Pregnancy is, above all , a very private event. Excited, the expectant mother takes a test and then waits in anticipation for the two blue lines to appear. For the first few weeks, you hardly dare to tell even your closest confidants, for fear that something might still go wrong.
So, when is the best time to announce this to the general public, and especially to your employer? Immediately after the test? After three months? Are there perhaps even legal regulations?
We at the Parents’ Handbook have compiled basic information on the topic of “ Pregnancy and Employers ” for you.
When do I have to inform my employer?
The sooner I inform my employer, the sooner maternity protection regulations will kick in. After all, my employer can’t protect me from potential risks associated with my job if they don’t know about my pregnancy. Therefore, I should inform my employer of my pregnancy and the expected date of delivery as early as possible.
Sometimes employers require a medical certificate of pregnancy. However, if this is the case, the employer must cover the costs of the medical certificate.
Are you afraid of office gossip if your boss finds out about your pregnancy? This is unfounded. The employer is not allowed to disclose the special circumstances without the consent of the expectant mother.
What must the employer do if an employee becomes pregnant?
The Maternity Protection Act ( Section 27 MuSchG ) requires employers to inform the relevant supervisory authorities (state occupational health and safety or trade inspectorates) of an employee’s pregnancy so that they can monitor compliance with maternity protection regulations. Therefore, it is helpful to provide some information about the pregnant woman’s type of employment as part of this notification so that the authorities can promptly assess whether there are any employment bans .
Incidentally, the same authorities are a good point of contact if the expectant mother or the employer has questions about pregnancy in the workplace and the application of maternity protection regulations.
Compliance with maternity protection regulations is monitored
The Maternity Protection Act imposes a number of obligations on employers to optimally protect their pregnant employees:
26 Display of the law
If more than three women regularly work in a company, a copy of the Maternity Protection Act must be displayed or posted in a suitable place so that employees can quickly find out about their rights and obligations during pregnancy.
29 Supervisory authorities
Compliance with the provisions of the Maternity Protection Act is monitored by supervisory authorities. Depending on the federal state, these may be, for example, trade inspectorates or occupational safety and health authorities. The respective addresses can be found (unfortunately somewhat hidden) on the website of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth: www.bmfsfj.de . Simply enter “Maternity Protection” in the search bar, and links to the individual addresses will appear.
All information on maternity protection
Since maternity protection is a very comprehensive topic, we’ve split the information into several articles. Further information will follow in a loose series, with links to previously published articles:
- Maternity protection in general : A brief overview of what maternity protection means and who it applies to.
- Pregnancy and employers : When do I have to report my pregnancy? What does my employer have to do then? What are the employer’s obligations when an employee is pregnant?
- Pregnancy and protection against dismissal : When is dismissal prohibited? What exceptions are there? What can I do if I am dismissed anyway? Dismissal protection and parental leave? What if I want to resign myself?
- Maternity protection at work : What employment bans exist, and how is my income secured during these periods? Does maternity protection also apply after the birth, and if so, how?
- Maternity protection – protection periods before and after childbirth : How long are the protection periods generally? What about breastfeeding mothers?
- Parental leave : What are my entitlements to parental leave? What is recreational leave?
Further regulations to protect expectant mothers
Regulations for the protection of women of childbearing age, expectant and breastfeeding mothers can be found, among others, in the following legal provisions:
- Law on the Protection of Mothers at Work, in Training and in Studies ( MuSchG ),
- Fifth Book of the Social Code ( SGB V ), formerly regulated in the Reich Insurance Code ( RVO ),
- Farmers’ Health Insurance Act ( KVLG ),
- Workplace Ordinance ( ArbStättV ),
- Biological Agents Ordinance ( BioStoffV ),
- Hazardous Substances Ordinance ( GefStoffV ),
- X-ray Ordinance (RöV),
- Radiation Protection Ordinance ( StrlSchV ) and in
- special state regulations.
