Maternity leave for students

On 1 January 2018, the Act on the Protection of Mothers at Work, in Training and in Higher Education (Maternity Protection Act – MuSchG) came into force as Article 1 of the Act on the Reform of Maternity Protection Law. Pregnant or breastfeeding female students are covered by this Act insofar as the higher education institution mandatorily specifies the location, time and schedule of their training sessions, or where female students are undertaking a mandatory placement as part of their higher education studies (see Section 1(2), second sentence, No. 8 MuSchG). This is the case, for example, with compulsory courses within university education that have a mandatory attendance requirement. This applies in particular to courses in the degree programmes in Medicine, Molecular Medicine, Biochemistry, Chemistry and Biology. This is because the aim of the law is to ensure health protection is maintained even for pregnant or breastfeeding students who come into contact with potential hazards (e.g. hazardous chemicals, biological agents, physical hazards) in compulsory courses. The new regulations on health protection under maternity protection law apply to these courses.

In accordance with the new regulations on health and safety under maternity protection law, the university may not, for example, pursuant to Section 5(2) of the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG), regularly require pregnant or breastfeeding students to work between 8 pm and 6 am as part of their university studies. Pursuant to Section 9 of the MuSchG, the university is obliged to determine the working conditions for pregnant or breastfeeding students in accordance with risk assessments and has a preventive duty to organise workplaces in such a way that risks to pregnant or breastfeeding students or their children are avoided as far as possible. In addition to the abstract risk assessment, a specific risk assessment in accordance with the MuSchG, together with the definition of individual protective measures, must be carried out as soon as notification of the pregnancy is received. Furthermore, the university has a duty to provide facilities where the pregnant or breastfeeding student can rest briefly, as well as a duty to take into account the findings and rules determined by the Committee for Maternity Protection and published by the Federal Government.

With the support of the occupational health service and occupational medicine, those responsible for teaching will carry out an abstract risk assessment in accordance with the MuSchG for the above-mentioned courses using the risk assessment form already in use for staff. This abstract risk assessment, based on the risk assessment form, should either already contain possible solutions for individual protective measures or, where necessary, prohibitions on certain activities for the pregnant or breastfeeding student. Prohibitions on certain activities mean that pregnant or breastfeeding students are not permitted to attend these courses but must make them up at a later date. Even if these students wish to continue the course they have been attending (see Section 3(3) of the Maternity Protection Act), this does not relieve those responsible for teaching of their duty to comply.

Given that we cannot list with absolute certainty all courses that fall within the scope of application mentioned above, we are informing you all of the obligations, rights and duties under the MuSchG. However, in accordance with Section 15(1) of the MuSchG, only pregnant or breastfeeding students who fall within the scope of application mentioned above are obliged to inform the university of their pregnancy as soon as they know they are pregnant. The same applies to a breastfeeding student; she should inform the university as early as possible that she is breastfeeding.

Lecturers are best placed to determine whether their course falls within the scope of Section 1(2), second sentence, No. 8 of the MuSchG, whether potential hazards (e.g. from hazardous chemicals, biological agents, physical hazards) exist for pregnant and breastfeeding students, and to what extent these can be mitigated through appropriate protective measures. We therefore ask the students concerned, in their own interests, to inform the course lecturer of their pregnancy or breastfeeding. The course lecturers will then carry out a risk assessment for the above-mentioned courses together with these students using a risk assessment form and offer them a meeting to discuss adjustments to their study conditions.

The provisions of higher education law which, under certain conditions, provide for maternity leave and parental leave (see, for example, Section 16(2) HRG, Section 32(3)(2) LHG) remain unaffected by these amendments to the MuSchG. They are merely supplemented by Section 16 MuSchG (see above). Maternity leave and parental leave continue to be directly taken into account, as before, in terms of protection periods in the form of extended examination periods, leave of absence and withdrawal from examinations.

Further information on statutory maternity protection