In addition to the protection provisions of the Maternity Protection Act, which must be observed during pregnancy and after childbirth, working mothers and fathers have a legal right to parental leave until the child reaches the age of three. Parental leave is the unpaid leave from work after the birth of the child for up to 36 months and offers you the opportunity to provide comprehensive care for your child.
Parental leave can be taken by mothers and fathers alone or together or shared among themselves. Adoptive parents or foster parents may also make use of the parental leave provided by law and thus be exempted from work for up to 36 months.
During parental leave, you can work up to 30 hours a week, but you do not have to. Your job will remain and may not be terminated by the employer. It is important that you live with the child in a household, caring for and educating the child, and do not work more than 30 hours per week during parental leave.
The parental leave can be divided into three periods: At least 12 months must be "consumed" in the first three years of your child, up to 24 months parental leave can be taken between the 3rd and 8th birthday of the child. The maternity leave of 8 weeks after birth is taken into account for parental leave.
If you would like to take parental leave, you must register it with your employer. The application for parental leave must be submitted to your employer no later than seven weeks before parental leave begins. This must always be in writing and your own signature is required. Thus, it is not enough if you bring the registration of your parental leave by mail, fax or even verbally. After parental leave, your employer usually has to offer you an equivalent job.
Further information on parental leave can be found at www.elternzeit.de, www.familien-wegweiser.de or at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth at www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/themen/familie/familienleistungen/elternzeit/die-elternzeit/73832.
The possibilities of financial support during the care of your child are explained in the chapter Family Support.