Beschäftigung einer schwangeren oder stillenden Frau mitteilen

If one of your employees has informed you that they are pregnant or breastfeeding, you must notify the relevant supervisory authority.

For the purposes of the Maternity Protection Act, a woman is any person who is pregnant, has given birth to a child or is breastfeeding. In principle, your employee is free to decide if and when she informs you about her pregnancy or breastfeeding. You do not have to notify the supervisory authority responsible for you until your employee has informed you of her pregnancy.

Regardless of the type of employment relationship, the Maternity Protection Act also applies to:

• Women who work part-time,
• women in marginal employment (mini-jobs),
• women in fixed-term or probationary employment;
• women undergoing vocational training and trainees,
• Women with disabilities employed in a workshop for disabled people,
• Women who work as volunteers within the meaning of the Youth Volunteer Service Act or the Federal Voluntary Service Act, and
• Women who work for a post as members of a spiritual cooperative, deaconesses or members of a similar community in a position or on the basis of a contract of assignment, even during the period of their extracurricular education there.

They should also provide information on the nature of the employment in the notification to the competent supervisory authority. This saves queries. In any case, you must provide the following:

• name, address and date of birth of the expectant mother, and
• expected date of delivery.

To find out what other information is required, please contact your local regional council.

If you want to employ the pregnant or breastfeeding employee after 8 p.m., you must apply for this separately.

If you have notified the supervisory authority of an employee's pregnancy, you do not need to make another report if your employee returns to work and breastfeeds.

Important Notes:

• You must not disclose the information about your employee's pregnancy and breastfeeding to third parties without authorisation (except for the persons in your company who are entrusted with the execution and implementation of protective measures).
• In addition to the duty to notify, you as an employer have other obligations, such as occupational health protection and benefits during and after pregnancy. If you do not comply with the maternity protection regulations, you may be punished. The supervisory authority will also advise you on maternity leave issues.
   

• Your employee has informed you that she is pregnant or breastfeeding.

The notification of the employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman must be made in writing or orally:

• In Hesse, the registration form is available online. Download it and fill it out. However, you can also make the notification informal.
• You can also provide information about the type and duration of your pregnant employee's employment in order to avoid any queries from the supervisory authority.
• Send the notification to the regional council responsible for you
• As a rule, you will not receive an acknowledgement of receipt.

Note: If you want to employ your pregnant or breastfeeding employee after 8 p.m., you must apply for this separately. If you wish to employ them on Sundays and public holidays within the scope of the legal possibilities, you must inform the supervisory authority.

If your employee has informed you of her pregnancy, you must inform the responsible regional council immediately.

The Maternity Protection Act does not apply to:

• Independent
• board members and managing directors of legal entities or companies (insofar as they are not primarily also employees),
• Housewives as well as
• State civil servants, judges and soldiers.

• Notification of the employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman Receipt
• Employment of pregnant or breastfeeding persons must be reported to the competent regional council.
• Notification only possible after the employee has informed her pregnancy/breastfeeding (pregnant woman does not have to report pregnancy/breastfeeding)
• unauthorized disclosure to third parties is punishable by law
• Responsible: Regional Councils

Please contact the responsible regional council

Responsibility lies with the relevant regional council.

Forms: no formal requirement

Online procedure possible: yes

Written form required: no

Personal appearance required: no