Paternity pay – how to apply and how much is it?

Quick overview

Paternity pay is not an “employer’s bonus” but a sickness insurance benefit. It is taken for 14 consecutive calendar days, usually within 6 weeks of the child’s birth; this period may be extended by days of hospitalisation of the child or the mother falling within the first 6 weeks after the birth. The employee applies through the employer, the self-employed person directly to the Social Security Administration. For employees, there is no requirement to have been insured for three months; this applies only to self-employed workers. The amount of the benefit is 70 % of the reduced daily assessment base.

What is paternity allowance and who is entitled to it

It is useful to distinguish between two things. Paternity benefit is a benefit under Act No 187/2006 Coll., on sickness insurance. Paternity leave is, on the other hand, a leave of absence granted by the employer to the employee while receiving this benefit. So legally they are not the same thing, although in common parlance they are often confused.

An insured person is entitled to:

• cares for a child of whom he is the father,
• has taken custody of the child in substitution for parental care, if the child is under 7 years of age at the time of taking over,
• is the father of a child who is stillborn,
• is the father of a child who has died within 6 weeks of the date of birth.

In practice, the most common mistake is that people confuse paternity leave with parental leave or assume that it is “14 working days”. It is not. Paternity leave lasts 14 calendar days, so weekends and public holidays count.

When you can start paternity leave

The period of paternity leave is 2 weeks and starts on the date you choose to start paternity leave. As a standard, you must start within 6 weeks of the birth of the child or when you take custody of the child. It cannot be taken in instalments.

In the case of a newborn child, the start date is extended by the calendar days that the child is hospitalised for medical reasons on the child’s or mother’s side, if these days fall within the first 6 weeks after birth. If the hospitalisation extends to the end of the sixth week, the child may be admitted after discharge from hospitalisation, but not later than one year of age.

Paternity pay is payable only once and to only one beneficiary in the same case of care of the child. The same applies if twins or more than one child are born at the same time – for the purposes of paternity, such care is treated as care for one child.

How to apply for paternity leave

For an employee, the application is made through the employer. In the case of self-employed persons, it is applied directly to the district social security administration with which the applicant is registered. This is the basic and still valid procedure today.

As a practical matter, there are three things to look out for:

1. the correct starting date,
2. proof of the child’s details,
3. in the case of self-employed persons, compliance with the sickness insurance condition.

If you apply as the father after the birth of the child, you must be listed as the father on the birth certificate. When taking custody of the child, the decision of the competent authority to take custody of the child must be documented.

What conditions apply to employees and self-employed persons

For an employee, it is crucial that he or she is covered by sickness insurance at the time of entry. Older articles often incorrectly state that the employee must also be insured at least 3 months in advance. However, this is only required by law for self-employed workers.

For the self-employed, the requirement is to have been covered by sickness insurance for at least 3 months immediately prior to the start of paternity leave. In 2026, sickness insurance for self-employed persons is voluntary and the minimum monthly premium is CZK 243.

In practice, the self-employed start paying sickness insurance only after the birth of the child. This is usually too late. For this benefit, you really need to think ahead and have the participation in the insurance fulfilled before the start.

How much is the paternity allowance in 2026

The amount of the paternity allowance is 70% of the reduced daily assessment base per calendar day. The daily assessment base is normally based on the income for the 12 calendar months preceding the month of entitlement. In the case of self-employed persons, it is based on the monthly bases on which the sickness insurance has actually been paid.

The reduction thresholds for 2026 are:

1. reduction threshold: CZK 1 633
2. reduction threshold: CZK 2 449
3. reduction threshold: CZK 4 897

For paternity pay, the reduction is made by:

• 100% of the first reduction limit is included,
• 60 % of the amount between the first and second reduction thresholds,
• 30 % of the amount between the second and third thresholds,
• the amount above the third threshold is no longer taken into account.

To give you an idea: if your daily assessment base, for example, comes to CZK 1 480 because it falls within the first reduction threshold, the whole amount will be taken into account. The daily paternity allowance will then be approximately CZK 1,036 and the daily allowance for 14 days will be approximately CZK 14,500. This is an indicative model example; the exact amount will always be determined by a specific calculation based on your income and any excluded periods. The calculation is based on the CSSA rules for determining the daily assessment base and the amount of the benefit.

What to watch out for in practice

The three most common mistakes are.

The first is late arrival. Although the father has some discretion as to exactly when he starts, he still has to meet the legal deadline. The second mistake is the idea that paternity leave can be split into, say, a week after the birth and a week later. It cannot – it is one continuous block of 14 calendar days. The third mistake is confusion between the benefit and the leave: it is advisable to tell your employer in good time when you will be taking paternity leave and to make a correct claim for the benefit at the same time.

In addition, for self-employed workers, the economics of the whole thing need to be well considered. Although the minimum sickness insurance is low, if you don’t pay it for a long time and only start to deal with it just before the birth, you will not usually qualify.

Summary

Paternity pay is still a 14 calendar day sickness insurance benefit in 2026. It is claimed through your employer, or directly from the Social Security Office if you are self-employed. An employee must be covered by sickness insurance at the time of joining, whereas a self-employed person must have paid sickness insurance at least 3 months in advance. The amount of the benefit is 70% of the reduced daily assessment base and the reduction thresholds of CZK 1,633, CZK 2,449 and CZK 4,897 are used in the calculation in 2026. The most common difficulties in practice arise from poorly chosen start dates, late filing and the misconception that the employee and the self-employed have the same conditions.