Maternity benefit in general

What is maternity benefit?

In order to ensure financial security during the maternity protection period within the meaning of the§ 3 (1) and (2) MuSchGpregnant workers who have statutory health insurance receive maternity benefit immediately before and after the birth of the child in accordance with§ 19 MuSchGby the respective statutory health insurance company. As a rule, the employer supplements this maternity benefit with a subsidy, which compensates for the lost net remuneration. The goal of this benefit is to guarantee expectant mothers economic security and thus to remove their incentive to pursue gainful employment during the protection period. 

More information about the theme maternity protection and work prohibition during pregnancy can be found in ourArticles on the theme.

Entitlement to maternity benefit

As a rule, the following women are entitled to maternity benefit if they are insured in statutory health insurance with entitlement to sickness benefit at the beginning of the protection period. These include: 

• Employees who are in an employment relationship at the beginning of the maternity protection period
• Women working from home
• Employees whose employment relationship was permissibly terminated during pregnancy, provided that they were a member of a statutory health insurance fund on the last day of work. 

Maternity benefit is paid as a replacement benefit during the protection period within the meaning of the§ 3 MuSchG granted. The prerequisite is generally membership in the statutory health insurance with entitlement to sick pay. If this entitlement is missing, an entitlement can still arise if no remuneration is paid due to the maternity protection period. The entitlement to maternity benefit is suspended as long as remuneration or holiday allowance is received, unless it is a one-off remuneration. 

For the entitlement, neither a minimum duration of the employment relationship is fulfilled, nor is it assumed that remuneration has already been paid before the start of the protection period. However, there is no entitlement if the employment relationship is suspended due to parental leave at the beginning and during the protection period. 

Maternity benefit in the event of a renewed protection period during parental leave

If a new protection period begins during an ongoing parental leave and membership in the statutory health insurance continues during parental leave, maternity benefit can be claimed again as long as the employment relationship continues to exist. The employee may terminate an already registered parental leave in order to take advantage of the maternity protection period prematurely and without the employer's favorability. 

Women who have health insurance exclusively on the basis of parental allowance, on the other hand, are not entitled to maternity benefit, since the insurance § 192.1 no. 2 SGB V does not include a claim to sickness benefit. 

Maternity benefit after a miscarriage

The Maternity Protection Adjustment Act (BGBI. 2025 I No. 59) of 1 June 025, there is also a staggered maternity protection after a miscarriage, but 13. week of pregnancy in connection with the entitlement to maternity benefit. Depending on the week of pregnancy, different deadlines apply for the duration of entitlement: 

• 13th to 16th Week of pregnancy: 2 weeks
• 17th to 19th Week of pregnancy: 6 weeks
• from the 20. Week of pregnancy: 8 weeks

This regulation is intended to take into account the physical and mental stress associated with a miscarriage and to create space for recovery. During maternity leave, the employee can voluntarily make her work available, but revoke this declaration at any time. 

Maternity benefit from federal funds

Women who do not have statutory health insurance receive the maternity benefit after§ 19 (2) MuSchG from federal funds. This applies not only to privately insured women, but also, for example, to marginally employed women who are covered by family insurance despite having an employment relationship. This maternity benefit is limited to €210.00 and is paid by the Federal Social Security Office (BAS) on application. In these cases, the employer is also obliged to pay an employer subsidy and can be reimbursed for the corresponding expenses under certain conditions.

Duration and amount of maternity benefit 

Duration of maternity benefit

Maternity benefit is usually paid for the protection period six weeks before the calculated date of birth, the day of the birth itself and eight weeks after the actual date of birth. If it is a multiple birth or premature birth or if a disability of the child is detected shortly after the birth, the period of entitlement is extended to twelve weeks after the birth. The following apply to premature births separate deadlines. 

Amount of maternity benefit 

The amount of maternity benefit per calendar day is based on the average net earnings per calendar day of the last three months before the start of the protection period. The data required for this is transmitted to the employee's responsible health insurance fund by means of the EEL procedure. A maximum amount of € 13.00 per calendar day applies in accordance with § 24i (2) SGB V. If the average salary of an employee is less than €390.00, the maternity benefit is only paid up to this amount.

Please note:
Although the maternity benefit is tax-free when paid, it is subject to the progression reservation according to Section 32b (1) of the Income Tax Act. This may lead to an additional payment in connection with the employee's personal tax return. 

Time of EEL contribution statement

The EEL contribution statement (contribution statement 03) for maternity benefit is created in Personio immediately after the absence has been entered and can be accessed atPayroll accountingin the tab Reportingvisible. 

More information can be found in our Articles on the theme.

