Administrative services A-Z

For the application for approval of employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., it is recommended to use the LAVG online form :

Online procedure possible: yes

Written form required: yes

Personal appearance required: no

Dismissal of a woman is inadmissible,

• during her pregnancy,
• until the expiry of 4 months after a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy, and
• until the end of their protection period after childbirth,
• but at least until the end of 4 months after delivery,

if you, as an employer, at the time of termination

• pregnancy,
• miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy, or
• the delivery is known, or
• if it is communicated to you within 2 weeks of receipt of the notice.

The LAVG may, by way of exception, declare dismissal permissible in special cases that are not related to the woman's condition during pregnancy, after a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy or after childbirth.

See also benefits for special regulations on working hours:

In principle, it is forbidden to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The Maternity Protection Act allows exceptions to this:

At your request as an employer, the LAVG may approve employment between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. if:

• the woman expressly agrees to do so,
• according to a medical certificate, there is nothing to prevent the woman from being employed until 10:00 p.m. and
• in particular, an irresponsible risk to the pregnant woman or her child from working alone is excluded.  

Approval of employment between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.:

In principle, it is forbidden to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The LAVG may grant exceptions to the prohibition of night work between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in particularly justified individual cases if:

• the woman expressly agrees to do so,
• according to a medical certificate, there is nothing to be said against employment and
• in particular, an irresponsible risk to the pregnant woman or her child from working alone is excluded.

This also applies to pregnant or breastfeeding pupils or students in the context of school or university education.  

Exception to the prohibition of overtime:

As an employer, you may not employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman who is 18 years of age or older in a job that the woman is required to perform for more than 8.5 hours a day or more than 90 hours in a double week. A pregnant or breastfeeding woman under the age of 18 may not be employed in a job that the woman has to do for more than 8 hours a day or more than 80 hours in a double week. Likewise, you may not employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman to an extent that exceeds the contractually agreed weekly working hours on average for the month. The LAVG may grant exceptions to the prohibition of overtime in particularly justified individual cases if the woman expressly declares her willingness to do so and there is nothing to be said against employment according to a medical certificate.

Exceptions to the prohibition of piecework and flow work:

They may not allow a pregnant or breastfeeding woman to engage in piecework or other work in which a higher rate of work can be obtained and flow work. The LAVG may grant exceptions to this if the nature of the work and the pace of work do not pose an irresponsible risk to the pregnant or breastfeeding woman or to her child.

As an applicant, you must prove and justify the existence of the constituent elements of the offence.

In the case of a declaration of admissibility of a dismissal:

• Employer's application
• Address and date of birth of the employee
• (More expected) Date of delivery
• Reasons for the dismissal with a detailed description of the reasons for dismissal (the LAVG may, in exceptional cases, declare an intended dismissal to be permissible if there is a special case, for example in the case of a closure of a business or a breach of duty under the employment contract)

In the case of employment between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.:

• Application from the employer (online form of the LAVG)
• Woman's Declaration of Readiness
• Medical certificate stating that there is nothing wrong with employing the woman until 10:00 p.m.
• Confirmation from the employer that there is no irresponsible risk to the woman or her child – in particular due to lone work
• The application must be accompanied by the documentation of the assessment of the working conditions in accordance with § 14 (1) MuSchG

In the case of employment between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. (night work):

• Employer's application
• Woman's Readiness
• Medical certificate
• Confirmation from the employer that there is no irresponsible risk to the woman or her child – in particular due to lone work
• Documentation of the assessment of working conditions according to § 14 paragraph 1 MuSchG

In case of overtime:

• Employer's application
• Woman's Readiness
• Medical certificate
• Documentation of the assessment of working conditions according to § 14 paragraph 1 MuSchG

In the case of piecework and flow work:

• Employer's application
• Representation of the type of work and the pace of work
• Documentation of the assessment of working conditions according to § 14 paragraph 1 MuSchG

Decisions on the above-mentioned applications are subject to a fee. This also applies in the event of the occurrence of the fiction of approval in the context of the procedure pursuant to § 28 MuSchG (employment between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.).

In the case of a declaration of admissibility of a dismissal:

An application for a declaration of admissibility of a termination must be submitted in writing (informally):

• Submit the informal application to the LAVG with a detailed description of the reasons for termination
• Before a decision is issued, the woman to be dismissed is given the opportunity to make a statement.

In the case of employment between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.:

You can apply for an exemption to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman in writing as follows:

• Fill out the online form of the LAVG (recommendation) and attach the necessary supporting documents.
• Submit the application documents to the LAVG.
• Upon receipt of the application, the LAVG will confirm whether the documents required for the application are complete or inform you that documents still need to be submitted (note: this procedure may differ in other federal states).
• Upon receipt of the confirmation of completeness, you may already employ the pregnant or breastfeeding woman between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. during the ongoing application process.
• The LAVG may temporarily prohibit such continued employment insofar as this is necessary to ensure the protection of the health of the woman or her child.
• If the application is not rejected within 6 weeks, it will be considered approved. Only if you request it will you receive an informal certificate.

In the case of employment between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. (night work):

You can apply for an exemption to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman in writing as follows:

• Submit the application documents to the LAVG.
• Upon receipt of the application, the LAVG will examine the documents received.
• If documents are missing, the LAVG will inform you and ask you to complete the application documents.
• It should be noted that within the framework of this procedure, it is NOT possible to continue employing the pregnant or breastfeeding woman after receipt of the complete application documents!
• The LAVG decides on the approval of night work on the basis of the specific individual case.
• Before a derogation is granted, the pregnant or breastfeeding woman concerned shall be heard.  

In case of overtime:

You can apply for an exemption to employ a pregnant or breastfeeding woman in writing as follows:

• Submit the application documents to the LAVG.
• Upon receipt of the application, the LAVG will examine the documents received.
• If documents are missing, the LAVG will inform you and ask you to complete the application documents.
• The LAVG decides on the approval of the overtime on the basis of the specific individual case.
• Before a derogation is granted, the pregnant or breastfeeding woman concerned shall be heard.

In the case of piecework and flow work:

• Submit the application documents to the LAVG.
• Upon receipt of the written application, the LAVG will examine the documents received.
• If documents are missing, the LAVG will inform you and ask you to complete the application documents.
  The LAVG decides on the approval on the basis of the specific individual case. Before a derogation is granted, the pregnant or breastfeeding woman concerned shall be heard.

State Office for Occupational Safety, Consumer Protection and Health (LAVG)

Department of Occupational Health and Safety

• § 20 Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG)

No professional approval. If necessary, please contact the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family ( +49 331 866-0 )