The German parliament has passed a new law which will expand the legal protections of Mutterschutzgesetz (Maternity Protection Act) to those who have had an early miscarriage.
Under Germany’s Mutterschutzgesetz, pregnant employees are exempt from working during the six weeks before their due date and for eight weeks after they give birth. During this period, they can claim a benefit (Mutterschaftsleistung) which pays the wages lost from their time off work.
Until now, employees who suffered from a miscarriage before week 24 of a typical 40-week pregnancy were not protected by the law. This meant they had to rely on their doctor to write them a sick note for physical and mental recovery, and they were not eligible for maternity support payments.
But the law passed by the Bundestag and set to be imposed on June 1, rules that employees who have a miscarriage before week 24 of their pregnancy are also entitled to recovery leave and can claim Mutterschaftsleistung to cover any loss of wages.
According to Franziska Krumwiede-Steiner (Greens), every third woman in Germany has experienced a miscarriage. Research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology suggests that there are around 90.000 miscarriages in the country each year.
Under the new law, the further along a pregnancy is, the longer the period covered by the Mutterschutzgesetz in the event of a miscarriage.
For example, if a miscarriage occurs during week 13 of the pregnancy, two weeks of leave are given. If the miscarriage occurs during week 17, six weeks are given, during week 20, eight weeks of leave are given.
The new rules also apply to freelancers who are covered by statutory health insurance but not by private health insurance. According to an agreement written up by the CDU, SPD and Greens and seen by the dpa, the incoming German government will amend the new law to include privately insured freelancers.
Thumb image credit: love4aya / Shutterstock.com