Combining work and family life

During pregnancy and after the birth of the child, all employed women are subject to special protection. The legal basis for this is the Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz). It protects pregnant women and mothers from dismissal and financial losses. The legislation also protects expectant mothers and unborn children against health risks in the workplace. For employed women, maternity leave begins six weeks before the birth/calculated date of birth and usually ends eight weeks after birth; in case of medically-related premature births and multiple births, twelve weeks after birth. If a women wishes, she can continue to work during the pre-birth phase of maternity leave. She can revoke this decision at any time. However, the employer is not permitted to require a pregnant employee to be available for work during these six weeks. Employment is absolutely prohibited for the first eight weeks after birth.

A guide to maternity protection including the Maternity Protection Act can be found at this link.

Dismissal from employment is prohibited starting from the beginning of pregnancy until four months after birth. If the mother takes parental leave after the birth of the child, dismissal protection is extended beyond maternity leave until the end of parental leave.    

The Maternity Protection Act does not prescribe any deadlines for notifying employers about pregnancies. However, employers can only fulfil their obligations under the Maternity Protection Act if they have been informed about a pregnancy. 

If medical preventive checkups are only possible during working hours, the pregnant employee must be granted time for this without any reduction in wages.    

Employers must allow expectant and nursing mothers to lie down and rest during break times and also during working hours if this is necessary due to health reasons. At ASH Berlin you will find areas for resting (laying down) in the first aid and baby changing room (room 323) and in the recreation room for administrative and teaching staff (room 002). 

There is no paternity leave. However, the collective wage agreement for federal employees stipulates one day of paid release from work when the wife gives birth. If the father is not married to the expectant mother of the child, he can take normal holiday.

Employees in any employment relationship with ASH Berlin can apply for parental leave, i.e. temporary employees, part-time employees, student employees and trainees are also entitled. Mothers and fathers have a legal right to parental leave until a child reaches the age of three if they care for their child themselves. Both parents can take parental leave at the same time and each can work up to 30 hours per week. With the employer's consent, up to twelve months of parental leave can be transferred to the period between the child's third and eighth birthday. This allows parents to look after their child more intensively, for example when the child starts school.

Further information on parental leave (Elternzeit), parental allowance (Elterngeld) and parental allowance plus (ElterngeldPlus), including the partnership bonus, can be found at this link.

The employer must be notified of the parental leave at least seven weeks before it begins. At the same time, the periods for which parental leave is then requested within the remaining two years must be declared. If the mother wishes to take parental leave directly after maternity leave, ASH Berlin must therefore be notified one week after the birth or after the calculated date of birth.

The applicant is bound to the requested and approved duration of the parental leave. This can only be terminated or extended prematurely with the consent of ASH Berlin as the employer. In these cases, the responsible departments of ASH Berlin will endeavor to take into account the wishes of the employed fathers and mothers.

Anyone who cares for a child and therefore interrupts or reduces their income is entitled to state parental allowance, as is anyone who is unemployed. Parental allowance for working mothers and fathers amounts to 67 percent of the net income lost, up to a maximum of 1,800 euros per month. The minimum amount is 300 euros. If working hours are reduced, parental allowance is only paid on a pro-rata basis for the lost net income. The amount of parental allowance is calculated on the basis of the twelve-month period preceding the month of the child's birth. You will need the relevant pay slips as proof. If you do not have a pay slip, you can contact the Human Resources Department.

The application for parental allowance must be submitted in writing to the parental allowance office in the youth welfare office of the district in which you live. The application form and an information sheet can be found here. Further information:

• Parental allowance offices and application procedures in Berlin
• Information brochure from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (2022): "Elterngeld und Elternzeit" (Parental allowance and parental leave)
• Parental allowance calculator

One parent can receive parental allowance for a maximum of 12 months. The period of entitlement increases by two months to 14 months if both partners participate. This is a new feature of the 2007 parental allowance regulation and the reason why many fathers take exactly two months of parental allowance and thus parental leave. Incorrectly, this new regulation was discussed in public as "fathers' months", so that the impression could arise that fathers were only allowed to take two months of parental leave. However, if both mother and father claim parental allowance at the same time and work part-time, they can only do so for a maximum of seven months.