Short-time work must absolutely not be factored into the calculation of parental benefits . The Federal Cabinet has passed a corresponding legal provision in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This fulfills a demand made by IG Metall: “This way, we prevent employees from suffering double financial losses—first due to short-time work and later when receiving parental benefits,” emphasizes Second Chair Christiane Benner. The provision is to apply retroactively from March 1, 2020, through the end of the year.
The law introduced by the Federal Cabinet is extremely important, because in the worst-case scenario, employees could otherwise have found themselves on 100 percent short-time work for 12 months, meaning that 12 months of zero income would have been used as the basis for calculating their parental allowance. Short-time work benefits are a social benefit and are not counted as income. Those affected would therefore have received only the minimum parental allowance of 300 euros.
The basis for calculating the amount of parental allowance is the average net earnings from the twelve months prior to the birth. 67 percent of the previous net income is paid during the child’s first year of life, with a minimum of 300 euros and a maximum of 1,800 euros.
IG Metall Works Council Members Lead the Way
IG Metall has successfully pushed for short-time work to be treated as a “deferral circumstance” in the calculation of parental allowance. However, this rule should apply not only during the COVID-19 pandemic but generally, as is provided for, for example, in the Maternity Protection Act. Under that law, months of short-time work are excluded from the calculation of maternity allowance from the outset.
The new legal regulations passed by the Federal Cabinet also stipulate that anyone working in so-called systemically important professions who is currently unable to take parental leave may defer it. The rules regarding the partnership bonus—an additional benefit that mothers and fathers receive when both work part-time to share child-rearing responsibilities—will also be relaxed for these employees if part-time work is currently not feasible.
Vice Chair Christiane Benner emphasizes: “Many IG Metall works councils have stipulated that the basis for parental allowance remains the pre-COVID-19 income or that pregnant women are exempt from short-time work. We are glad that there will now be better legal regulations regarding parental allowance.”
The issue of short-time work also raised financial concerns for Jennifer Richter. The expectant mother therefore turned to IG Metall and the works council, which were able to reassure her. (Photo: private)
Parental Leave Without Financial Worries
First, a lower income due to short-time work—and then, later on, disadvantages when calculating parental allowance: Jennifer Richter, whose child is due in September, also had this fear. At Sennheiser Electronic near Hanover, the 31-year-old works in production, manufacturing handheld transmitters and microphones. The topic of short-time work also sparked financial worries for her. Jennifer Richter therefore turned to IG Metall and the works council. They were able to put her mind at ease. A company agreement at Sennheiser stipulates that expectant mothers and fathers who wish to receive parental allowance must be exempted from short-time work. This works in Jennifer Richter’s favor: “I’m very relieved. Otherwise, my financial losses would have been enormous.”
