Shrnutí: As a self-employed person, you are in many ways worse off than employees. This may or may not apply to maternity pay. In some cases, self-employed workers do not get this at all or get a much lower amount. The conditions for parental allowance are then essentially the same as for employees. In this article, we’ll look at both types of benefits in more detail and tell you what rules apply to you if you decide to continue with your business on maternity leave.
If you have been refused benefits by the Social Security Agency or the Labour Office, been awarded a lower amount or are unsure whether you are entitled, use our socio-legal advice.
Maternity allowance and parentalallowance are used to support families with young children. However, they differ in many respects, including in relation to self-employed persons:
| Area | Maternity / PPM | Parental allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Type of benefit | Sickness insurance benefit | State social assistance benefit |
| Who pays | ČSSZ / competent social security administration | Labour Office |
| Is it automatic for self-employed persons? | No, self-employed persons must be voluntarily insured for sickness | Yes, if they meet the childcare conditions |
| Main condition | Sufficiently long participation in sickness insurance | Caring for the youngest child in the family |
| Amount of benefit | Based on the daily assessment base | 350,000 CZK in total, up to 700,000 CZK for multiple children from 2026 |
| Business during the benefit period | The self-employed person must not personally carry out the activity from which the PPM is received | Business can be run if child care is provided |
You can read more about state social assistance benefits and when you are entitled to them in our next article.
Maternity leave is significantly different for self-employed and employed workers. The first condition is the need to be insured with sickness insurance or to be in the so-called protection period (180 days after the termination of insurance). Sickness insurance is paid for by the employee’s employer, but self-employed workers must pay it themselves voluntarily.
Self-employed workers must have paid sickness insurance for at least 180 days in total in the year before they take maternity leave and must also meet the minimum duration of sickness insurance, which is set at 270 days in the two years preceding maternity leave. For the latter period, it does not matter whether the sickness insurance was paid voluntarily while self-employed or by the employer while the self-employed person was employed.
We will assess your case and draft a proposal for legal services to resolve it within 24 hours. If you then decide to entrust its solution in our hands, you have the drafting of the proposal free of charge.
If a self-employed person does not meet the conditions for entitlement to maternity pay but pays her sickness insurance, she may still be entitled to sickness benefits. These are payable six weeks before the due date and six weeks after the birth. However, to get sick pay, you must have signed up for voluntary sickness insurance at least three months before the due date (when you are temporarily unable to work).
If you have been refused maternity pay by the Social Insurance Institution (ČSSZ), have been awarded a lower amount, or are unsure whether you meet the required periods of sickness insurance, we can quickly assess your case. As part of our socio-legal advice, we will check the authority’s decision, payment history and options for further action and suggest how to defend yourself or how to complete your claim correctly.
As a self-employed person, you have to sign up for sickness insurance because it is voluntary. You have to register with the district social security administration under which you fall. The application can also be sent by post, e-mail, data box or processed online via the ePortal of the Social Security Agency. Your sickness insurance will start at the earliest on the day you submit your application.
Advances are calculated according to the assessment base you choose. The premium rate is currently 2.7% of the assessment base. The minimum assessment base is set at CZK 9 000 and the minimum payment for voluntary sickness insurance is CZK 243 per month.
We dealt with the case of a self-employed woman who thought she was paying her sickness insurance because she sent social security to the CSSA every month. In reality, however, these were only advances for pension insurance, while she was not registered for voluntary sickness insurance at all. When the CSSA denied her maternity leave, we checked the decision, the payments and the reference period and checked whether previous employment or the protection period could be used. At the same time, we helped her to prepare documents for further benefits so that she would not lose the support she was entitled to after the birth.
A social security or health insurance debt can arise quickly – just forget one payment or fail to pay the full amount and you’re done for. So how exactly does it work if you’re self-employed and what if your employer doesn’t pay your insurance?
The amount of maternity pay is determined from the daily assessment base. Specifically, it is 70% of the daily assessment base, which is further reduced by three thresholds:
For self-employed persons, the assessment base is determined by how much they have paid in sickness insurance. The more you have paid in sickness insurance, the more maternity pay you will receive.
To calculate maternity allowance, use the maternity allowance calculator, which can be found on the MLSA website.
As a self-employed person, you are entitled to parental allowance in the same way as an employee. However, what you won’t get, unlike an employee, is parental leave. However, your main gainful activity will automatically be converted into a secondary activity , which will reduce your compulsory insurance contributions significantly.
