Understanding Maternity Benefits in Germany: A Quick Guide

Table of Contents

Description

What is it?

Maternity benefit is a financial benefit provided by the statutory health insurance in Germany during the period of maternity leave, which helps to replace any loss of earnings that a mother may experience due to the birth of a child.

Who needs it?

This benefit is ideally targeted to all expectant mothers in Germany who are members of the statutory health insurance and who are facing a decrease in income due to the protections against dismissal which begin to apply from the beginning of pregnancy.

Procedure

  1. Notify your employer about your pregnancy as soon as possible. This activates special protections against dismissal.
  2. You will need to present a certificate of expected confinement from a physician or midwife to your health insurer. The predicted date of birth will be included in the certificate.
  3. Submit the necessary application forms for maternity benefit to your statutory health insurance provider before your maternity leave begins. The forms should be available on your provider’s website or by contacting them directly.
  4. The amount of maternity benefit you are eligible to receive will be calculated by your health insurance provider based on your average net wage in the last three months or twelve weeks before the beginning of the maternity protection period.
  5. After your application has been processed, you will start to receive payments at the start of your maternity leave, which is generally six weeks before the expected date of birth.

Required Documents

  1. Certificate of expected confinement from a physician or midwife.
  2. Application forms for maternity benefit.
  3. Proof of income, such as recent payslips, to determine the benefit amount.

Providers that can do it for you

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Additional Details

In Germany, your job is protected by law from the beginning of the pregnancy until four months after childbirth, which is known as the protection period. During this time, you are entitled to Maternity Protection Leave (usually six weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth) and Parental Allowance (Elterngeld). Additionally, you can also take advantage of Parental Leave (Elternzeit) after your Maternity Protection Leave, which can last until the child’s third birthday.

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