Notification of your pregnancy to your employer

Your pregnancy test turns out to be positive, your thoughts are running wild and now you have to tell your employer about your pregnancy?

By law, you are not obliged to do this. However, it is advisable to inform your employer, especially as your baby bump will probably be visible soon. You should tell them when you are read. Do not let yourself be pressured and tell them at the time you are ready. You can make the notification in written form as an informal letter or you can talk to them in person. It is also important for future planning that your employer knows your expected due date.

If the work you are doing could be dangerous for the development of your unborn child, if you have a high-risk pregnancy or if you are simply not feeling well during your pregnancy, there is the possibility of an employment ban – called “Beschäftigungsverbot” in German. This ban can be decided by either your employer or your doctor. You may or must stay at home, you have to stop working in a paid job and continue to receiving your usual salary.

If you are willing to and you want to continue working in your paid job, you will be sent on maternity leave – in German “Mutterschutz” – six weeks before giving birth and eight weeks after it. During this period, you have a special protection by law and therefore you are not allowed to work