What applies if my domestic helper is pregnant?

If your domestic helper becomes pregnant, many people immediately think of the costs and paperwork involved. Both are actually quite manageable: the rules are clearly defined by law, and the best part is that your additional expenses are fully reimbursed. Here is everything you need to know about the protection periods, who pays and when, and how to get your money back.

Does maternity protection apply to my domestic helper?

Yes. The Maternity Protection Act makes no distinction between full-time employment and a mini-job; it applies to every employed woman. This means your cleaner or nanny is also protected as soon as she is pregnant and you have been informed.

The core of this protection is the maternity leave period: your helper is not permitted to work for six weeks before the expected due date and eight weeks after the birth. In the case of a premature or multiple birth, the post-birth period is extended to twelve weeks.

Is my helper allowed to work during her pregnancy?

In principle, yes, outside of the protected periods, provided the work does not pose a risk to her or the child. However, you are required to assess her tasks for potential hazards. For a domestic helper, this typically includes things like heavy lifting or handling harsh cleaning chemicals.

If this assessment results in a work ban, your helper may not work even outside the protected periods. In such cases, you must continue to pay her the so-called maternity protection wage, which is the average wage she earned in the three months prior to the pregnancy.

Who pays during the protection periods?

During the weeks before and after the birth, your helper receives maternity benefit. If she has statutory health insurance, this is paid by her health insurance fund at a rate of up to €13 per calendar day, or approximately €390 per month. If your helper is not covered by statutory insurance through her mini-job (for example, because she is covered by family insurance), she instead receives a one-time payment of up to €210 from the Federal Office for Social Security.

If her normal net wage is higher than the maternity benefit, you as the employer must pay the difference as a supplement so that your helper does not suffer a financial loss. These two payments—the protection wage and the employer's supplement—represent your actual costs.

Will I be reimbursed for these costs?

Yes, in full. Through the U2 levy, the Minijob-Zentrale will reimburse you 100% of the maternity protection wage and the employer's supplement, including the associated social security contributions. You only pay the small, ongoing U2 contribution of 0.22%, which is part of the roughly 14.6% in total employer costs.

Unlike with illness, where you only receive 80% reimbursement through the U1 levy, you are left with no costs at all in the case of maternity protection. Private households benefit from a simplified application process. You can find out how reimbursement works for illness in our article Domestic helper off sick.

What else do I need to keep in mind?

Above all, protection against dismissal. As soon as you are aware of the pregnancy, you may not give notice, and this protection applies until four months after the birth. Any notice given during this time is invalid. Further details regarding dismissal can be found in the article Giving notice to a domestic helper.

In practice, this means: your helper informs you of the pregnancy and the expected due date, you pass that information on, and from that point, the protection periods, payments, and reimbursement processes begin. Whether the role is a mini-job or subject to social security contributions makes no difference to maternity protection, though it does affect health insurance; see the post Mini-job or midi-job. An overview of all insurance-related questions is provided in the blog post Insuring a domestic helper.

What does quitt take care of for me?

quitt is an app-based service that handles the employment of your domestic helper for you, including during maternity protection. quitt calculates the maternity pay and the employer's supplement correctly, reflects everything on the payslip, and claims the U2 reimbursement on your behalf so that your costs are fully recovered. All you need to do is provide the pregnancy details and the due date.

You remain the employer throughout and decide whom you hire and what you pay. quitt handles the administrative work behind the scenes. How to start the employment process is explained in the blog post Hiring a domestic helper.

Found a household helper? Start the registration and quitt will take over the maternity protection and reimbursement process. You can see what the service costs on our pricing page.