Information for Employees
Maternity leave
The purpose of maternity leave regulations is to provide the best possible health protection for pregnant women and those who are still nursing their new-born children.
The Mutterschutzgesetz (Maternity Leave Act, MuSchG) applies to all employed (expectant) mothers, including homeworkers, household employees, marginally employed workers, female trainees and (under certain circumstances) school and university students as well.
Women are advised to inform their employers of their pregnancy and their anticipated birthing date as soon as possible in order to ensure compliance with maternity leave regulations. They are protected against dismissal during pregnancy and for 4 months following the birth of a child. Dismissal following a miscarriage after the twelfth week of pregnancy is also prohibited.
Expectant mothers may not be employed during the last six weeks of pregnancy without express consent. Women are prohibited from working during a period of eight weeks after the birth of a child (twelve weeks in the case of premature or multiple births). In cases involving medically indicated and other premature births, the maternity leave entitlement is extended following childbirth by the number of days left unused prior to the birth of the child.
If a child is diagnosed with a disability within eight weeks of birth, its mother is entitled to apply for an extension of the leave period from eight to twelve weeks.
Apart from the generally applicable leave periods, the Mutterschutzgesetz contains general prohibitions intended to protect expectant mothers and their children (e.g. piecework, assembly-line work, overtime, night-shift and Sunday work) and prohibits specific types of work on the basis of a physician’s certificate. An official approval procedure has been introduced to cover work between the hours of 20:00 and 22:00.
The Mutterschutzgesetz provides for several different maternity benefits designed to protect women against financial disadvantages during periods of maternity leave:
- Maternity allowance
- Employer’s supplementary contribution to the maternity allowance during periods of maternity leave
- Wages for prohibited types of work outside of maternity leave periods, known as Mutterschutzlohn (maternity pay)
Employers are required to report pregnancies to the appropriate supervisory authority (state occupational safety or trade supervisory agencies). Employers are obliged to employ expectant or nursing mothers during pregnancy and after childbirth and furnish their workplaces (including machinery, tools and equipment) in such a way as to ensure that they are sufficiently protected against health risks. In assessing potential hazards, employers are required to take the special needs of the women and children in question into account.
In cases of uncertainty, the supervisory authority determines whether the concrete workplace and the specific working conditions pose a potential risk to the health of expectant and nursing mothers. Woman and their employers are welcome to consult the supervisory authority if uncertainties or questions arise.
Women who stop working partially or entirely due to a general or individual prohibition prior to the beginning and after the end of the maternity leave period need not fear financial disadvantages. They will continue to receive their average wages (maternity pay). This also applies in cases in which an employer transfers an expectant mother to a different but suitable workplace, thus compelling her to accept a new job.
Further information about this topic is provided at: