Children and maternity leave

As an expectant mother, you are not allowed to work in the last 8 weeks before the due date. This is the so-called protection period (= absolute ban on employment). If there is a danger to you or your child, you can be released earlier. If there are certain medical reasons, the certificate of exemption can be issued by the specialist. In some cases, the leave of absence must be granted by the labour inspectorate doctor or by the public health officer. The certificate of exemption must be presented to the employer who is no longer allowed to employ you with immediate effect.

Maternity leave after childbirth lasts 8 weeks. If the protection period before the birth has been shortened because the date of birth was not calculated correctly, the protection period after the birth is extended to a maximum of 16 weeks to the extent of the shortening. In the case of premature births, multiple births or caesarean sections, the protection period after delivery is at least 12 weeks.

During maternity leave, you will receive maternity benefit from your responsible health insurance company, which you must apply for. Your employer does not pay any wages or salaries during this period.

Yes. Special protection against dismissal and dismissal exists from the time the pregnancy is announced until four months after the birth. If parental leave is taken, the protection is extended until four weeks after the end of the parental leave.

If you are pregnant and inform your employer within five working days of the notice of termination or, in the case of a written notice, within five working days of its notification, the termination becomes legally invalid. If you only find out at a later date that you are pregnant, you must inform the employer immediately so that the dismissal becomes legally invalid.

Four weeks after a miscarriage or pregnancy loss , you have special protection against dismissal and dismissal. If a dismissal takes place after this period has expired because your employer assumes that you will soon become pregnant again, this dismissal can be challenged in court within fourteen days of receipt of the dismissal on the basis of the Equal Treatment Act .

Yes. If they take parental leave directly after the protection period, mothers must notify the employer in writing of the start and duration of the parental leave no later than the end of the protection period (fathers no later than 8 weeks after the birth). In the event of an extension of parental leave or alternating use of parental leave, special registration deadlines apply. Your employer must 
issue a confirmation of the start and duration of the parental leave .

Yes, under the following conditions: 

• He lives with the child in the same household and
  
• the mother is not on maternity leave at the same time (exception: overlap during the first change between the parents).
  
• There is also an entitlement to paternity leave if the mother is not entitled to parental leave, as well as for single fathers.
  

*Adoptive and foster parents as well as women who are considered by law to be the child's other parent are also entitled to parental leave.

Fathers or the second parent in the case of same-sex couples can demand a leave of absence from the employer without continued payment of remuneration to the extent of one month . The prerequisite is a joint household with the child. The Father's Month must be taken in the period between the birth (from discharge from the hospital) and the end of the mother's ban on employment.

The expected start of the father's month and the expected date of birth must be announced to the employer at least three months before the calculated date of birth (advance notice period). After the birth, the employer must be informed of the birth immediately. The actual start date of the father's month must be communicated to the employer no later than one week after the birth.

Under certain conditions, the family time bonus can be received as a substitute for the salary. In 2024, this amounts to up to € 1,626.26 for one month (€ 52.46 per day).

Yes. A total of three parts of the parental leave are permitted, for example mother/father/mother. Each part must last at least two months.

No. The parents may not take parental leave for the same child at the same time. Only in the case of the first change between the parents is an overlap of one month possible. In this case, the parental leave may only last until the child reaches the age of 23 months.

Yes. At least three months before the end of the reported parental leave, you must inform your employer that you would like to extend the parental leave and for how long. If you originally reported parental leave of less than three months, you do not have to report the extension until two months before the end of the parental leave.

During the waiting period, you may work for the same employer below the marginal income threshold . In addition to the employment relationship on parental leave, you can agree with your employer on employment above the marginal income threshold for a maximum of 13 weeks in a calendar year.

After the child's 1st birthday, your employer can only terminate the employment relationship if, in addition to the existing dismissal and dismissal protection provisions, continued employment is not reasonable for economic and personal reasons. However, your employer needs the approval of the Labor and Social Court for such a termination.

You are entitled to parental leave until the end of the child's 22nd, 23rd or 24th month of life (see above for the duration of the parental leave entitlement). This means that you have to start work again the following day at the latest. Notification of the start of service after maternity leave is not required by law, but it is advisable!

After maternity leave, you are entitled to a pro-rata holiday entitlement from the time you return to work until the end of the leave year. 

If you have vacation entitlements from the year in which you went on maternity leave, these will also be aliquoted. The limitation period for the holiday entitlement is extended by the period of parental leave if parental leave is taken. Parental leave does not change the leave year.

Christmas remuneration (= Christmas bonus) and holiday allowance are incurred on a pro rata basis after returning to the company for the calendar year. The due date is based on the collective agreement or a more favourable contractual agreement.

During maternity leave, your employment relationship will generally remain in place. For births from 1.8.2019 onwards, leave taken for service-related entitlements (e.g. calculation of the notice period, duration of continued payment of remuneration during sick leave and amount of leave) will be fully credited for each child up to the maximum duration (22, 23 or 24 months).  

There is the childcare allowance account (flat-rate KBG) and the income-related childcare allowance.

With the childcare allowance account , it doesn't matter whether you worked before the birth or not. A fixed total amount is available for the KBG account:

• € 14,355.45 if only one parent receives the KBG
  
• € 17,934.50 if both parents share the KBG salary
  

The total amount is distributed over the selected period of entitlement. The following applies: The shorter you receive KBG, the higher the amount you receive per day.

