Is paternity leave entitled to paternity leave? Conditions, terms and procedure for registration

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Published: 03/15/2020

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Parental leave in our country is traditionally taken only by women. But if the father would like to devote more time to raising or caring for the child, can he then go on maternity leave on his own initiative? Or is this the exclusive privilege of women? The answer to this question will not be unambiguous and will require taking into account a complex of factors, including clarification of the very concept of “maternity leave”.

• What is maternity leave
• What to consider when booking paternity leave
• Maximum duration
• How to apply
• Advantages and disadvantages of vacation for dads
• Benefit amount
• If the child's father is unemployed or an entrepreneur

Conditions and terms of registration

The father has the legal right to maternity leave equally with the child’s mother. However, a husband can apply for maternity leave only after his wife’s sick leave (maternity leave) has ended. The position of the mother before and during childbirth is regulated by Art. 256 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. General regulation occurs according to the current law No. 255-FZ.

According to current legislation, the father cannot receive rest during childbirth; only the mother can exercise this right. For 2021, certain periods of maternity leave have been established, which must be taken into account when applying for maternity leave:

• 70 days before birth and 70 days after birth, if the birth was normal, no complications were recorded, and the pregnancy was not multiple (140 days in total).
• 70 days before birth and 86 days after birth, childbirth with complications (total 156 days).
• 84 days before birth and 100 days after birth in case of multiple pregnancy (194 days in total).

Can dad go on maternity leave?

After the closure of sick leave for childbirth, the father has the right to apply for maternity leave for a period of 1.5 years, 3 years, or for any other necessary period, which cannot exceed three years. It is also possible to divide the period of leave between the mother and father; the legislation does not regulate the timing of distribution.

If the child’s mother does not have a job, the father is also provided with maternity leave upon written application. This option is possible if the mother does not have enough work experience to receive a payment no lower than that of the father. The basis for the father to receive leave and receive payments is the mother’s written refusal to receive benefits.

Dad childcare – pros and cons, what needs to be considered?

Of course, it will be difficult for dad. In addition to the unusual responsibilities that have fallen on him, there will also be strange views from the outside - few will understand and approve of the situation in which the mother works, and the father is with the child and on the farm. But if everyone in the family is happy, dad is happy with this role, mom is also happy, and most importantly, the baby is not disadvantaged in any way , then why not?

Is it allowed to work?

When taking maternity leave to care for a child, a working father can continue to work, but part-time. Payments for child care remain the same . Part-time work is set at 7 hours and should not exceed this value. In this case, the specifics of the work are taken into account.

The duration of the working day is regulated by Art. 91–94 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the amount of maternity leave payments is added to the maternity employee’s salary.

Does a man receive maternity benefits?

A person who receives maternity leave not only retains his job, but also continues to have uninterrupted work experience. Reduction, dismissal, or transfer of a person on maternity leave is illegal and subject to challenge in court.

The standard payment due until the child reaches one and a half years old is considered to be 40% of the parent’s average salary. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if the father’s average income is lower than the established minimum wage. In this case, the benefit will be set based on the minimum wage level. In addition, when calculating the amount of benefits, factors such as:

• salary for the last 2 years;
• number and size of bonuses;
• other income received.

Federal Law No. 81 establishes that in order to compensate for the needs of a minor, the citizen caring for him is paid by his employer a monthly cash benefit until the child is one and a half years old. It is due to a person who was officially employed and received a certain income for at least the last two years, or who independently paid social contributions for himself.

Benefit calculation algorithm:

1. All earnings are added up (including travel allowances, allowances, vacation pay and compensation for unused vacation, as well as bonuses) for the two years preceding maternity leave. When calculating, sick leave benefits and other payments exempt from contributions to the Social Insurance Fund are not taken into account.
2. The resulting number is compared with the sum of the maximum amounts of the social insurance base for the corresponding years, and the smaller value is taken.
3. The number of days in the billing period is calculated. Time for which there were no social contributions is not taken into account (sick leave, leave to care for other children, suspensions from work duties and absenteeism, as well as vacations taken at one’s own expense are not taken into account).
4. Earnings from the first point are divided by the number of days from the third point and multiplied by a factor of 30.4.
5. The amount received in point four is multiplied by 40% if there is one child, by 80% if there are twins.
6. The amount of benefit received is compared with the minimum allowed. In the case of a family living in separate remote places, the regional coefficient is also used in the calculation (Article 15 of Federal Law No. 81).
7. If the man applying for the payment has worked for less than 6 months or is an independent payer of social contributions, the minimum wage is taken as the basis.

