Pregnant in Germany: maternity leave, pay and your rights at work

2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

German law protects pregnant employees in three ways: no dangerous work, paid time off around the birth, and protection against dismissal. It applies to every employee, including part-time staff, mini-jobbers and apprentices, whatever their nationality.

Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.

Step by step

1. See a gynaecologist

   The doctor confirms the pregnancy and gives you the Mutterpass, a booklet in which every check-up is recorded. Carry it with you. Check-ups are every four weeks at first and every two weeks in the last two months, with three standard ultrasound scans. Statutory health insurance pays.

   Done

2. Tell your employer

   The protection only works once the employer knows. Handbook Germany advises telling the employer after the third month at the latest, ideally with a certificate from the doctor that shows the expected date of birth.

   Done

3. Know what work is not allowed

   The employer must check your workplace for risks. Heavy lifting, dangerous substances, great heat or noise, overtime, night work and work on Sundays and public holidays are restricted or forbidden. If the job cannot be made safe, you are released from work on full pay.

   Done

4. Find a midwife early

   A midwife (Hebamme) looks after you during pregnancy and in the weeks after the birth, also at home. Health insurance pays. Midwives are booked out quickly, so search in the first months, for example through hebammensuche.de.

   Done

5. Stop work six weeks before the due date

   In these six weeks you only work if you expressly want to. In the eight weeks after the birth, work is forbidden. After a premature birth, twins or more, the period after the birth is twelve weeks.

   Done

6. Apply for maternity benefit

   About seven weeks before the due date the doctor or midwife gives you a certificate of the expected date. Send it to your statutory health insurer. The insurer pays up to 13 euros a day, and the employer tops it up to your average net pay of the last three months.

   Done

7. Register the birth

   The baby must be registered at the registry office (Standesamt) within one week. Many hospitals pass on the papers. With the birth certificate you apply for child benefit and parental allowance and add the child to your health insurance.

   Done

Good to know

A dismissal during pregnancy and up to four months after the birth is void unless an authority has approved it. If you receive one, tell the employer about the pregnancy in writing within two weeks and get advice at once.

With private health insurance or a mini-job without your own statutory insurance, the benefit is paid by the Federal Office for Social Security as a single payment of up to 210 euros.

After maternity protection comes parental leave: parental leave in Germany (Elternzeit): how to take it.

Money for the child: child benefit in Germany (Kindergeld).

In short: Mutterpass, tell the employer, no dangerous work, find a midwife, six weeks before and eight after, maternity benefit from insurer and employer, register the birth within a week.