During her pregnancy, a pregnant woman should plan to go to numerous medical examinations. In practice, it is difficult for the employee to schedule her appointments outside of her working time. For this reason, the law (article L 1225-16 of the Labor Code (1)) requires the employer to grant the expectant mother as many absence authorizations as there are compulsory pregnancy exams. . Under no circumstances may the repeated absences of a pregnant employee within the framework of her medical supervision constitute a serious fault justifying her dismissal.

In addition, absences should be considered as actual working time. In these conditions :

• Pregnancy hours are counted in the calculation of paid leave and for the determination of seniority.
• The absences of a pregnant employee cannot justify any reduction in her remuneration.

The conditions to benefit from an absence authorization:

The employer cannot validly refuse to allow a pregnant employee to be absent during her working hours to attend a compulsory medical examination once he has been informed of the pregnancy. In this context, it is recommended that the mother-to-be to declare her pregnancy to the employer as soon as possible.

Please note, the employer may require that his pregnant employee provide him with proof of her absence, in the form of a medical certificate for example.

Authorized absences for the benefit of the second parent:

The other member of the couple – spouse, husband or PACS partner – of the pregnant woman also benefits from an absence authorization from her employer, but to a lesser extent. He can accompany the mother-to-be within the limit of three mandatory appointments.

Leave of absence in the public sector:

Civil servants in the public sector benefit from the same leave of absence as employees in the private sector. In addition, the authorized absences of the pregnant woman can include all the sessions of preparation for childbirth.

Good to know: the civil servant must declare her pregnancy to the human resources department of his administration before the end of the 4th month.

A pregnant employee may be absent for pregnancy examinations considered to be compulsory under the law. These are the following medical appointments:

• The 7 antenatal consultations as part of the medical surveillance of pregnancy. The pregnant woman makes one visit before the end of the 3rd month of pregnancy, then one per month from the 4th month (2).
• Postnatal examination in the context of childbirth. The employee consults her doctor or midwife within 8 weeks of giving birth (3).

In practice, several compulsory medical examinations are held during the maternity leave of a pregnant employee: they do not therefore give rise to authorizations of absence from the employer.

The law does not provide for any obligation to adapt the working hours of pregnant women at the expense of the employer. However, certain customs, conventions or collective agreements require the employer to grant her employee specific benefits throughout her pregnancy. They include, in particular, reductions in working time and compulsory breaks.

In the absence of custom, convention or collective agreement, the mother-to-be is free to negotiate an arrangement with her employer with a view to adjusting her working time.

Good to know: the law (4) requires the employer to grant the pregnant woman rest in a lying position and in “appropriate” conditions. The conditions for this measure – duration of rest, taken into account in the calculation of breaks, etc. – are not specified.

At the end of her maternity leave, the young mother is authorized to breastfeed her child at her workplace (5). For this purpose, she has one hour per day taken from her working hours, for one year from the birth of her child.

In companies with more than 100 employees, employees can require the employer to set up premises dedicated to breastfeeding, within the company itself or in the immediate vicinity.

In the same way as the pregnant woman, the young mother who is breastfeeding also benefits from an authorization to rest in a lying position.