Maternity protection; notification of employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman

If you have informed your employee that she is pregnant or breastfeeding, you as the employer must immediately notify the relevant trade supervisory office of the employment of the pregnant or breastfeeding employee, stating her name and employment details.

The same applies to schools and universities. They must notify the relevant trade supervisory office of their pregnant or breastfeeding pupils/students if they are taking part in mandatory training courses or completing a mandatory internship.

We recommend that you also provide information about the type and duration of the employment or (higher) education of the pregnant or breastfeeding woman in the notification to the responsible trade supervisory office. This may save the trade supervisory office from making further enquiries.

In addition, the responsible trade supervisory office must also be notified if you as an employer intend to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman on Sundays and public holidays or with timed work.

The employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman after 8 p.m. is generally not permitted. If you as an employer intend to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman until 10 p.m., you must apply for a permit from the labor inspectorate.
The application can be made online as part of the notification of the employment or activity of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman.

Schools or universities that employ a pregnant or breastfeeding pupil or student at night between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. or on Sundays and public holidays must also notify the trade supervisory authority. There is no additional approval requirement for night work.

Notification of the employment or activity of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman must be submitted online to the trade supervisory office at the district government responsible for the place of employment, training or study of the pregnant or breastfeeding woman (see "Online procedure").

The notification must be made to the employer or, in the case of a student, to the school/university immediately after the employee announces the pregnancy or breastfeeding period. If the pregnancy has already been reported, additional notification of the breastfeeding period is no longer necessary.