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 marginal employment (mini-job),
• Women with fixed-term employment contracts or in the probationary period,
• Women who are in vocational training and interns,
• students
• school pupils
• Women with disabilities who are employed in a workshop for disabled people,
• women who are volunteers within the meaning of the Youth Voluntary Service Act or the Federal Voluntary 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 deemed to be employee-like persons (i.e. who are not subject to social security contributions but are subject to pension insurance contributions) as follows:
  • Occupational health and safety provisions of the Maternity Protection Act apply