurance during Elternzeit |
If Your Employer Pushes Back
Most conflicts come from the employer disliking the dates, not from a legal refusal. Reply in writing, quote § 15 and § 16 BEEG, and offer practical solutions such as a handover plan. If the employer insists, takes no position or threatens a dismissal, get advice quickly.
Disputes with an employer in Frankfurt go to the Arbeitsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Gutleutstraße 130, 60327 Frankfurt (phone 069 15047 0). The Rechtsantragstelle on the first floor helps you file a claim Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9:00 to 11:30 and Wednesday 12:30 to 14:30. Filing by e-mail is not possible. A free advice voucher (Beratungshilfe) is available at the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main (Hahnstraße 25, building G, room 215).
If you do receive a dismissal, the deadline matters. Under § 4 KSchG you have three weeks from receipt of the written dismissal to sue, and if an authority’s approval is required, the period starts when the authority’s decision is announced to you.
Compliance Note
This guide explains the federal BEEG as published on gesetze-im-internet.de, the federal Familienportal and the pages of the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt and the Hessian labour courts as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Contracts, collective agreements and company rules can add rights, and exact dates matter. For your own case, speak to a works council, a union, a lawyer or the Rechtsantragstelle.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Does my Frankfurt employer have to approve my Elternzeit?
No. The BEEG gives employees a claim to Elternzeit, and § 15 Absatz 2 says the claim cannot be excluded or limited by contract. You request it, you do not apply for it. The employer's tasks are to receive the request and to certify the Elternzeit to you (§ 16 Absatz 1). For the leave itself the law gives the employer a say only in a few narrow points (part-time work has its own rules, see below): refusing a third block that falls between the child's third and eighth birthdays for urgent operational reasons within eight weeks, agreeing to more than three blocks, and agreeing to an early end or an extension in some cases.
Does the request have to be on paper, with a signature?
No. § 16 Absatz 1 BEEG requires the request in Textform. The Familienportal of the federal government says there is no application form for Elternzeit and that a letter without a signature or an e-mail is enough. Keep a copy or the sent mail, and ask the employer to confirm. Some older guides still say schriftlich with a handwritten signature, but the current text of § 16 says Textform.
What if the baby arrives earlier than expected and I cannot keep the seven weeks?
§ 16 Absatz 1 BEEG allows a reasonably shorter notice period in urgent cases. For mothers who could not request Elternzeit on time for a reason they are not responsible for, § 16 Absatz 2 allows catching up within one week after the reason ends. Send the request as soon as you can, say why it is late, and keep proof of the date you sent it.
Can I change the periods I stated, or end early?
The periods you state for the first two years bind you, so plan them carefully. § 16 Absatz 3 BEEG says Elternzeit can be ended early or extended within the legal limits if the employer agrees. An early end because another child is born or in cases of severe hardship, such as serious illness, severe disability or death of a parent or child, or an endangered economic existence, can be refused by the employer only in writing, within four weeks and for urgent operational reasons. Elternzeit can also end early without consent so that you can use maternity protection periods.
Can I work part-time during Elternzeit?
Yes, up to 32 hours a week on a monthly average (§ 15 Absatz 4). For a claim against your own employer, § 15 Absatz 7 requires more than 15 employees in general, more than six months of employment, a reduction to between 15 and 32 hours for at least two months, no urgent operational reasons against it, and a request in text form seven weeks ahead (13 weeks for the period between the third and eighth birthdays). If the employer does not refuse in text form within four weeks (eight weeks for the older phase), the request is treated as agreed. Working for another employer needs your own employer's consent, which can be refused only within four weeks and for urgent operational reasons.
Can my employer dismiss me after I ask for Elternzeit?
From the point at which Elternzeit was requested, the employer may not terminate (§ 18 Absatz 1 BEEG). The protection starts at the earliest eight weeks before the start of the leave for leave until the third birthday, and 14 weeks before for leave between the third and eighth birthdays. In exceptional cases a dismissal can be declared admissible by the competent authority. For Frankfurt employers the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt describes an application procedure through its Servicestelle Kündigungsverfahren (arbeitsschutz@rpda.hessen.de, phone 069 2714 0) and says the decision costs the employer a fee. If you receive a dismissal after approval, the three-week deadline to sue starts when the authority's decision is announced to you (§ 4 KSchG).
What happens to my vacation and my pay?
§ 17 BEEG lets the employer reduce annual leave by one twelfth for every full calendar month of Elternzeit, except while you work part-time for your employer during the leave. Leave you did not take before Elternzeit is not lost and must be granted afterward in the current or next leave year, or paid out if the employment ends. The employer does not pay a salary during Elternzeit, according to the Familienportal, so Elterngeld is what replaces income. You can take Elternzeit without claiming Elterngeld, and they are separate applications.