Parental leave ensures that mothers and fathers who work in Germany can take a break from their job for a certain period of time. This allows them to concentrate fully on bringing up their child. However, there are certain requirements and guidelines that must be adhered to. You can find out what these are in this article.
A definition of parental leave
Parental leave is a statutory entitlement to time off from work. The regulations for parental leave can be found in the Parental Allowance Act. This parental allowance is paid by the state while parental leave is being taken. Employers do not pay a salary during this time, as no work is being done. However, parental allowance must be applied for in order for it to be paid. You are entitled to it for up to 36 months, but it is not compulsory to apply for parental allowance. However, there is no money without an application. Mothers can also apply for maternity benefit. The entitlement to parental leave and parental allowance applies to every child. Parental leave must be taken by the child’s third birthday, otherwise the entitlement to the 36 months of parental leave expires. However, you are still entitled to up to 24 months of parental leave up to the child’s eighth birthday. Parental leave does not have to be taken in one go, but may not be taken in more than three periods. However, these three periods are only valid if the child was born after July 1. For children born before July 1, parental leave may be divided into a maximum of two periods. The application for parental leave must be submitted to the employer in good time. If the child is under the age of three, this notification must be made at least 7 weeks before the start of parental leave. In the case of a child up to the eighth birthday, at least 13 weeks before the start. The employment relationship is irrelevant for the entitlement to parental leave. The employment contract can be temporary or permanent, you can work full-time or part-time and you are also entitled to parental leave if you are in training.
Regulations for parental leave
Employees on parental leave may work part-time for up to 30 hours a week. Employers must give their employees this option if they wish to do so. However, this only applies to companies with more than 15 employees. In smaller companies, employers and employees must agree on how part-time employment is possible during parental leave. Employers may, for example, make fewer hours available. Parental leave affects vacation entitlement. For every month of parental leave, employers are allowed to reduce leave by one twelfth. This means that one year of parental leave cancels out the entire leave entitlement. However, employees on parental leave do not need this leave. Dismissal during parental leave is not possible. Unless there are exceptional cases. This would be the case if there are particularly serious breaches of duty, the company goes bankrupt or is shut down. Even if the company cannot continue to operate without a replacement employee, it is possible to terminate employment during parental leave. Parents may only end their parental leave early and return to their job if the employer agrees. This is to prevent employers from hiring a replacement for the period of parental leave, for example, and then having to pay two salaries for this position. However, there are also exceptions to this rule. If a parent dies, the employer may only prohibit the premature termination of parental leave for an urgent operational reason. The same applies if the family gets into financial difficulties and could face financial hardship without the early termination of parental leave.
Special regulations
Parental leave is not only available to biological parents, but basically to the whole family. Anyone who looks after children who live in their own household is also entitled to parental leave. These can be, for example, the children of a spouse, adopted children or foster children. In the case of underage parents who are unable or unwilling to take parental leave, grandparents may even take over this entitlement. However, the child must live with them in the household.
Conclusion
Parental leave is a law with a number of regulations that affect both employees and employers. In general, however, there is always an entitlement to parental leave and it cannot be prohibited. Early return from parental leave or further employment relationships during parental leave, on the other hand, are regulated separately and are sometimes based on an agreement between the employer and employee.
