HR-Glossar

Pflegezeit und Familienpflegezeit (care leave and family care leave)

Which three release entitlements exist for caring for relatives in Germany, how they differ and which deadlines and dismissal protection apply.

1. What are Pflegezeit und Familienpflegezeit (care leave and family care leave)?

For caring for close relatives there are three separate entitlements under two statutes. They are regularly confused with one another although they have different conditions, durations and company size thresholds.

Short-term absence to arrange care under Section 2 PflegeZG allows complete release for up to ten working days in order to organise care in an acute situation. It exists against every employer, with no size threshold, and need only be notified without delay.

Care leave under Section 3 PflegeZG is complete or partial release for up to six months for care at home. It requires a minimum company size and must be announced in writing with advance notice.

Family care leave under Section 2 FPfZG is partial release for up to 24 months, with a minimum remaining working time. It has a higher size threshold than care leave – the point at which the analysis most often goes wrong.

For a group, one feature of those thresholds matters: they attach to the employer, that is to the German entity that employs, not to group headcount. A small German subsidiary of a large group can therefore fall below the threshold for the longer entitlements – but never for the short-term one, which applies regardless of size.

2. Origin and development

Care takes place predominantly within families, and it strikes people in the middle of their working lives – often suddenly. The statutes are meant to prevent this becoming a choice between a job and a relative.

The three-way split follows three different needs. The acute case needs immediate, short release with no notice period – hence short-term absence with no size threshold. Care at home over months needs longer release, but the business has to be able to absorb it – hence the threshold. And long-term reconciliation needs reduced rather than abandoned work – hence family care leave as a part-time model.

All three are unpaid. Financial compensation runs outside the employment relationship: for short-term absence through care support allowance from the long-term care insurance fund, and for care leave and family care leave through an interest-free loan from the Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions. That is the part that most often surprises employees – and that limits take-up in practice.

3. Core principles and how it works

Three entitlements, three sets of conditions

Short-term absence, care leave and family care leave differ in duration, in the kind of release and in the size threshold. Each is to be examined on its own.

No threshold for short-term absence

Section 2 PflegeZG applies against every employer. It is to be notified without delay; no advance notice is required.

Size thresholds for the longer releases

Care leave and family care leave require a minimum number of employees – and different minimums. The family care leave threshold is the higher one.

Notice periods and written form

Care leave and family care leave must be announced in writing with the statutory advance notice, stating the period and the extent.

Unpaid, with compensation outside the employment relationship

The employer owes no pay. The care support allowance and the interest-free loan are applied for at other bodies.

Protection from dismissal from the announcement

Section 5 PflegeZG protects from the announcement and throughout the release. A dismissal is possible only with an official declaration of admissibility.

The overall duration is capped

Care leave and family care leave are counted towards a common maximum for the same relative; they cannot be strung together without limit.

4. Who are Pflegezeit und Familienpflegezeit (care leave and family care leave) relevant for?

- Employees with relatives in need of care – a situation that statistically reaches most people at some point in their working lives. - All employers – short-term absence at least applies with no threshold. - HR departments – they check thresholds, deadlines and protection from dismissal. - Managers – whether reconciliation works in practice is decided with them. - Payroll teams – the release affects pay, social security and holiday.

5. How it differs from related terms

- Care leave and family care leave – one is short and can be complete, the other long and only partial. Different statutes, different thresholds. - Short-term absence and continued pay – Section 616 BGB may additionally give a short entitlement to pay, but it is frequently excluded by contract. The care support allowance then applies. - Care leave and parental leave – both are unpaid releases with protection from dismissal but follow separate statutes with their own deadlines. - Care leave and a relative's illness – the entitlements presuppose a recognised need for care; illness alone is not enough. For sick children Section 45 SGB V applies with its own rules. - Release and part-time under the TzBfG – family care leave is time-limited and tied to a purpose; part-time under the TzBfG is permanent and needs no particular reason.

6. Variants and adaptations

The three entitlements compared directly:

- Short-term absence – up to ten working days, complete release, no size threshold, notification without delay, care support allowance. - Care leave – up to six months, complete or partial, size threshold, notice period, loan available. - Family care leave – up to 24 months, partial release only with a minimum remaining working time, higher size threshold, longer notice period, loan available. - Accompanying someone in the final phase of life – a separate, shorter release under the PflegeZG. - Combination – the entitlements can be used one after another but count towards an overall maximum per relative.

7. Advantages and challenges

Advantages

  • Makes care and work compatible instead of forcing someone to give up the job
  • Short-term absence applies immediately and with no size threshold
  • Strong protection from dismissal, beginning with the announcement
  • The employment relationship continues — the return is secured
  • For a business, a regulated release is better than an unplanned absence or a resignation

Challenges

  • Three entitlements under two statutes with different thresholds — the analysis is error-prone
  • All the releases are unpaid; that limits take-up considerably
  • Financial compensation runs through loans, which have to be repaid
  • The different size thresholds are regularly confused
  • Notice periods sit badly with care situations that deteriorate suddenly
  • For small businesses, longer releases are organisationally hard to carry

8. Best practices for implementation

Examine the three entitlements separately

Different statutes, different thresholds, different deadlines. A one-page overview in HR prevents the most common source of error – confusing the size thresholds.

Point out the funding routes

Care support allowance from the long-term care insurance fund, an interest-free loan from the Federal Office. Employees often do not know this and forgo the release for that reason.

Record the protection from dismissal in the system

It begins with the announcement, not with the release. A dismissal in that period is ineffective without official approval.

Arrange cover early

A fixed-term contract for cover rests on the objective reason of substitution and must match the announced period.

Think beyond the statutory entitlements

Flexible working time, mobile work and a quota of short-notice release often help more in a care situation than six months of unpaid absence.

9. Tips for employers and employees

For employers

  • **Short-term absence applies with no threshold** – Section 2 PflegeZG, in every business
  • **Two different size thresholds** – care leave and family care leave differ
  • **Protection from dismissal from the announcement** – Section 5 PflegeZG
  • **All the releases are unpaid** – compensation runs through other bodies

For employees

  • **Ten days immediately** – short-term absence needs no advance notice
  • **Apply for the care support allowance** – at your relative's long-term care insurance fund
  • **Look into the interest-free loan** – for care leave and family care leave, at the Federal Office
  • **Watch the notice periods** – they differ according to the entitlement

10. Conclusion

For caring for relatives there are three entitlements under two statutes, and confusing them is the most frequent error. Short-term absence under Section 2 PflegeZG applies immediately, with no advance notice and no size threshold – it is the entitlement that counts in an acute situation and the least well known. Care leave and family care leave by contrast require minimum company sizes, and different ones: the family care leave threshold is higher.

All three are unpaid. That is the feature that most surprises employees and that most limits take-up in practice. Financial compensation runs outside the employment relationship – care support allowance from the long-term care insurance fund, an interest-free loan from the Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions. Pointing that out belongs to handling any announcement.

For an international group, the thresholds are worth checking rather than assuming. They attach to the employer – the German entity – not to group headcount, so a small German subsidiary may well sit below them for the longer entitlements. Where the corporate structure is complicated, which employees count belongs settled in the individual case rather than inferred.

For employers the practically most important point is protection from dismissal under Section 5 PflegeZG: it begins with the announcement, not with the release.

A note on sources: there is no official English version of the PflegeZG or the FPfZG (checked on 2026-09-27); their German texts govern.

Sources

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