Maternity Leave Calculator

What Is Maternity Leave?

Maternity leave, or by its legal name the prohibition on working in the case of maternity, is a paid right to rest granted to a female employee so that she can physically recover in the final period of her pregnancy and after the birth and can care for her baby. This right is regulated for private-sector employees in Article 74 of Labour Law No. 4857 and for civil servants in Article 104 of the Civil Servants Law No. 657. During the leave, the employee is not paid a salary by the employer; instead, if the insurance conditions are met, a temporary incapacity allowance (together with the maternity allowance / nursing allowance) is paid by the Social Security Institution (SGK).

The basic aim of maternity leave is to protect the health of both the mother and the child. For this reason, a significant part of the leave is in the nature of an absolute prohibition on working that cannot be waived even with the woman's own consent. In other words, the employer cannot make a female employee work within a certain period after the birth; if it does so, it faces administrative sanctions.

How Many Weeks Is Maternity Leave and How Is It Divided?

The law divides maternity leave into two, before and after the birth. For a single baby the basic periods are as follows:

• 8 weeks before the birth (56 days): The female employee cannot be made to work during the eight weeks before the expected date of birth.
• 8 weeks after the birth (56 days): The prohibition on working also continues for the eight weeks following the birth.
• Thus the total leave period is, as a rule, 16 weeks (112 days).

In the case of a multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets, etc.), two more weeks are added to the eight-week pre-birth period and the pre-birth leave increases to 10 weeks; the total period becomes 18 weeks. If a premature birth occurs, that is, if the baby is born before the expected date, the days that could not be used before the birth are added to the post-birth periods, so that the mother's total entitlement of 16 (or 18 in a multiple pregnancy) weeks is preserved.

Postponing Pre-Birth Leave and Carrying It Over

The law also allows flexibility: a female employee whose health condition is suitable and who has a doctor's approval may, if she wishes, continue working until the last three weeks of the eight-week period before the birth. In that case the periods worked are added to the post-birth leave. For example, a mother who uses only 3 weeks of leave before the birth may, by carrying over the 5 weeks she worked to the post-birth period, remain on leave for 13 weeks (8 + 5) after the birth.

What Is Nursing Leave?

A female employee who returns to work after the end of maternity leave is granted 1.5 hours (90 minutes in total) of nursing leave per day until the child reaches the age of one. This leave is paid and is counted as part of working time; that is, no deduction may be made from the employee's wage. As a rule, the employee herself determines at which hours and into how many parts the nursing leave will be used. In many practices this 1.5-hour period is used by adding it to the beginning or end of the working day, so that the employee finishes her day earlier.

Post-Birth Unpaid Leave and Part-Time Work

After the end of the 16- (or 18-) week paid maternity leave, additional rights are granted to the mother:

• Right to work half-time: If the employee requests it, from the end of maternity leave she may, for a certain period, use unpaid leave amounting to half of the weekly working time for the care of the child. This period is 60 days for the first birth, 120 days for the second birth and 180 days for the third and subsequent births. In the case of a multiple birth, thirty days are added to these periods.
• Unpaid leave of up to six months: The mother (or the father who meets the conditions) may, upon request, ask for unpaid leave of up to six months after the paid maternity leave ends. During this period no wage or SGK premium is paid; the period is not taken into account in the calculation of annual leave.
• Part-time work: One of the parents may, under certain conditions, request to switch to part-time work until the child reaches the age of compulsory primary education.

A Short Example Scenario

Consider an employee whose expected date of birth is 1 September, who is expecting a single baby and whose health condition is suitable. Pre-birth leave, as a rule, begins 8 weeks before the birth, that is, around 7 July. If the employee, with a doctor's approval, chooses to work until the last three weeks, she starts her leave around 11 August, uses the roughly 3 weeks until the birth, and by carrying over the roughly 5 weeks she worked to the post-birth period, remains on leave for a total of 13 weeks after the birth. When she returns to work, she also becomes entitled to use 1.5 hours of nursing leave each day until the child reaches the age of one. (This example is only to illustrate the method; the actual dates vary according to the day the birth actually takes place.)

Points to Pay Attention To

• Job security: Pregnancy and maternity leave are not, on their own, a valid ground for termination. A termination made by the employer during this period citing only pregnancy or maternity leave as its reason is considered unlawful.
• Conditions for the SGK allowance: To become entitled to the temporary incapacity allowance paid instead of a salary during maternity leave, the minimum number of premium days (generally 90 days in the last year) must have been completed in a certain period before the birth.
• Nature of the prohibition on working: A significant part of the post-birth period is an absolute prohibition on working; even if the mother says "I want to work," the employer cannot make her work during this period.
• Adoption: Rights similar to maternity leave are also granted to one of the spouses adopting, or to the person adopting, a child under the age of three.

Commonly Made Mistakes

• Counting the leave as something other than 16 weeks: In a single pregnancy it is frequently confused that the period is 8 + 8 = 16 weeks; in a multiple pregnancy it is overlooked that the extra +2 weeks are added to the pre-birth period rather than to the post-birth one.
• Suffering a loss of rights in a premature birth: Because it is not known that, when the baby is born prematurely, the days that could not be used before the birth are added to the post-birth period, the mother may use less leave than the total to which she is entitled.
• Thinking nursing leave is deducted from the wage: Nursing leave is a paid right counted as part of working time; deducting wages for this period is a mistake.
• Thinking the unpaid leave is paid: It is often overlooked that the six-month leave requested after the 16 weeks is unpaid and that no SGK premium is paid during this period.

Conclusion

Maternity leave is a right that protects the health of both the female employee and her child, is as a rule a paid 16 weeks and a significant part of which cannot be waived. In addition to this, there are complementary rights such as nursing leave, half-time work and unpaid leave of up to six months. The tool and explanations above allow you to foresee approximately your leave periods based on your expected date of birth. However, since a multiple pregnancy, a premature birth, the SGK premium-day conditions and the practices specific to your institution may change the concrete situation, the healthiest way to avoid a loss of rights is to seek support from a labour law attorney.