Requesting approval for the dismissal of severely disabled people

Severely disabled persons and persons with equivalent disabilities have special protection against dismissal. You must therefore obtain the approval of the Integration or Inclusion Office before giving notice.

The approval is independent of the reason for the intended dismissal:

• personal reasons
• for operational reasons
• for behavioral reasons

dismissal is required. The special protection against dismissal also applies regardless of the size of your company.

You need the approval of the Integration or Inclusion Office for all types of dismissals, i.e. for

• ordinary dismissals,
• extraordinary dismissals (without notice) and
• notices of change.

In addition to the main reason for the dismissal, the Integration or Inclusion Office also examines other points before deciding whether the dismissal is legal, for example

• Size and economic situation of the company
• Fulfillment of the employment obligation

As well as the following points about the severely disabled person:

• Type and severity of the disability,
• age,
• personal circumstances
• the length of service with the company and
• the chances of finding another job on the general labor market in the event of dismissal.

Particularly in the case of dismissals for personal and behavioral reasons, the dismissal is clarified in the dismissal protection proceedings. Among other things, it is clarified what the company or department and the company integration team did to prevent the dismissal and whether preventative measures were taken.

In the case of extraordinary dismissals (without notice), the integration or inclusion office checks whether the dismissal is related to the severe disability. If this is not the case, it should approve the dismissal and thus open the way to the labor court.

Dismissal without the involvement of the representative body for severely disabled employees (if present in the company) is invalid. If there is no representative body for severely disabled employees in the company, there is no obligation to involve them.

Dismissal without the prior consent of the Integration or Inclusion Office is also invalid. It cannot be subsequently approved by the Integration or Inclusion Office either.

They only do not need approval if the severely disabled employee

• resigns themselves,
• has worked in your company for less than 6 months,
• has reached the age of 58 and is entitled to a severance payment or similar benefit,
• in the event of dismissal for weather-related reasons, if the employer has given a binding promise of re-employment,
• if the status as a severely disabled person could not be determined by the competent authorities at the time of termination, or

the employment relationship is terminated without notice, for example by means of a termination agreement.