We will talk about the specific benefit amounts further. Subsequently (from one and a half years to the child’s third birthday), the benefit has a fixed amount - 50 rubles. and is paid every month by the employer without deducting social contributions or personal income tax. Its volume can be increased by the employer, but the additional amount is subject to tax.

Only one parent can receive benefits. Applying for maternity leave at a time is only possible for one of the parents.

An employer cannot refuse leave. Such an action is illegal and is contested in court.

List of documents

The standard list of documents for going on maternity leave for a man is not much different from the package of documents for a woman. My husband will need:

• a copy of the child's birth certificate;
• an extract or certificate from the mother’s place of employment, drawn up in free form with a mandatory indication of the fact that the mother was not granted maternity leave;
• application to the employer for leave;
• a copy of the applicant’s general passport;
• a copy of the general passport of the child’s mother;
• a copy of the marriage certificate (if available);
• a copy of the spouse’s sick leave certificate indicating the period of going on maternity leave and leaving it.

As an additional point, if the mother does not work, in order to apply for maternity leave, a document such as a certificate from the social authorities may be needed. defense regarding the lack of payment of child care benefits.

What's next

Now we have a big house. Grandmothers moved in with us and took care of the kids. In addition, my wife’s sister lives with us with three children, the same age as our sons. So we have our own small kindergarten. We don’t want to send our children to either public or private schools.

Together with our relatives, we created our own small kindergarten for our children.

In the future, my wife and I plan to develop our businesses. Let's focus on the sons for now. The most difficult thing with two small children is to perceive the situation adequately. Focus not only on their needs, but also look to the future. We managed to set our priorities correctly.

Experience has shown that breaking gender stereotypes is not scary. Do what is convenient for your family, without fear of public condemnation.

How to apply for my husband?

A prerequisite for receiving payments and providing parental leave is the correct execution of the package of documents. Let's consider a standard algorithm of actions for how a husband can go on maternity leave and receive benefits:

1. The employer is notified of the leave and its amount in advance. This action will not only allow the manager to find a replacement, but will also preserve the relationship with management as a whole. There is no set application form. The application must be submitted in two copies, keeping one copy with a receipt stamp.
2. The father has the right to leave immediately after the end of the mother's maternity leave; accordingly, an application for the child's father to leave is written, as a rule, 7 weeks before the expected maternity leave.
3. An important factor will be the actual transfer of documents to the employer. In order to protect himself from unlawful refusal, a man submits documents in person, against a receipt in one of the copies of receipt, or by registered mail with notification of receipt and a list of attachments. This method will help if it is necessary to file a claim in court or an application to the prosecutor's office.
4. The employer issues an internal order to grant leave. You must carefully read the text of the order, paying special attention to the effective date of the order. You cannot go on vacation until the order enters into legal force. This may result in legal dismissal.
5. Make a request to the human resources department or the body that replaces it for confirmation of being on parental leave.
6. Additional cash benefits can be obtained by writing an application for monetary compensation for annual leave. A person on maternity leave has the right to receive all monetary payments, including payment for compulsory annual rest.

The man must personally handle the preparation and submission of documents to obtain a maternity leave . The mother will be required to obtain certificates from her place of work indicating that she has given up maternity leave and that she has not received any payments.

It is often possible that both the father and mother of the baby do not work, and in this case, documents for payment of benefits are submitted to the social authorities. protection based on the territorial affiliation of the place of registration. In addition, not only the mother and father, but also other close relatives can apply for maternity leave. For example, grandma or grandpa.

Application structure

Upper right corner - indicate the addressee to whom the application is sent . Namely, the last name, first name, patronymic of the employer (the head of the organization with the obligatory indication of the position) or the name of the territorial social body. protection. Next, indicate the applicant’s full personal data (without abbreviations), position, place of registration and residence (if the addresses do not match).

In the middle of the sheet is written the heading: “Application for parental leave and assignment of benefits.”

