Paternity leave in 2023

From 1 November 2022, paternity leave is a statutory entitlement that allows the father of a child in Slovakia to be on maternity leave with the child for 2 weeks. In this article, we will go through the details of paternity leave and the procedure on how you can get it.

What is paternal?

Paternity allowance is a new type of maternity allowance, which is granted to a father to care for his child for a maximum of 2 weeks in the six-week period after the child’s birth. It is an entitlement for fathers to ‘time off’ to spend with their newborn child.

How long is paternity leave?

The duration of paternity leave is 14 calendar days (10 working days). If both parents are employed, one parent may take maternity leave and the other paternity leave. Fathers may take paternity leave within 6 weeks of the birth of the child.

Who is entitled to paternity leave?

The child’s father is entitled to paternity rights if he is:

• employee
• a self-employed person (self-employed) who is compulsorily insured for sickness
• voluntarily insured person with sickness insurance (DNPO)
• a natural person who has become entitled to paternity pay after the cessation of sickness insurance during the protection period

Protection period

A period of protection is a period of time during which certain legal acts or legal acts cannot be challenged or revoked. This period protects the rights and interests of the parties who have performed the act or acts in question and allows them to make decisions with greater certainty and without fear that their decisions will be challenged at a later date.

In the context of maternity leave, the protection period refers to the mother’s right to maternity pay and her right to return to work after maternity leave. The maternity protection period provides the mother with the certainty that she will not be dismissed from her job due to pregnancy or maternity leave and that she will be entitled to her full salary and other employment benefits when she returns to work.

Conditions for paternity

Not only employees but also self-employed persons may be entitled to “paternity” pay.

However, the following conditions must be met:

• provide care for the child
• have at least 270 days of sickness insurance in the two years preceding the date from which he applies for paternity pay
• be insured for sickness on the date from which he applies for paternity pay, or be in the protection period after the end of that insurance.

Due to the 270-day sickness insurance requirement, self-employed persons who are neither compulsorily nor voluntarily socially insured are not entitled to the “paternity allowance”.

How to apply for paternity leave?

The child’s father can apply for paternity allowance through the “Application for maternity allowance by another insured person“, which is available on the website of the Social Insurance Institution as of 1 November 2022.

The completed and signed form, certified by the employer (if the child’s father is an employee), is delivered to the relevant branch of the Social Insurance Institution.

If the child’s father applies for an extension of the 6-week support period by the calendar days during which the child was admitted to the inpatient care of a medical institution for medical reasons on the part of the child or his mother (outside the standard postnatal care), if the day of admission falls within the period of six weeks from the date of birth (i.e., the paternity benefit wants to be paid for the above reason even after the expiry of six weeks after the birth), the application must be accompanied by a certificate of the period of the child’s hospitalisation, or a certificate of the period of the child’s admission to the hospital. The application must be accompanied by a certificate of the hospitalisation of the child (e.g. a medical report or a medical certificate).

Paternity leave vs. maternity leave

To simplify, paternity pay is a new form of benefit that the father of a child can receive. It is a social insurance sickness benefit paid to the child’s father by the Social Insurance Institution, but bear in mind that this paternity leave is already maternity leave for the father (if you are entitled to maternity leave).

So the 14 days off is not extra, but it will reduce (by 2 weeks) your “maternity leave”, which is 28 weeks for the father. So if you take paternity leave, the maternity pay for the father will not be 28 weeks, but 26 weeks (when caring for one child up to the age of three).

Maternity leave for fathers lasts a maximum of 28 weeks, 31 weeks for single men and 37 weeks for fathers caring for two or more children (twins, triplets, etc.).

During paternity leave, the child’s mother can continue to receive maternity or parental benefits, so that both parents receive social benefits during the 14 days of paternity leave. However, if the father decides to take maternity benefit, the mother would no longer be able to receive maternity benefit or parental allowance from the Office for Labour, Social Affairs and the Family.

Amount of paternity

The amount of the paternity allowance is 75 % of the daily assessment base (DAB) or the probable daily assessment base (PDVZ) according to Section 53 of the Social Security Act. However, similarly to the “maternity allowance”, the calculated daily assessment base may not exceed 75% of the statutory maximum daily assessment base, which means that:

• in 2022 may not exceed 75% of 74.4987 euros, i.e. j. 55,8741 euros
• in 2023 may not exceed 75% of 79.6274 euros, i.e. j. 59,7206 euros.

Thus, in 2023, the father of a child can receive a maximum of €836.10 during 14 days of paternity leave.

Psychological and social benefits of paternity leave

Paternity leave has many social benefits for both father and child.

Here are a few of them:

• Fathers can spend time with their child and help mothers in caring for him.
• This helps to strengthen the bond between father and child.
• Fathers can gain valuable experience in caring for a baby and understand what all goes into caring for a newborn baby.
• The father’s work-life balance is improving.

Conclusion

The new Act on the Family and on Amendments to Certain Acts introduces changes in the area of paternity leave and maternity allowance. From 1. November 2022, the duration of paternity leave will be extended to 14 days and the amount of income paid to the father will be increased. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that this is not an “extra benefit” but a maternity benefit for the father (if he is entitled to it) and the father’s maternity leave will be reduced by 2 weeks.