Maternity allowance

The maternity allowance is a compensation payment for working women during the statutory protection periods before and after childbirth.

Germany

According to Section 24i SGB V , female members of statutory health insurance (not those with family insurance ) receive maternity benefit in the last six weeks before delivery and up to eight weeks, and in the case of premature and multiple births up to twelve weeks after delivery. It does not matter whether you are compulsorily insured or voluntarily insured.

requirements

The pregnant woman must

be a member of statutory health insurance at the start of the protection period and

be insured with entitlement to sick pay ( Section 24i Paragraph 1 Clause 1, 1st alternative SGB V), or

the member is in an employment relationship, but no wages are paid due to the maternity protection periods ( Section 24i, Paragraph 1, Clause 1, 2nd alternative , SGB V). This includes female students, pensioners and voluntarily insured persons who are employed without insurance.

Non-working women do not receive maternity benefit.

power

The statutory health insurance companies currently grant a maximum of € 13 per calendar day. The application for maternity benefit can only be submitted to the health insurance company with a certificate from a doctor or midwife about the expected due date. The certificate must not be issued after the delivery.

Women who have family or private insurance or who receive entitlement certificates from the Federal Employment Agency or the social welfare office, and either

at the beginning of the six-week protection period before the childbirth, had or have an (also marginal) employment relationship (home employment) or changed from a civil servant to an employment relationship during the protection period, or
whose employment relationship was terminated during pregnancy or the protection period after childbirth by the employer with the consent of the competent authority,

receive a reduced maternity allowance (max. 210 €) from the maternity allowance office at the Federal Social Security Office .

In the case of employment as part of a mini job with earnings of up to € 450 per month (corresponding to up to € 13 per calendar day), the employer is also obliged to continue paying wages. Any continued wages paid by the employer will be reimbursed by the responsible mini-job center, but must be properly reported beforehand.

In the case of fixed-term employment relationships that end while the maternity benefit is being paid, the employer's contribution to maternity benefit does not apply at the end of the employment relationship. In these cases, the maternity benefit must be recalculated. Mothers with statutory health insurance will receive maternity allowance from the health insurance company in the amount of the sickness allowance after the end of the fixed-term employment relationship . In this case, private health insurances often do not pay maternity benefits.

The legal regulations can be found in §§ 19 and 20 of the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG) and § 24i SGB V.

Contribution for the maternity benefit

Women who are entitled to maternity benefit also receive a subsidy for maternity benefit from their employer. The employer's allowance, together with the maternity allowance, is intended to compensate for the loss of earnings due to the prohibition of employment. Pregnant women and mothers of newborn babies should be protected from economic disadvantages that would otherwise be associated with the employment bans. The employment bans should not lead to a reduction in earnings, so that there is no financial incentive for the employee to continue work to the disadvantage of her and the child. The legal basis for the grant is § 20 MuSchG.

The grant is paid to women who

are in an employment relationship,

Are entitled to maternity benefit

The allowance is calculated from the difference between 13 euros (maternity allowance) and the average daily wage (net wage) less the statutory deductions. The basis for calculating the average net wage is generally the last three calendar months billed before the start of the maternity protection period. One-off wages, such as Christmas pay and vacation pay , are not taken into account. It is the employer's responsibility to calculate the grant.

The maternity benefit allowance is paid

during the period of protection prior to delivery according to Section 3 (1) MuSchG (= six weeks before the delivery date),

for the day of delivery as well

During the period of protection in accordance with Section 3 (2) MuSchG (= eight weeks, in the case of premature and multiple births twelve weeks after delivery. In addition, the time not taken from the protection period is added if the delivery is before the calculated date.),

a total of at least 14 weeks, for premature and multiple births 18 weeks and one day.

Like the maternity allowance, the employer's allowance is exempt from tax and social security contributions, but is subject to tax progression .

The employers are reimbursed for the costs they have incurred by means of the so-called U2 procedure . Statutory regulations for the protection of female employees, such as the employer's allowance for maternity benefit, must not have a de facto discriminatory effect.

Austria

According to Section 162 of the General Social Insurance Act (ASVG), insured women receive a daily maternity allowance for the last eight weeks before the expected delivery, for the day of delivery and for the first eight weeks after delivery .

Switzerland

The maternity allowance as a service of maternity insurance get those women who have given birth ( maternity ) and who are in an employment relationship, but this because of maternity leave can not exercise. Compensation is mandatory for self-employed people and employees.

After the birth, the mother receives a 14-week continued wage payment equal to 80% of her previous income.

