The non-event-related risk assessment according to the Maternity Protection Act

For many years now, increased safety requirements have applied to expectant and breastfeeding mothers in companies. The relevant legal basis for this is the Maternity Protection Act. Until 2018, every employer had to carry out a risk assessment for the expectant mother’s workplace immediately after she announced her pregnancy. Since January 2018, there has been an additional requirement for employers:

The non-event-related or abstract risk assessment according to the Maternity Protection Act!

Since January 2019, fines have been imposed for non-compliance with the new requirements. For this reason, risk assessments that are not event-driven are still the talk of the town and must be submitted to supervisory authorities and professional associations with increasing frequency. The preparation of these ‘special’ risk assessments is therefore essential.

But what exactly is different about a non-event-related risk assessment compared to a conventional risk assessment in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG)?

And what should employers bear in mind?

In the case of a non-event-related risk assessment, the main focus is on hazards that pose a particular threat to an expectant mother and her child or to a breastfeeding mother. Every activity must be considered and assessed, regardless of whether or not a woman is employed there. The path to a non-event-related risk assessment usually involves the following steps.

First, all activities (or fields of activity) must be recorded and defined. Very similar activities can be considered together. A separate risk assessment is created for each activity, in which the individual hazards are first identified and assessed. According to the Maternity Protection Act (§ 10), the hazards to which a pregnant or breastfeeding woman or her child is or may be exposed must be assessed in terms of their nature, extent and duration. An irresponsible hazard according to § 9 (2) of the Maternity Protection Act must be ruled out in all cases when designing the activity. An unacceptable risk exists if the probability of a possible health hazard occurring and the expected severity are unacceptable. After assessing possible hazards, appropriate measures must be defined and established. The measures can be tailored to each individual company. The aim is to reduce the hazards to an acceptable minimum.

Taking into account the hazards, the employer must determine whether

• no protective measures are necessary
• a redesign/adjustment of the workplace or the activity is necessary
• the activity can still be performed by the pregnant woman without any concerns.

According to the Maternity Protection Act, every employer must go through this process, document it and inform their employees, especially pregnant women, about the relevant protective measures (Section 14 (2) Maternity Protection Act).

HSE-Ingenieure GmbH will be happy to assist you in implementing the non-event-related risk assessment in accordance with the Maternity Protection Act.

Please feel free to contact us by telephone or email to arrange a preliminary consultation.