Duration of entitlement

Pursuant to Article 15 para. 2 sentence 1 BEEG the parental leave can be taken until the child reaches the age of three, i.e. until the third birthday of the child. Therefor the employers consent ist not required. It is possible, though, to carry forward up to twelve months proportionally to the period until the child reaches the age of eight (Article 15 para. 2 sentence 4 BEEG). This distribution of the parental leave must be coordinated with the employer. Note: a new employer is not bound by the approval which a former employer might have given concerning the carry over of the parental leave! An early termination or extension of the parental leave is only possible with the consent of the employer (Article 16 para. 3 sentence 1 BEEG).

In case of multiple births or if births follow close after one another, the parents are entitled to three years parental leave for every child and it is then also possible to carry forward up to twelve months per child.  

The parental leave can be taken completely by one parent alone or it can be divided among both parents in any way they want to and it does not depend on the benefit duration (Article 15 para. 3 BEEG). The parental leave is calculated for each parent separately, i.e. the one of the partner is not taken into account for the own period. Therefore each parent is entitled to three years for him- or herself. The parents may also use their parental leaves simultaneously but then they might not expect to also receive welfare payments as they are paid only as a secondary benefit.   

The maternal protection period after birth is offset against the possible total duration of the parental leave of three years (Article 15 para. 2 sentence 2 BEEG). The parental leave of the father can start from the day of the childbirth onwards already during the maternity protection period for the mother.  

Fixed-term employment contracts are not extended by the parental leave.