Beneficiaries and Conditions for Entitlement

The financial benefit for maternity consists of an allowance awarded to workers, irrespective of their gender, who take statutory time off in the event of maternity, adoption or fostering.

This benefit, which covers loss of earnings or income by employed or self-employed persons when their contract is suspended or their activity is interrupted for the reasons stated, is included in the protective action of all social security schemes.

Situations Protected

Situations protected during time off taken because of such situations are considered to be:

• Biological maternity, including births that take place after over 180 days of foetal life, irrespective of whether it is a live or stillbirth.
• Adoption and family fostering, both pre-adoptive and permanent, of:
  • children under six years of age
  • children over six years of age but under 18 who are physically or mentally disabled or who are sight or hearing-impaired, or who because of their personal circumstances and experience or because they are from another country have special difficulties in integrating into social and family life, duly certified by the corresponding social services

For these purposes the adoptive or foster child is understood to suffer from a handicap when a disability to a degree equal to or greater than 33 percent is proven.

Maternity Benefits: Beneficiaries and Requirements

Beneficiaries

Employees, including workers contracted for training and on a part-time basis, irrespective of their gender, who take time off for maternity, adoption or fostering, whether pre-adoptive or permanent.
For the purposes of the special allowance for multiple childbirth, adoption or fostering, or where applicable the financial benefit for maternity, though the former is payable to one of the parents only, determined by the mother in the case of childbirth and by free decision of both in the case of adoption or fostering.

When time off is taken simultaneously or successively by the mother and the father, both will be classed as beneficiaries, provided they independently satisfy the following requirements.

Requirements:

• They are registered, are members or in an equivalent situation
• They have paid 180 days' contributions within the five years immediately preceding the time of the birth or the date of commencement of the time off, if previous, or the dates of the administrative or legal decision on fostering or the court judgment establishing the adoption

In the case of childbirth, if the working mother cannot satisfy this contribution period, the father could receive the allowance for the whole period of time off allowed, less six weeks.

In the case of international adoption when the parents have previously had to visit the adoptive child's country of origin and they take advantage of the suspension period provided for in such cases, which they may start to take up to four weeks before the judgment establishing adoption
the requirements laid down in the preceding paragraphs must be certified on the date of commencement of that period of suspension.

Text last edited on: 06/2005

Source: European Union
© European Communities
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