Definition
The right to return describes an employee’s entitlement to return to their previous role following a break from work or a reduction in working hours. Following parental leave, the employee is entitled to a position of equivalent status with the same number of hours as before. In the case of bridging part-time work – a temporary reduction in working hours lasting between one and five years – the employee automatically returns to their previous number of hours afterwards. The employer may only refuse a bridging part-time arrangement on operational grounds; in companies with more than 200 employees, these grounds are very narrowly defined.
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Classification under employment law
Upon the end of parental leave, employees are generally entitled to return to their previous post or an equivalent one. In the case of part-time work under Section 8 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG), there is also a right to return to full-time work upon returning to work – a right that has even been expressly stated since the 2019 reform of the TzBfG.
Distinction from related terms
Right to part-time work: The right to part-time work concerns the reduction of working hours within an existing employment relationship. The right to return ensures a return to the original working conditions following a period of reduced hours or leave.
Bridgepart-time: Bridge part-time is a legally regulated form of fixed-term part-time work with a guaranteed return to the previous working hours. It is therefore a specific instance of the right to return.
Practical tip
Employers sometimes try to steer an employee’s request to return to work towards a ‘different’ or ‘equivalent’ role that is less well-paid or less attractive. Insist on your original position – and check whether a less favourable role is actually still ‘equivalent’.
