Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) - Germany (Ratification: 2021)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report received on 4 September 2023, and the observations made by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), which were received on 31 August 2023. The Committee notes that these observations include references to the shortage of staff in the supervisory authorities, the existence of exemption clauses as regards the general ban on night work, the unspecific wording of the employer’s general obligation to carry out a risk assessment and to arrange safe working conditions, among other gaps in the implementation of the Maternity Protection Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 9 of the Convention. Non-discrimination in employment. Application in practice. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government that the General Act on Equal Treatment of 14 August 2006 prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on gender, and that its section 3(1) states that direct discrimination on the ground of gender is also taken to occur in the event of the less favourable treatment of a woman on account of pregnancy or maternity. The Committee notes that this applies not only to existing employment relationships or their termination, but also to worker selection criteria and recruitment conditions. The Committee further notes that employers may not ask about the existence of a pregnancy, and that veiled questions, such as asking about family planning or requiring a worker or candidate to take a pregnancy test, are equally inadmissible. In this context, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any violations involving discrimination based on maternity, detected by or reported to the law enforcement bodies, including any relevant court decisions or legal disputes, as well as on the sanctions imposed on employers in this regard and the remedies provided to victims.