Severe disability at work: rights, protection against dismissal and equivalent status

Legal status: 08.10.2026 (German federal law, checked against the statutory text). SGB IX was last amended on 24.07.2026. The rights depend on the determined GdB, not on a diagnosis. How the GdB is determined is in the article Severe disability card and degree of disability for autism. Legal terms are translated here for understanding; the German wording of the law is what counts. This article describes the legal situation in Germany.

Who is severely disabled and who can be treated as equivalent

People with a GdB of at least 50 who have their residence, usual abode or workplace lawfully within the area of application of the Code are severely disabled. ^[1] People with a GdB of 30 to under 50 are to be treated as equivalent if the further statutory requirements are met and the disability prevents obtaining or keeping a suitable job without equivalent status. ^[1]

Equivalent status is granted on application by the Federal Employment Agency on the basis of a determination of the disability. It takes effect on the day the application is received and can be time-limited. ^[2] The special rules for severely disabled people are applied to people treated as equivalent, with the exception of section 208 (extra leave) and Chapter 13. ^[2]

A special rule applies to adolescents and young adults: during their vocational training or career orientation they count as equivalent even if the GdB is less than 30 or has not been determined. Proof is provided by a statement from the employment agency or a notice; equivalent status relates to benefits of the integration office within career orientation and training. ^[2]

Rights in the employment relationship

Section 164 SGB IX regulates duties of employers and rights of severely disabled people:

• Ban on discrimination: Employers must not discriminate against severely disabled employees because of their disability; the General Equal Treatment Act applies. ^{[3, para. 2]}
• Employment suited to the disability: Employers must ensure through suitable measures that severely disabled people can find employment suited to their disability that is as permanent as possible. ^{[3, para. 3]}
• Employees’ entitlements: Severely disabled employees are entitled to employment in which they can use their abilities and knowledge as fully as possible, to preferential consideration in vocational training, to easing of external further training, to a workplace designed to suit the disability and to necessary technical work aids. These entitlements do not exist as far as meeting them would be unreasonable or disproportionately costly for the employer. ^{[3, para. 4]}
• Part-time work: Severely disabled people are entitled to part-time work if the shorter working time is necessary because of the type or severity of the disability. ^{[3, para. 5]}

Whether and which adjustments suit autism (for example a low-stimulus environment or fixed routines) is a question for the individual case. Suggestions for working life are in the article Work and career.

Protection against dismissal

Dismissal of a severely disabled person’s employment relationship by the employer requires the prior consent of the integration office. ^[4] This is a special protection against dismissal. This protection does not apply in the first six months: the rules on special protection against dismissal do not apply to severely disabled people whose employment relationship, at the time the notice of dismissal is received, has not lasted more than six months without interruption. ^[6] The notice period is at least four weeks. ^[7] Further exceptions and rules (for example on the procedure at the integration office) are in the following sections of SGB IX and are not presented here.

Extra leave

Severely disabled people are entitled to paid extra leave of five working days a year; with a working week other than five days, the entitlement applies correspondingly. Better collective, company or other arrangements remain unaffected. ^{[5, para. 1]} If the severe disability does not exist for the whole calendar year, one twelfth of the extra leave is due for each full month; fractions of half a day or more are rounded up. ^{[5, para. 2]} People treated as equivalent do not receive this extra leave. ^[2]

What this article does not explain

Not covered are, among other things, the duty to employ and the compensatory levy, the representative body for severely disabled employees, workplace reintegration management, the rules on pensions and partial retirement as well as the question of whether and when you should tell your employer about your autism or your GdB. Benefits of the integration office are described in the article Benefits for participation in working life.

Sources and literature

1. § 2 SGB IX – Begriffsbestimmungen (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__2.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
2. § 151 SGB IX – Geltungsbereich (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__151.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
3. § 164 SGB IX – Pflichten des Arbeitgebers und Rechte schwerbehinderter Menschen (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__164.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
4. § 168 SGB IX – Erfordernis der Zustimmung (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__168.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
5. § 208 SGB IX – Zusatzurlaub (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__208.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
6. § 173 SGB IX – Ausnahmen vom Kündigungsschutz (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__173.html) – Statute (German federal law, in German)
7. § 169 SGB IX – Kündigungsfrist (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__169.html) – Statute (German federal law, in German)