Employees are (among other things) Dismissal Protection Act (KSchG) against unlawful dismissals. But when is it actually applicable? When does protection against dismissal apply?
First you have to ask yourself why this is important at all. The Dismissal Protection Act regulates mandatory behavior that must be observed in the event of a dismissal. If the employer does not take this into account, the termination is ineffective. Whether this is the case or not will be decided by a court as part of an action for protection against unfair dismissal. This action for protection against dismissal must be brought by the employee. To do this, the employee must comply with a deadline (the so-called legal deadline in dismissal protection proceedings). This period is usually 3 weeks from the employee's receipt of the notice of termination. If this deadline is missed, the employee can no longer invoke the ineffectiveness of the termination for a reason under the Protection against Unfair Dismissal Act (but also for other reasons!).
Workers on ships / airplanes
The KSchG (with regard to the protection of employees against unjustified dismissals) is generally applicable here. The deadlines for filing an action for protection against unfair dismissal will be adjusted to the requirements. As a rule, this should be collected within 3 weeks of going ashore; an extension of this period to up to 6 months is possible under the statutory conditions (see in detail § 24 KSchG). The waiting period of 6 months must be fulfilled.
All other employees (companies under public and private law)
The applicability of the Dismissal Protection Act (with regard to the protection of employees against unjustified dismissals) depends (in the first step) on the number of employees in the company, then (in the second step) on the start of the respective employment relationship and finally (in the third step) of fulfilling the waiting time.
According to which regulations is the number of employees determined?
It counts to that extent Not the headcount, but the regular number of hours worked by the employee. Trainees do not count at all, full-time employees (35 / 38.5 / 40 hours per week) count 1, part-time employees (up to 30 hours per week) count 0.75, part-time employees (up to 20 hours per week) count 0.5.
- Companies with up to 5 employees
The protection of employees against unjustified dismissals under the provisions of the Dismissal Protection Act does not apply. - Companies with 6 to 10 employees
The protection of employees against unjustified dismissals under the provisions of the Dismissal Protection Act applies if the employment relationship began before January 1st, 2004 and at the time when the notice of termination was given at least 5 employees were still employed who were employed on December 31st, 2003. - Businesses with more than 10 employees
The protection of employees against unjustified dismissals under the provisions of the Dismissal Protection Act applies. In addition, the employment relationship must have existed for 6 months (waiting period).
Even if it looks different: The examination of the question of whether the law on protection against dismissal applies in individual cases can be complex. You should definitely seek expert advice here, because something important is at stake, namely your employment relationship.