The maternity allowance has been integrated into the income compensation scheme (EO) since mid-2005 . Since inactive mothers are excluded from the benefits, the Swiss maternity allowance is not a general maternity insurance.

history

Since 1945 there has been a constitutional mandate to the federal government to establish a maternity insurance, but there was a lack of political will by this initiative to implement mandate given by the people to the government.

Various protective provisions for mothers and women who have recently given birth already existed, but these are not uniformly regulated:

the labor law stipulates that women who have recently given birth are not allowed to work for 9 weeks after the birth
Since 1989, the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) has provided protection against dismissal for pregnant women and women who have recently given birth for 16 weeks after giving birth
also in the OR, a basic continued payment of wages during a "reasonable period" (which is numbered at least 3 weeks) is named. This continued wage payment is set according to cantonal guidelines, but does not cover the 8-week work ban in all cases. The amount of continued wage payments is not regulated by law and depends on the respective employment contract.

In some collective agreements , relatively generous continued wages are granted in the event of pregnancy. From the third year of service onwards, the Confederation pays its employees four months' maternity leave, and in 14 cantons female employees receive 100% wages for 16 weeks.

In addition to these rules on continued wage payment, which are set out in individual or collective employment contracts, employed Swiss women have the option of taking out private daily allowance insurance with their health insurance company in the event of maternity.

In several cantons, young parents or single parents who have found themselves in a precarious financial situation due to pregnancy and childbirth receive so-called maternity allowances. However, these must be applied for by the needy themselves from the welfare office .

After the popular vote against the last submission of a national maternity insurance on June 13, 1999, some cantons ( canton Geneva , canton Jura ) initiated and implemented their own projects for cantonal maternity insurance.

Triponez initiative

Under political and economic pressure, the four parliamentarians Jacqueline Fehr ( SP ), Thérèse Meyer ( CVP ), Ursula Haller ( SVP ) and the initiator Pierre Triponez ( FDP ) came together and submitted a proposal to the Federal Council and Parliament, which ultimately became the maternity allowance Breakthrough.

The new solution, which provided for financing through the income compensation scheme, should be paid half by employees and half by employers.

This time the council embedded the submission of paid maternity leave in the revision of the income replacement law. For the time being, because of the full income replacement fund, it would not involve either the employees or the employers financially. It was hoped that this would gain greater popular approval.

Again, however, not all mothers could benefit from it, but only those who have paid work and suffer a financial disadvantage because of the birth with a subsequent 8-week employment ban on the part of the legislator. All women who work as housewives and mothers, taking care of the well-being of the family or doing unpaid work, would go away empty-handed. At first glance, this may be seen as unfair, but it was probably the only way to have the sovereign rule on the “Compensation in the event of maternity” as good. Anything else would have failed again because this would have meant another massive increase in employer contributions.

The funding of the time of the work ban is bridged by the EO, which is a well-functioning and financially healthy institution.

The proponents argued with the cost-effective solution because the employer is not unilaterally responsible for the financing of the continued payment of wages. At the same time, the various pseudo maternity allowances that the cantons have made in the meantime will be eliminated. The economy would save $ 136 million. In addition, no funds from taxes are provided and the employees are included in the financing.

The opponents of this bill argued with coercion and disregard for the popular will of 1999. The difficult economic situation does not allow new social benefits. In addition, the constitutional mandate of 1945 has already been fulfilled. Since the new KVG (compulsory health insurance for the entire Swiss population) came into force, the direct costs of motherhood have been covered.

poll

The SVP took a referendum against the change in the law on income compensation and on September 26, 2004 the Federal Council put the new idea to a vote. In the fourth attempt, the loophole in the law should finally be closed.

With a turnout of 53.8%, the Swiss people accepted the maternity allowance just under, with 55.5% yes votes.

Nine cantons and two half-cantons, including the whole of western Switzerland, Ticino, the canton of Bern, the two Basel and the canton of Zurich, voted with a large majority in favor. The other eleven cantons and four half-cantons rejected the law again, the canton of Appenzell I.Rh. even with 73.06%. Since it was a referendum vote, the number of estates did not have to be achieved. Otherwise the submission would have failed again. The then Federal Councilor Ruth Dreifuss also campaigned for paid maternity leave during her term of office, but this initiative only met with voters two years after her resignation.

Come into effect

On July 1, 2005, the new federal law on maternity allowance came into force.

The maternity allowance is financed with 0.50 percent wage percentage by the employee and half by the employer.

United States

The United States is the only developed country that does not guarantee paid maternity leave. As of autumn 2016, mothers are only entitled to twelve weeks of unpaid leave after giving birth; however, some employers offer paid maternity leave.