Creating the Maternity Protection Risk Assessment for All Workplaces

Whether in the office, in the workshop or in the home office: every employer must check the working conditions at every workplace in advance for risks to pregnant and breastfeeding women – even if no woman is currently employed in the business.

In short: The maternity protection risk assessment under § 10 MuSchG (the German Maternity Protection Act) obliges every employer, regardless of company size or workforce, to check all workplaces in advance for risks to pregnant and breastfeeding women and to define suitable protective measures. All-male businesses are affected too. Anyone who has not documented the assessment risks a fine of up to €30,000 in inspections or in the event of violations.

Who is affected by the maternity protection risk assessment?

The obligation applies to every employer with at least one workplace – regardless of industry, company size or whether a woman is currently employed at all. § 10 MuSchG requires an assessment that does not depend on any specific occasion: the risk analysis must therefore already exist before a pregnancy is even known. Even in all-male businesses the assessment is mandatory, because nobody can rule out that a woman will be hired in future or that an employee will become pregnant. The reason for this advance obligation lies in the purpose of the law: as soon as a pregnancy becomes known, protective measures must take effect immediately – there is no time for a check that only begins then. Anyone who prepares the assessment only afterwards has already missed the purpose of the provision.

What do you need to do in concrete terms?

You must check, for every workplace in the business, which risks exist for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and derive suitable protective measures from this. These include physical strain such as lifting heavy loads, handling hazardous substances, night or lone work, as well as noise, radiation or vibrations. For each of these points you determine in advance whether a redesign of the workplace, a transfer to another workplace or, in exceptional cases, an exemption from work would be necessary. It is important to record the assessment in writing and to make it traceable individually for each type of workplace, rather than making a blanket statement for the entire business. This makes it quick to identify, when needed, which concrete measure applies to which workplace. Which further business obligations apply to your company can be checked in a structured way with a tool such as Company Audit.

By when and how often must the assessment be available?

The risk assessment must be available before a pregnancy becomes known in the business – preparing it afterwards comes too late when protective measures must take effect immediately. Since 2025 there have been simplifications if a relevant rule of the Committee for Maternity Protection (Ausschuss für Mutterschutz) exists and is applied; in that case the effort of the check can be reduced without missing the protective purpose. If activities, work equipment or workplaces change, the assessment must be updated – a one-off check is therefore not sufficient in the long run. When a pregnancy becomes known, the measures defined beforehand must be implemented without delay, not only after a renewed check.

What is the penalty for violating the maternity protection risk assessment?

Violations of the risk assessment obligation under § 10 MuSchG can lead to fines of up to €30,000. In addition, the competent supervisory authority can demand the assessment at any time and order further measures if documentation is missing or inadequate. If the assessment is missing when a pregnancy actually occurs, delays in the necessary protective measures are also looming – with liability risks for the employer. The employer itself is responsible, regardless of whether an occupational safety specialist or an external service provider supported the assessment in substance.

The maternity protection risk assessment in 5 steps

The following five steps summarise the procedure with which you can implement the obligation under § 10 MuSchG in a legally secure way and can act immediately in an emergency:

1. Check all workplaces for risks relevant to maternity protection (substances, loads, night or lone work).
2. Define the necessary protective measures per workplace in advance – for example redesign, transfer or exemption from work.
3. Document the assessment and inform employees of the result.
4. When a pregnancy becomes known, implement the defined measures without delay.
5. Update the assessment when activities or working conditions change.

Two points from practice: the assessment is mandatory even if only men work in the business – it does not depend on any specific occasion and must exist regardless of current staffing. In addition, the supervisory authority can demand the documentation at any time, which is why an early, written assessment pays off.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to create the risk assessment even if I do not employ women?

Yes. The obligation under § 10 MuSchG does not depend on any specific occasion and also applies to businesses where currently only men work. The legislator assumes that the workforce can change at any time, which is why the check is not tied to a specific person.

What happens if an employee becomes pregnant and no assessment exists?

Then the basis for immediately implementing the right protective measures is missing, and in an inspection the employer falls into the fine range of up to €30,000. In practice this means additional time pressure, because the missing analysis must then be made up in a hurry.

Who checks whether the assessment exists?

The competent supervisory authority can request the maternity protection risk assessment at any time, which is why written documentation makes sense from the start. If there is no assessment or only an incomplete one, the authority can demand improvements and pursue the case further.

Have there been simplifications to the assessment since 2025?

Yes, if a relevant rule of the Committee for Maternity Protection applies and is applied, this simplifies the implementation of the requirements of § 10 MuSchG. The basic scope of the check and the obligation to assess in advance remain unaffected.

Must the assessment be carried out separately for each individual workplace?

Yes, risks must be considered per workplace, since strains such as loads, substances or working hours can differ from workplace to workplace. A blanket assessment for the whole business is therefore not enough to meet the requirement of § 10 MuSchG.

Source: § 10 MuSchG. This article is general information and does not replace legal advice in an individual case. As of: July 2026.