The German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) held in its judgment of October 6, 2026 (Ref. No. 9 AZR 11/26) that employees remain bound by the parental leave (Elternzeit) they have requested, even if they move out of the household shared with the child before the leave begins.

Quick Hits

• Under German employment law, anyone who requests parental leave is, in principle, bound by that request.
• To be eligible for parental leave, an employee must generally have a child in the household who requires care. Separation or moving out does not affect the parental leave that has already been requested—the only legal exception is the death of the child.
• An employer may be required to consent to the employee not commencing parental leave, but only in cases of “particular hardship” (besondere Härte), which does not include when an employee does not receive parental allowance (Elterngeld).

The Case—Separation Shortly Before the Start of Parental Leave

An employee requested parental leave for one year. Before the leave began, he separated from the child’s mother and moved out of the shared apartment. The child remained with the mother.

A few days before the planned start of the parental leave, he asked his employer to let him keep working instead of going on leave. His reasoning: without living with the child, the requirements for parental leave were no longer met. In addition, he was receiving neither parental allowance nor unemployment benefits (Arbeitslosengeld),...

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