Paternity leave

Paternity leave is unpaid leave taken by a male employee due to the birth of his child.

Paternity leave is usually also called parental leave.

Both mother and father are entitled to this leave. The leave can last up to 3 years.

Entitlement to paternity leave?

All fathers who are employed, live with the child in the same household and (predominantly) look after and bring up the child themselves are entitled to paternity leave.

This right is completely independent of the employment relationship. This means that it applies to the following employment relationships:

• Part-time
• Fixed-term employment contract
• Marginal employment
• Education
• Retraining
• Working from home
• Professional training

Important to know: If you take paternity leave during an apprenticeship, the duration of the apprenticeship may be extended by the period of paternity leave. This cannot happen with fixed-term contracts.

The financing

As paternity leave is a form of unpaid leave, the employment relationship is suspended during this time and therefore no salary is paid.

Parents receive child benefit when a child is born. The amount of child benefit is as follows:

• 1. & 2nd child monthly € 219 each
• from the 3rd child € 225 per month
• from the 4th child € 250 per month

Parents can also apply for parental allowance or parental allowance plus. This gives them the opportunity to receive 65 to 100 percent of their previous net income.

Employees on parental leave can also work part-time for their previous employer for up to 30 hours a week. This is therefore another possible source of income.

Applying for paternity leave

You must apply for paternity leave in writing to your employer at least 7 weeks before the start of your leave. If, for example, the leave is to begin directly after the maternity protection period, you must register it no later than one week after the birth.

It is important that you sign the application in person and have the parental leave confirmed in writing. According to a ruling by the Federal Labor Court, an application by e-mail or fax is not permitted.

Incidentally, the boss must approve the leave, provided it was requested in good time and formally correctly.

You also have a job guarantee. If you worked full-time before parental leave, you can continue to do so afterwards. However, if you would like to switch to part-time work, you must notify your employer in good time. Please note, however, that the employer is perfectly entitled to transfer you to another department. The motto here is “same job, same pay”.

You also enjoy protection against dismissal during paternity leave.

A little tip at the end: Have an interim reference issued before the start of your parental leave. This can be advantageous if, for example, you get a new boss or don’t want to return to your old job after all, but would rather apply elsewhere.