Maternity protection
The Maternity Protection Act contains a number of protective regulations for mother and child. It applies to all women who are in a training or employment relationship, regardless of the type and daily duration.
Obligation to notify employer
As soon as you are certain that you are pregnant (usually at the end of the third month of pregnancy), you must inform your employer immediately of this and the expected date of delivery so that they can fulfill their legal obligations to protect you.
Protection periods
The maternity protection period begins six weeks before the expected delivery and ends eight weeks (twelve weeks in the case of premature and multiple births) after the delivery. If the child is born before the expected date, the protection period is extended after the birth by the period that could not be used before the birth. During the protection period before the birth, the expectant mother may be employed if this is her express wish; after the birth, there is an absolute ban on employment.
Protection regulations
The Maternity Protection Act stipulates protective regulations with regard to your workplace, which must be adhered to. During pregnancy, for example, the following are prohibited: heavy physical work, piecework, work with hazardous substances and radiation, work between 8 pm and 6 am and on Sundays and public holidays, and from the 5th month of pregnancy, work that requires you to stand for more than four hours a day.
The same restrictions apply to breastfeeding mothers. You are also entitled to breastfeeding breaks during working hours if you present a certificate from your doctor. The employer is obliged to continue paying your average earnings if you are unable to carry out your work due to the protective regulations and cannot be deployed elsewhere.
Protection against dismissal
Protection against dismissal exists during pregnancy and the first four months after giving birth. The prerequisite is that the pregnancy is known or is notified within two weeks of the termination. If you take parental leave after the birth, the protection against dismissal is extended until the end of the parental leave. During pregnancy, dismissals are only possible in a few exceptional cases, for example insolvency, and must be approved by the district government.
If you have nevertheless received notice of termination, you can contact the Cologne District Government, Department 56, Zeughausstr. 2 to 10, 50667 Cologne, Tel. 0221-147-0.
Incidentally, in the event of unlawful dismissal, your employer is obliged to pay you your salary and the maternity allowance, even if they are not prepared to continue employing you.
Please note: Fixed-term contracts generally expire at the scheduled time. During the maternity protection period, you can terminate your contract without observing any notice periods at the end of the maternity protection period.
Further information at: www.bezreg-koeln.nrw.de (opens in a new tab) or www.mags.nrw/arbeitsschutz. (opens in a new tab)
Parental leave
The legal basis for parental leave is provided by the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act. Parental leave for civil servants is governed by the provisions of the State Civil Servants Act. If you are raising and caring for your child or the child of your spouse or partner, you can take parental leave as an employee until the child reaches the age of 3. Up to 24 months of this can be transferred to the period up to the child's 8th birthday. The employer's consent is not required for this. If you live in a household with your child but do not have custody, you need the consent of the parent with custody.
If you have taken a child into your household with the aim of adopting it, you can claim parental leave for a maximum of 3 years from the time of taking the child into your household until the child reaches the age of 8. Parental leave can be taken (also pro rata) by either parent alone or by both parents at the same time. If you are still attending school or are in training, the child's grandparents can also apply for parental leave.
Application
If you want to take parental leave immediately after the birth of your child or after the end of the maternity protection period, you must inform your employer in writing at least seven weeks before the planned start date (i.e. one week or, in the case of multiple births, five weeks after the birth). If you do not wish to take parental leave until a later date, you must inform your employer in writing at least 13 weeks in advance.
At the same time, you are obliged to inform your employer how long your parental leave is to last. If you wish to make use of the option to alternate parental leave with the other parent (a total of four periods are possible), inform your employer of the periods of parental leave you wish to take within the first 12 months of your child's life. If you would like to transfer the remaining 24 months to a period between the child's third and eighth birthday, let them know in good time. The application for these periods of parental leave must be submitted at least 13 weeks before the desired start date.
The application deadline can only be shortened in exceptional cases for urgent reasons. A subsequent extension or shortening of parental leave requires the consent of the employer.
Part-time employment
During parental leave, both parents can work part-time for up to 32 hours per week. If you wish to work part-time for another employer or on a self-employed basis during parental leave, your employer must agree to this.
However, he/she can only refuse consent in writing within four weeks if there are demonstrably urgent operational reasons. If you wish to work part-time for your employer, you must apply in writing at least eight weeks in advance, stating the weekly working hours you wish to work and the duration of the part-time employment. The employee and employer should agree on the actual structure of the part-time employment within four weeks of submitting the application.
If an agreement cannot be reached, you have the right to request a reduction in working hours twice during your parental leave. The prerequisite is that your employer generally employs more than 15 people (excluding trainees), that your employment relationship has existed for more than six months without interruption and that there are no urgent operational reasons to prevent a reduction in working hours. The reduction in working hours should then apply for at least two months and be between 15 and 32 hours per week. You must notify your employer in writing of your entitlement seven weeks before the start of the reduced working hours. You can take legal action against a rejection of your application (only possible with written justification within four weeks of receipt of the application) before the labor court.
Your employment contract does not have to be amended due to part-time employment. If you are presented with a contract amendment regarding weekly working hours, make sure that the amendment is limited in time, for example "for the duration of parental leave".
Vacation entitlement
You only acquire leave entitlements during parental leave if you are employed part-time during this time. Leave entitlements from the period before the start of parental leave do not expire. The employer must grant you this remaining leave at the end of your parental leave in the current or following leave year. If the leave can no longer be taken because the employment relationship ends during or after parental leave, the employer must compensate the remaining leave financially.
