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Notify employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman
If one of your employees has informed you that she is pregnant or breastfeeding, you must report this to the competent supervisory authority.
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Basic information
The Maternity Protection Act applies to all pregnant and breastfeeding women who are in an employment relationship. A woman within the meaning of the Maternity Protection Act is any person who is pregnant, has given birth or is breastfeeding - regardless of the gender stated in the birth registration. When and whether the employed woman informs you as a company about her pregnancy or breastfeeding is up to her.
If you have received information about the pregnancy or breastfeeding period, you must report this to the competent authority.
Regardless of the type of employment relationship, the Maternity Protection Act also applies to
- Women who work part-time,
- Women in a marginal employment relationship (mini-job),
- Women with fixed-term employment contracts or in the probationary period,
- Women who are in vocational training and trainees,
- students
- school pupils
- Women with disabilities who are employed in a workshop for disabled people,
- women working as volunteers within the meaning of the Youth Volunteer Service Act or the Federal Volunteer Service Act, and
- women who work as members of a spiritual cooperative, deaconesses or members of a similar community in a permanent position or on the basis of an employment contract, including during the period of their extracurricular training there.
- Women who are considered to be employee-like persons (i.e. who are not subject to social security but are subject to pension insurance) as follows:
- Occupational health and safety provisions of the Maternity Protection Act apply
Requirements
- The employee, pupil, intern or student has provided information about her pregnancy or breastfeeding.
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Procedure
- Notify the appropriate authority that you employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman.
- Use the online form to send the notification to the relevant authority. Alternatively, you can download the form and send it to the relevant authority.
- You are welcome to attach the risk assessment to avoid any follow-up questions from the relevant authority.
- The competent authority will review and record your notification.
- If necessary, the competent authority will request additional information or documents from you.
More information
The Maternity Protection Act does not apply to
- self-employed persons
- board members and managing directors of legal entities or companies (unless they are also predominantly employed)
- housewives
The reason for this is that they are not in an employment relationship.
There are special statutory regulations for the following professions:
- Civil servants, judges and soldiers
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Necessary Documents
- Name and address of the company or training center
- Type and time scope of the activity
- The fees that have been paid to them
- Information on whether pregnant or breastfeeding women are to be employed until 10 p.m., on Sundays and public holidays or with clocked work
- Result of the assessment of working conditions according to § 10 MuSchG
- The responsible office may request further information and documents.
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Competent Department
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State of Bremen Trade Inspectorate | Based in Bremen Gewerbeaufsicht des Landes Bremen | Dienstort Bremen
- +49 421 361 6260
- Parkstraße 58-60, 28209 Bremen
- Website
- office
@gewerbeaufsicht. bremen. de
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State of Bremen Trade Inspectorate | Bremerhaven Office Gewerbeaufsicht des Landes Bremen | Dienstort Bremerhaven
- 0471 596132-70
- Lange Straße 119, 27580 Bremerhaven
- Website
- office
@gewerbeaufsicht. bremen. de
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Online Services
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Fees / Costs
free of charge
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Deadlines & processing time
What deadlines must be paid attention to?
Immediate notification.
If the woman has informed about her pregnancy, this must be reported immediately to the local trade supervisory office.How long does it take to process
This is exclusively a message from you. Your message will usually be reviewed shortly after receipt.
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More Information
- Broschüre Leitfaden zum Mutterschutz auf der Internetseite des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSJ)
- Broschüre Arbeitgeberleitfaden zum Mutterschutz auf der Internetseite des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSJ)
- Brochure: Employer’s Guide to Maternity Protection on the website of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSJ)
- Brochure: Guide to Maternity Protection on the website of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSJ)
This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.
The official information in German is complete and correct.
Updated on 23.09.2026