Parental Status – Definition, Legal Framework & HR Practice Tips

Parental status refers to the legal and social standing of a person as the mother, father, or legal guardian of a child. Under German employment law, the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG) protects employees from being disadvantaged on the basis of their parental status — both during the application process and throughout the employment relationship. HR professionals need to know which questions are impermissible during hiring and what consequences violations can entail.

What Is Parental Status? – Definition

Parental status describes the quality of a person being a legally recognised parent of one or more children. This includes biological parents, adoptive parents, and individuals to whom parental custody has been transferred.

In employment law, parental status is not an explicitly listed characteristic under § 1 AGG. However, the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) has established through its case law that disadvantages based on parental status can generally constitute indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex, since women are statistically more likely to be affected by such disadvantages. In practice, parental status therefore falls within the protective scope of the AGG.

Parental Status and the AGG – Legal Framework

The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) has been in force since 2006 and protects employees from discrimination on the basis of specific characteristics.

§ 1 AGG – Protected Characteristics at a Glance

§ 1 AGG lists eight characteristics protected against disadvantage: race and ethnic origin, sex, religion or belief, disability, age, and sexual identity. Parental status as such is not explicitly mentioned, but it is closely linked to the characteristic of sex, since disadvantages arising from parenthood disproportionately affect women and may therefore constitute indirect discrimination within the meaning of § 3 para. 2 AGG.

Prohibition of Disadvantage (§ 7 AGG)

§ 7 para. 1 AGG prohibits the disadvantageous treatment of employees on the basis of any ground listed in § 1. This prohibition applies to all stages of the employment relationship: from job advertisements and hiring decisions through to promotions, remuneration, and termination.

In practice, this means: if an employer rejects a female applicant on the assumption that she will frequently be absent due to her children, this may constitute unlawful indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex.

Reversal of the Burden of Proof (§ 22 AGG)

A key point for HR professionals: under § 22 AGG, a reversal of the burden of proof applies. If applicants credibly establish facts that suggest disadvantageous treatment on the basis of a protected characteristic, the employer must prove that no violation of the AGG has occurred. This significantly increases legal exposure when careless phrasing or decisions are made during recruitment.

Parental Status vs. Parental Leave vs. Maternity Protection

These three terms are frequently confused, but they refer to distinct legal concepts:

Parental status is a permanent condition — being a parent. It does not end when a child reaches adulthood and, as such, already establishes protection against discrimination in the workplace.

Parental leave (Elternzeit) is a statutory entitlement to take time off work, governed by § 15 of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG). Parents may take up to three years of parental leave to care for a child. Special protection against dismissal applies during parental leave (§ 18 BEEG).

Maternity protection (Mutterschutz) refers to the health and safety protection afforded to pregnant and breastfeeding women in the workplace, regulated by the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG). It applies only to women during a specific period (six weeks before to eight weeks after birth) and is therefore narrower in scope than parental status.

Parental Status in the Recruitment Process

Parental status is particularly relevant in the context of recruiting. HR teams frequently make unintentional mistakes in this area that can have legal consequences.

Prohibited Questions in Job Interviews

Questions about family planning or parenthood are generally impermissible in job interviews. Applicants are even entitled to answer such questions untruthfully without facing any employment law consequences — this has been confirmed by the Federal Labour Court in consistent case law.

Prohibited questions (examples):

• "Do you have children?"
• "Are you planning to start a family in the near future?"
• "Who looks after your children when they are ill?"
• "Would you be willing to take parental leave?"
• "How do you balance family and work?"

Permissible questions (with objective job relevance):

• "Are you able to work the agreed hours?"
• "Are you willing to travel occasionally?"
• "Do you have any restrictions regarding overtime in the evenings or at weekends?"

The key distinction: questions are permissible when they relate to the objective requirements of the role — not to an applicant's personal life circumstances.

Consequences of Violations (§ 21 AGG)

If an employer violates the prohibition on disadvantageous treatment, affected individuals are entitled to:

• Compensation for material loss (§ 21 para. 2 AGG): reimbursement of actual financial damage, e.g. lost salary
• Compensation for non-material loss (§ 21 para. 2 sentence 3 AGG): typically up to three monthly salaries, even if no right to employment exists

The claim must be asserted within two months of becoming aware of the disadvantage, as stipulated by § 21 para. 5 AGG.