Below, on the red line, under the heading, a text is written with approximately the following content: “I ask you to provide me with leave to care for a child (child’s personal details), for the period from August 10, 2019 to September 10, 2021 in the amount of 519 days.

I ask you to issue the benefit in cash / transfer the benefit to an account in a credit institution using the attached details / transfer the benefit to the account I use to receive wages (specify as necessary).” “Appendix” is written under the text and all copies and originals of documents that are attached to the application are indicated.

The date of drawing up the application is indicated in the lower left corner , the applicant’s signature is in the center, and the transcript of the signature (last name and initials) is in the lower right corner. At the very bottom of the document or on its reverse side, the person who accepted the document signs and indicates the date of receipt.

One copy remains with the applicant, the second is transferred to the personnel department or the employer.

If a parent works in several places at the same time, he cannot receive several payments. As a rule, a job with the highest salary is chosen. Salary certificates for the last two years can be collected from all employers , but only one person needs to submit an application.

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This is exactly what young dad Alexey Meshcheryakov did not want to do in the most unpleasant moments of his maternity leave. Even “I’ve had enough!” never left his wife. He says that he is lucky to have a child, and with pleasure sings to his daughter either “The King and the Jester” or Arthur Pirozhkov, as well as works of his own composition on the theme “what I see is what I sing.” Masha, who is now 1 year 9 months old, appreciates her father’s akynism.

“I can definitely get the title of Father Singer of the Year.” I sing all the time - it helps distract my daughter from her whims, she begins to dance and sometimes even sing along in her own language,” Alexey Meshcheryakov tells Izvestia. “I never had any thoughts that I couldn’t do this anymore.” This happens more often in women - they are more emotional by nature, and postpartum depression may occur. Of course, there are times when something starts to irritate, this happens to every parent, it’s just that not everyone admits it. My daughter is having an age crisis: she demands everything, and if she is refused, she becomes hysterical. It makes you angry, you try to explain everything in simple language, but the child doesn’t listen and just cries hysterically because they didn’t let him wash his hands with water from the toilet. But she still quickly calms down, comes running to hug, and I instantly forget about the irritation.”

decree

Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgenia Novozhenina

The maternity chronicles began unexpectedly: Alexey left work, and a month later his wife announced that she was pregnant. We thought about it and decided that it would be better for dad to look after the baby: his wife has a good position, a stable income - she didn’t want to leave. Of course, the first time was unusual. Dads, like mothers on maternity leave, also dream of only one thing - to sleep.

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“My wife and I are big fans of sleeping for 12 hours, or even more. And then we had a daughter who woke up every three hours and asked to eat. I tried to get used to this for a long time, but I couldn’t, every time I got up with difficulty,” dad admits. And then a miracle happened: Masha began to sleep 8 hours a night, and then switched to a 12-hour sleep schedule. “You very quickly get used to ordinary children’s chores, although at first everything is wildly scary: feeding, holding the head, changing diapers for a tiny little person, and cutting nails is just some kind of horror!”

Deadlines

Leave to care for a baby can be taken out immediately after the end of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth, until the newborn reaches six months of age, with the possibility of extension up to three years.

Practice shows the following cases of separation of deadlines:

• entirely (for one and a half years or three years);
• sharing any parts of the child with the mother;
• partially, with the possibility of separation with other close relatives.

In case of interruption of maternity leave, a written application is submitted to the employer about the reasons and timing of the interruption, indicating the specific date of return to work. After returning to work, it is possible to receive maternity leave, similar to the initial submission of documents.

A man has the right to receive maternity leave if a woman for some reason cannot raise and care for a child. The main thing is to draw up documents correctly and submit them on time.

Minuses:

• There will be very little free time on maternity leave. A child requires not just attention, but full dedication. There is a risk of remaining on the sidelines of your career.
• Not every man is able to psychologically withstand caring for a baby . And growing irritation will not benefit either the child or the atmosphere in the family.
• During his vacation, dad, of course, cannot “keep up with the times,” and falling out of the professional sphere is a real “prospect . However, she also applies to her mother.
• A dad on maternity leave means serious psychological “pressure” from friends, colleagues, and relatives. After all, dad is a breadwinner, breadwinner and water provider, and not a nanny and cook.