Maternity protection for students

Dear students,

According to § 1 para. 2 no. 8, the law applies to female students insofar as the university specifies the place, time and course of the training event as mandatory or who are completing a mandatory internship as part of their university education.

Pregnant women and mothers who are studying are entitled to a six-week protection period before and at least eight weeks after giving birth from 1 January 2018.01.

From 1 January 2018, pregnant women and mothers are entitled to a six-week protection period before and at least eight weeks after giving birth.

It cannot be ruled out that there may be health risks for you or your pregnancy during your studies at some courses. This could be the case in particular during science or engineering internships, workshop or laboratory activities. Once you have notified us of your pregnancy, the department must carry out a personal risk assessment, regardless of the degree programme, so that hazards can be identified and appropriate protective measures can be taken. The risk assessment must be documented.

Notification of pregnancy by the student

According to § 15 para. 1, a student should notify the university of her pregnancy and the calculated date of delivery as soon as she knows that she is pregnant. The relevant form can be downloaded under Documents. In addition, a breastfeeding student should inform the university immediately that she is breastfeeding. There is no obligation to notify the university, but students can only invoke the protective provisions of the Maternity Protection Act if they have notified the university that they are pregnant or breastfeeding.
The notification must be accompanied by suitable proof (copy of the maternity pass or medical certificate with the calculated date of birth). When submitting the maternity passport, please ensure that you black out any other personal details, e.g. laboratory tests or vaccinations, for data protection reasons.

Please send the notification to the Student Services of Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg.

From there, other parties involved will be informed and consulted on your behalf. In particular, the responsible dean of the department will take the necessary protective measures within the scope of their responsibilities and, if necessary, also decide on examination-related requests in consultation with the examination board.

Protection periods before and after confinement

During the protection period (6 weeks before and 8 weeks after confinement), the university may only allow a female student to participate in compulsory courses and examinations if the student expressly requests this from the university; the student may revoke this declaration at any time with effect for the future.

Participation in voluntary courses and the completion of coursework and examinations in voluntary courses is at the student's discretion and is therefore possible without further declaration.

University's duty of notification

In accordance with Section 27 MuSchG, the university is obliged to make certain notifications to the supervisory authority, specifically the Cologne district government, regarding pregnant and breastfeeding students.

Notice board of the law

According to § 26, the university is obliged to display the MuSchG for inspection by students or to make it accessible electronically.

Application for a leave of absence by the student

Students can apply for a leave of absence due to pregnancy. A corresponding request must be submitted to the Student Services. When applying for a leave of absence, the pregnancy is deemed to have been notified to the university. The form "Notification according to § 27 paragraph 1 of the Maternity Protection Act" no longer has to be submitted.
Students on leave of absence due to pregnancy are not entitled to take coursework and examinations.

Counselling on reconciling work/study and family

Individual, confidential counselling on the topic of reconciling work and family is offered by the HELP counselling centre at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. You are welcome to contact this centre during your pregnancy and parental leave.

Breastfeeding, nappy-changing and rest rooms

Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers must keep a distance from the workplace in accordance with "Arbeitsstättenregel ASR A4.2" pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers must be able to lie down and rest in suitable conditions during breaks and, if necessary, during working hours.

There are two breastfeeding, nappy-changing and rest rooms that are freely accessible for this purpose. These can currently only be found in Sankt Augustin, in B 291 and G 106.