Checklist: Legally Compliant Recruiting

To minimise legal risk, the following steps are recommended:

• Review and revise interview guides to remove impermissible questions
• Train recruiters and hiring managers on the fundamentals of the AGG
• Document rejection decisions clearly, objectively, and traceably
• Review job advertisements for potentially discriminatory language
• Draft rejection letters in a neutral tone that avoids any inference about personal characteristics

It is also worth considering Unconscious Bias in Recruiting: many disadvantages on the basis of parental status do not arise from deliberate intent, but from unconscious assumptions about parents — mothers in particular — and their perceived commitment to work.

Frequently Asked Questions about Parental Status

What does parental status mean in employment law?

Parental status describes the standing of a person as the parent of a child. While it is not an explicitly listed characteristic under § 1 AGG, the BAG has established through case law that it is covered by the protection against indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex. Disadvantages due to parental status may therefore constitute a violation of the AGG.

Am I allowed to ask about children during a job interview?

No. Questions about whether an applicant has children or plans to have children are impermissible in job interviews. They raise the suspicion that discrimination on the grounds of sex is being prepared. Applicants may answer such questions untruthfully without facing any employment law consequences.

What are the legal consequences of discriminating against someone based on parental status?

Under § 21 AGG, affected individuals may claim compensation for material loss and for non-material harm — typically up to three monthly salaries. There is no entitlement to be hired, but once discrimination is credibly indicated, the burden of proof shifts to the employer (§ 22 AGG).

How does parental status differ from parental leave?

Parental status is a permanent condition (being a parent). Parental leave, by contrast, is a time-limited statutory entitlement to take a leave of absence under § 15 BEEG — for a maximum of three years per child. Parental status exists before, during, and after parental leave.

How does parental status differ from maternity protection?

Maternity protection is the health and safety protection afforded to pregnant and breastfeeding women at work, governed by the MuSchG. It applies only to women during a specific period. Parental status, in contrast, is a gender-neutral concept that applies permanently to all parents.

Can an employee be dismissed because of their parental status?

A dismissal based solely on parental status is unlawful under § 7 AGG. During parental leave, additional special protection against dismissal applies under § 18 BEEG: dismissal is generally not permitted during this period and requires special authorisation from the relevant public authority.

Which questions about working hours are permissible in job interviews?

Questions with an objective connection to the role are permissible: availability for specific working hours, willingness to travel, or flexibility regarding overtime may all be addressed — provided the questions focus on the objective requirements of the position rather than the applicant's family situation.

Does the prohibition on discrimination also apply to freelancers?

Under § 6 AGG, the Act applies not only to employees in the traditional sense but also to persons in employee-like positions and home workers. For purely self-employed contractors without economic dependency, the scope of protection is more limited. In cases of doubt, legal advice is recommended.

Conclusion

Parental status is a legally relevant concept in employment law that protects employees from disadvantage in the workplace. Although it is not explicitly listed in § 1 AGG, case law has established that disadvantages arising from parenthood frequently constitute indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex. For HR professionals, this means: questions about family planning in job interviews are off-limits, rejection decisions must be objectively justifiable, and internal guidelines should be reviewed regularly for non-compliant content.

Those looking to improve the candidate experience for all applicants while simultaneously reducing legal risk will benefit from structured, standardised selection processes — ones that focus on competencies rather than personal characteristics such as parental status.

Would you like to use objective, bias-free aptitude diagnostics in your recruiting process? The digital platform Aivy supports HR teams with scientifically validated assessments based on demonstrated competencies — not on personal characteristics. Learn more about objective aptitude diagnostics.

Sources

• General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). Federal Ministry of Justice, 2006 (last amended 2024). https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/agg/
• Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG). Federal Ministry of Justice, 2006 (last amended 2024). https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beeg/
• Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG). Federal Ministry of Justice, 2018 (last amended 2024). https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/muschg_2018/
• Guide to the General Equal Treatment Act. Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), 2023. https://www.bmas.de/
• Information on Discrimination Characteristics. Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, 2024. https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/