Income-related child benefit requires that you are in an upright employment relationship at the time of the birth of the child. In the last 182 days before the start of maternity leave (for mothers) or before the birth (for the other parent), you must have actually and continuously engaged in gainful employment subject to health and pension insurance.

Childcare allowance variants at a glance

In the case of the childcare allowance account (flat-rate KBG), parents may take turns receiving childcare allowance up to twice (a total of 3 blocks). Each KBG block must last at least 61 days continuously. The amount of the KBG per day is always the same for both parents. With the first change, simultaneous withdrawal is possible for up to 31 days. However, this shortens the duration of the claim overall. Each parent must receive the KBG for at least 20% of the entire period of entitlement. Depending on the length of the selected withdrawal period, this can be a minimum of 91 days to a maximum of 212 days. If one parent takes less than his or her 20%, these periods cannot be transferred to the other parent, but can be forfeited. 

The income-related childcare allowance can be divided if each parent receives KBG for at least 61 days. When changing, both parents can move in at the same time for up to 31 days. However, the simultaneous receipt leads to a correspondingly shorter duration of entitlement overall.

In certain cases of hardship, the childcare allowance account (flat-rate KBG) may be extended by up to a maximum of 91 days.

In the case of income-related child benefit, a hardship extension of a maximum of 61 days is possible for one parent. A special benefit of € 39.33 per day (2024) will then be paid out. 

A case of hardship may exist if one parent has lost the joint household with the child due to an unavoidable and unforeseeable event (e.g. death, hospitalization, domestic violence, imprisonment). If the parent who has lost the joint household has already received KBG before, then the duration of the hardship extension is reduced accordingly.

In the case of the childcare allowance account (lump-sum KBG), the extension can also be made in the event that one parent is permanently single (separation) and has filed an application with the court for the determination of maintenance. An income limit of € 1,400.00 (net income including family benefits) plus 300 euros for each additional person in the household for whom maintenance is paid applies.

Families with low incomes or single parents receive a childcare allowance of € 6.06 per day (€ 181.80 per month) upon application. The allowance is paid out for a maximum of twelve months and is tied to the simultaneous, actual receipt (no suspension) of childcare allowance. The allowance only has to be repaid in full or in part if the additional income limits are exceeded.

The partnership bonus is received if both parents receive childcare allowance for the same child for approximately the same amount of time. The split must be between 40:60 and 50:50 and each parent must receive KBG for at least 124 days. The time in which maternity benefit is received is not counted.

The partnership bonus is a one-off fee of € 500 for each parent and must be applied for at the responsible social security institution (health insurance fund ). The application can be submitted at the same time as the application for KBG or later. If you apply later, you must do so within 124 days from the last day of the maximum entitlement period (for both parents).

Childcare allowance is due up to a fixed additional income limit. 

With the childcare allowance account (flat-rate KBG), you are generally allowed to earn 60 percent of your last gross income. However, if the last income is less than € 18,000 per calendar year, you are allowed to earn additional income at this limit. 

If you receive the income-related childcare allowance, you may earn a maximum of € 8,100 per year. 

Income that is subject to wage and income tax is taken into account. For example, income from employment, self-employment or freelancing. Unemployment benefits, emergency assistance, further education allowance and part-time education allowance must also be taken into account. This does not include, for example, family allowance, maintenance, childcare allowance, severance pay, special payments, holiday replacement benefits, salary advances or expense reimbursements.

You must reduce your work by at least 20% of the agreed normal weekly working hours. The lower limit is a minimum working time of 12 hours per week. With a 40-hour week, the working hours during parental leave can therefore be between 12 and 32 hours per week.

No, because there is also a right to change the position of working hours. This right is especially important for mothers and fathers who find themselves in one of these two situations:

• You don't want to reduce your hours because even a shift in working hours makes it possible for you to reconcile work and family.
  
• Or you are already working part-time and do not want to reduce your working hours even further, but can only work at certain times of the day – for example, due to the opening hours of the childcare facility.
  

You must inform your employer about the start and duration of parental leave no later than 8 weeks after the birth if you take parental leave after the protection period .

If the mother's parental leave lasts only 2 months after the protection period, fathers must notify the mother or employer of the parental leave following the mother's parental leave at the earliest after the birth of the child, but no later than the end of the protection period.

If you take up parental leave at a later date, you must notify your employer of your parental leave in writing at least 3 months before the intended start. 

This written notification must contain the beginning, duration, extent (i.e. the total number of hours) and location of the part-time employment (start and end of daily working hours, designation of working days).

Yes. During parental leave, you have special protection against dismissal and dismissal. This begins with the announcement of the desire to work part-time, but no earlier than four months before the intended start of part-time employment. It lasts up to a maximum of four weeks after the child's 4th birthday. If you agree to end parental leave at an earlier date, the special protection against dismissal and dismissal ends four weeks after the end of the parental leave.

The special protection against dismissal and dismissal applies both to mothers and fathers who are entitled to parental leave and to parents who are on parental leave due to an agreement with the employer.

After the child's 4th birthday has expired, there is only protection against dismissal for motive. Protection against dismissal on grounds of motive means that an employee may not be dismissed because of an intended or actually taken parental leave. If the parental leave lasts longer than the child's 4th birthday under the Maternity Protection Act or Paternity Leave Act or is only started afterwards, then a dismissal pronounced on account of the parental leave can be challenged in court.  

If a dismissal is pronounced because of parental leave, it can be challenged at the Labour and Social Court under certain circumstances (if the connection between the dismissal and parental leave can be proven). Such a dismissal would also be considered discriminatory within the meaning of the Equal Treatment Act .