Protection against dismissal
You are protected against dismissal during parental leave. As an employee, you can terminate your employment relationship by giving three months' notice to the end of your parental leave or by giving the notice period specified in your employment contract during your parental leave.
When a fixed-term employment contract ends
If a fixed-term employment relationship ends before the end of parental leave, inform the Employment Agency in good time whether you are employable again or wish to continue your parental leave.
If you want to continue your parental leave and you are not available to work at least 15 hours per week, you are not entitled to benefits from the Employment Agency.
Health insurance
During parental leave, you continue to be insured free of charge in the statutory health insurance scheme if you are a compulsory member and there is no obligation to pay contributions for other reasons (e.g. due to part-time employment or compulsory insurance for enrolled students). Privately or voluntarily insured persons must pay health insurance contributions. In no case, however, is the child-raising allowance included in the calculation of the amount of contributions to be paid.
Resumption of gainful employment
After the end of your parental leave, you are entitled to a job that corresponds to your employment contract; this also applies to pay and the duration of your weekly working hours. You may not be placed in a less favorable position than before the start of your parental leave. However, you are not entitled to your old job.
More details
For more detailed regulations, please refer to the legal text. The brochure "Parental allowance and parental leave" is available from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, by e-mail at: publikationenbundesregierungde or as a download from the Ministry's website: www.bmfsfj.de. (opens in a new tab)
You can find additional information on the municipal homepage here: Parental allowance and parental leave (opens in a new tab)
Illness of the child
If your child is ill, you are entitled to time off work. However, there are differences depending on the employment and insurance relationship.
Regulations for people with statutory health insurance
If you are a member of the statutory health insurance scheme, you are entitled to time off work if your child is ill and no other carer is available (§ 45 SGB V). The prerequisite is that your child has not yet reached the age of 12. If you live with a partner, each parent can look after their sick child themselves for up to ten working days, or up to a maximum of 25 working days in total if there are several children. If you are a single parent, you are entitled to 20 working days per child or a maximum of 50 working days if you have several children. You will receive child sickness benefit from your health insurance fund for the period of leave.
Regulations for privately insured children
If the child is privately insured, you can also take time off work. However, you will not receive child sickness benefit. However, you are entitled to up to 4 days paid special leave. Ask your works or staff council, your HR department or your trade union.
Regulations for civil servants
The provisions of Section 45 SGB V do not apply to civil servants. In federal civil service law, they are referred to Section 12 (3) of the Special Leave Ordinance (leave for personal reasons), and similar regulations exist in the federal states.
According to this, they can claim up to four days of special leave with continued payment of salary. Beyond this, special leave "may" be granted. However, it is at the discretion of the superior whether special leave is granted. Some employers expressly refer to the provisions of § 45 SGB V for their civil servants whose salaries are below the contribution assessment ceiling for statutory health insurance. Please contact your personnel department for more information.
Help in the household when you are ill
If a caring parent is affected by one of the following three situations, there is often no one in the household who can continue to run the household and look after the children.
If this is the case for you, you can apply to your health insurance fund to cover the costs of a home help if at least one child under the age of 12 or a disabled child lives in your household.
The entitlement also exists if a hospital stay can be avoided through the work of the home help, for example in the case of a home birth.
The three situations are
- A child under the age of twelve or a disabled child who needs help must be cared for at home if the person responsible for the household is not there because they are being treated in hospital, for example, or are taking part in a medically prescribed cure or rehabilitation measure.
- The supervisor's health is severely impaired due to serious illness or aggravation of an illness - in particular after inpatient or outpatient hospital treatment or outpatient surgery. Please note: the insured person is not in need of care with degree 2 to 5.
- A pregnant woman needs help due to discomfort because she has to lie down a lot or is not allowed to lift. However, the cause of the complaints must be the pregnancy itself. In some cases, the health insurance fund also pays for household support after the birth - for example, in the event of problems following a caesarean section.
Spa stays for mothers and fathers with and without children
If the health insurance company itself cannot provide domestic help, you will be reimbursed for the costs of a replacement you hire in an appropriate amount (if possible, find out in advance how much your health insurance company will cover). Domestic help or family carers are provided by social services and welfare organizations. There is no reimbursement for relatives and relatives by marriage up to the second degree. In this case, however, travel costs and a reasonable loss of earnings may be covered.
If, in your case, this assistance is not or not sufficiently granted during a stay in hospital, contact your social welfare and housing office, which will also cover the necessary costs under certain conditions (you should also find out about this in advance).
You can apply for a cure as a preventative measure or to restore your health. The Müttergenesungswerk offers special mother/father cures and mother/child and father/child cures. As a rule, children between the ages of 3 and 12 can take part in mother/child or father/child cures. There are a few facilities that also accept younger children or children with special needs, regardless of age.
Father/child cures and father cures are carried out according to a separate concept. You can find detailed information on this and a search option for advice centers in your area on the Internet at: www.muettergenesungswerk.de. (opens in a new tab)
The advice centers will help you find the right place for a cure, secure funding and clarify any questions you may have about the cure. The prerequisite for taking a maternity cure or a mother or father/child cure is a medical certificate.
If your health requires it, you can take a cure every four years. Sometimes the health insurance company or the Office for Social Affairs and Housing requires an additional examination by the public health officer or medical officer.