Being seen as a simple cog has the benefit that the relationship with your employer is clear: you show up and do want they want you to do, they pay you. Nothing

Being seen as a simple cog has the benefit that the relationship with your employer is clear: you show up and do want they want you to do, they pay you. Nothing more, nothing less. That leaves you to define your identity using something other than salaried work. Part-time always requires a change in the contract, even as Teilzeit in Elternzeit (at least the part of the contract that says how many hours you need to work has to be changed). All the regulations regarding regular part-time can be found here https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tzbfg/index.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tzbfg/index.html §8 is probably the most relevant for you.