EEL contribution statement 03 for maternity benefit create 

Review prerequisites

In order to create an EEL contribution statement for the child's illness, the following requirements must be met:

• Type of health insurance = Legal
• Consideration in payroll accounting = Yes
• Gender = female or diverse

If necessary, also check the history and make any necessary adjustments.

Record absences

To record the time off for maternity protection, proceed as follows:

1. Go to the tab Absencein the employee's employee profile.
2. Select the appropriate Absence type.
3. Record the time off withStart and end dates.
4. Answer the questions at Additional information
5. Save the time off with Send inquiryand skip the approval if necessary.

Special case: less than three months fully settled

If three months have not yet been fully billed in Personio, for example due to a change of software provider or because the employee has not yet been continuously employed for three months, some additional points must be considered when creating the time off.

Please read our Articleto this theme.

Complete and send EEL notification 

In the last step, you need to fill in, review and send the EEL notification. This involves the following steps:

1. Open the pane Payroll accounting > reporting.

2. Search for the appropriate employee and clickApply for EEL certificate. 

   Tip: You can use the filter function to view the EEL certificates with the category Certificate of income . 

3. Check the automatically created template for the EEL notification. We explain what you need to pay attention to in the corresponding section below. 
4. Click Submit a requestto send the EEL contribution statement to the relevant social security institution. 

You can also submit the EEL contribution statementDecline, for example, if you have had a provider change to Personio Payroll and the EEL contribution statement has already been created by the advance calculator. 

If you have accidentally rejected the EEL contribution statement, you can create it again by employee profile clear and recreating the time off. 

You can find more information about the handling of EEL in Personio in ourRelated articles. 

How to check the EEL form 

General information about the employee and organization

First, check the information provided by the employee and the organization. Note that incorrect information cannot be adjusted directly in the form. To correct employee data, adjust the appropriate Attributes in the employee profile . You can edit the company master data in the settings.

Maternity protection data

Check the information under Maternity protection data. Note that some of the information has already been taken from the payroll data and the relevant time off. 

If necessary, fill in missing information or correct incorrectly stored data. 

Last three remunerations in the case of resignation

In the final step, check the last three remunerations of the resignation. If necessary, fill in missing information or correct incorrectly stored data. 

Please note:
These subsequent checks and the filling of the fields are only to be carried out if the employee's employment relationship has been terminated

FAQ

Who pays the maternity benefit?

Depending on the type of health insurance, this is provided by different bodies:

• Statutory health insurance (with entitlement to sick pay): The maternity benefit of a maximum of € 13.00 per calendar day is paid by the responsible statutory health insurance fund. In addition, the employer usually provides a subsidy so that the net remuneration is balanced in total during the protection period.
• Not covered by statutory health insurance (e.g. privately insured or family insured despite mini-job): The maternity benefit of € 210.00 is financed by the BAS from federal funds. In these cases, too, the employer is generally obliged to pay an employer subsidy.

When does the protection period begin and end?

As a rule, the following applies:

• 6 weeks before the expected date of delivery,
• On Date of birth even up to
• 8 weeks after birth.

In special cases (e.g. premature or multiple births or in certain medical constellations), the deadline may change.

The actual date of birth differs from the calculated one. What do I have to do?

If the actual date of birth differs from the calculated date, please check the stored time off and adjust it accordingly. Please note: The protection period of eight weeks after the birth is mandatory. During this time period, the employee is not allowed to work; a shortening is usually not possible.

Many health insurance companies provide suitable calculators for calculating the protection periods, e.g. the Techniker Krankenkasse.

How long do employers have to pay the maternity allowance subsidy?

The entitlement to the subsidy exists for the same time period for which the maternity benefit is granted: i.e. usually for six weeks before the birth and for eight weeks after the birth.

Is there an entitlement to a maternity benefit subsidy if you become pregnant again during parental leave?

Yes. If an employee becomes pregnant again during parental leave, she can end the parental leave prematurely in order to take advantage of the maternity protection periods. At the end of the parental leave, there is then (again) an entitlement to the employer's contribution to the maternity benefit according to § 14 MuSchG. The subsidy is paid for the protection periods before and after childbirth as well as for the day of delivery.

The following applies to the application in Personio: End the parental leave and create a new time off maternity protection. 

Why don't I see the EEL contribution statement in the reporting system?

First, check the following step by step: 

1. Make sure that the employee is generally entitled to maternity benefit. 
2. Check whether the correct type of absences has been recorded and whether the periods are correct. 
3. Make sure you haven't accidentally rejected the EEL. 

If the EEL contribution statement is still not displayed, please contact our Payroll Support as the payroll manager. They will support you in finding a solution. 

I accidentally rejected the EEL. What now? 

In the event that an EEL has been rejected by mistake, you will need to time off remove and re-enter theEmployee profile > time off .