You become entitled to parental allowance after your maternity leave ends or, if you have not been receiving maternity leave, you can start receiving parental allowance immediately after the birth of your child. At the same time, you must meet the requirement of full-time care for the youngest child in the family (up to a maximum age of 3 years).
What are the conditions for parental allowance this year and what changes are planned for the future? This is the focus of our article.
The parental allowance is set uniformly at CZK 350,000 (CZK 525,000 in the case of multiples for children born by 2025 – for children born in 2026 the allowance is CZK 700,000). The parent is then able to schedule the payment of this allowance as he or she sees fit. He or she can receive a higher monthly allowance, but the total amount will be exhausted after two years, for example, or he or she can spread the allowance over a longer period of time, but no longer than until the child reaches the age of 3.
The maximum monthly amount of the parental allowance is based on the daily assessment base determined when calculating the maternity allowance. In general, the maximum amount that can be drawn is 70 % of 30 times the daily assessment base. If you have not received maternity allowance, the monthly amount of parental allowance is capped at CZK 15,000 per month, or CZK 30,000 per month for multiples. You can change the amount of the monthly parental allowance once every three months.
If you start receiving maternity allowance as a self-employed person, you must stop running your own business. However, it is possible for your employees to run the business for you. If you started your maternity leave as an employee, you can start an active business during your maternity leave and nothing prevents you from doing so. The only restriction is if you decide to start a business in the same field as your employee. In this case, you will need your employer’s permission.
Once you move from maternity to parental leave and start receiving parental allowance, you can start your business again. The only change is that your business will switch from your main activity to a secondary activity while you are on maternity leave. This is an advantageous change for you because it will significantly reduce the compulsory contributions to health and social security. The same applies to you if you are just starting out in business on parental leave.
In this case, the health insurance contributions are calculated on your real income and nothing like the mandatory minimum contributions applies to you. You don’t have to pay social insurance at all, but only if your annual profit does not exceed CZK 117,521. If you exceed this threshold, you will be obliged to pay a minimum advance of CZK 1 574 per month.
Maternity leave should allow mothers to rest and recover after giving birth. But sometimes there is no alternative and, for example, the financial situation, a promising career or an agreement with the dad who wants to stay at home with the baby, will make the new mother return to work. We’ve discussed what it’s like to earn extra maternity pay and what you can do to avoid losing your entitlement to maternity pay in our article.
For self-employed workers, the biggest difference between maternity and parental benefits is that maternity benefits, i.e. cash maternity assistance, depend on voluntary sickness insurance. If the self-employed person does not pay it for long enough, he or she will usually not get PPM, even if he or she pays health insurance or pension contributions properly. In 2026, the minimum sickness insurance for self-employed workers is CZK 243 per month, but the minimum payment itself usually means a low basis for calculating the benefit.
Parental allowance is more affordable for self-employed workers. Entitlement is mainly based on caring for the youngest child in the family, not on whether the parent is in business. The basic amount is CZK 350,000 and CZK 700,000 for multiple children born from 2026. A parent can work or run a business while receiving parental allowance, as long as the child is properly cared for.
The biggest practical risks arise from late registration for sickness insurance, incorrectly sent payments, unclear calculation of the benefit or continuing to run a business during PPM. If you are refused benefits by the authorities or are unsure whether you can continue to invoice while receiving benefits, it is advisable to deal with the matter quickly – appeals run out of time and it can be more difficult to rectify errors.
No. A self-employed person is only entitled to PPM if the conditions of sickness insurance are met. Simply paying social security or health insurance is not enough.
The minimum sickness insurance payment for self-employed persons in 2026 is CZK 243 per month.
Not really. For PPM, you need to have 270 days of sickness insurance in the last two years and 180 days of participation in sickness insurance for self-employed workers in the last year before the start of PPM.
If he receives PPM from his self-employment, he must not be self-employed. However, other organisational settings, such as an employee or a deputy, can be addressed.
Yes. Income from your business does not exclude parental allowance in itself. However, it is necessary to ensure proper childcare and to keep up reporting obligations to the Employment Agency.
For one child, the total amount is CZK 350 000. For multiple children born from 1 January 2026, it is CZK 700 000.
Check the reason for the refusal, the time limit for appeal and the completeness of the documents. If it concerns sickness insurance, payments or benefit calculations, it pays to get a quick legal review of the decision.
Have you applied for sickness, maternity, parental allowance or other benefit and instead of the expected support, you received a rejection? Or were you awarded a benefit in a lower amount than is appropriate for your situation?
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 15 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 15 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
We’ll review your case and suggest how to resolve it for CZK 690.
In person and online. Just choose the appropriate service or opt for an independent consultation when you are unsure.
