Shrnutí: Expecting a baby and not sure if you meet the criteria for maternity leave? You will be entitled to maternity pay if you have been on sickness insurance for at least 270 days in the last 2 years – even if you change jobs or are in the protection period after your job ends. This article explains the conditions for employees and self-employed workers, when you can start maternity leave and what to look out for.
You are entitled to maternity pay if you meet the following conditions:
Maternity pay usually lasts 28 weeks and the amount is based on income.
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Entitlement to maternity pay is regulated by the Sickness Insurance Act. The mother of the future child is primarily entitled to maternity leave. It is a benefit that is linked to the high stage of pregnancy and childbirth and the period afterwards.
Until the end of the six-week period after the birth of the child, only the mother who gave birth to the child is really entitled to maternity leave. After the end of the six-week period, the child’s father or the mother’s husband can also apply. Parents of adopted children are also entitled to maternity leave . In this case, either parent can apply.
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Maternity leave is one of the sickness insurance benefits. To qualify for it, you must prove that you have been covered by sickness insurance for at least 270 days in the past two years. However, this can be met by different employers. If you were employed under a traditional employment relationship, your employer pays the sickness insurance for you and you do not have to do anything else. The amount of maternity pay is not uniform and depends on the amount of wages.
Not sure whether all your employment or part-time work counts? We’ll check quickly and tell you if you’re eligible. In practice, we often deal with cases where clients only count their last job and forget about previous jobs or agreements. Counting these can be the difference between a claim and a job.
If you would like to start maternity leave after your insurance ends, you will not lose your benefit. The basic protection period of 180 calendar days from the date of cessation of insurance (leaving employment) will apply. If your insurance lasted for a shorter period, the protection period will be equally short (e.g. if your insurance lasted 3 months, the protection period will also be 3 months).
Maternity leave starts 6 to 8 weeks before the planned date of childbirth. The date of commencement can be determined by the mother herself at any time between eight and six weeks before the birth. If she does not set a date, her maternity leave starts at least six weeks before the expected date of delivery.
Should the child be born prematurely, before the official legal start date, the maternity leave shall start at that moment.
In the case of adoption of a child, maternity leave begins on the day the child is adopted and lasts for 22 weeks, or, in the case of two or more children, for 31 weeks.
When you start maternity leave, the so-called ‘ support period’ begins , during which you are also entitled to cash assistance.
Tip: Both the cooling-off period and the protection period protect employees in very specific situations where they are vulnerable and could easily find themselves without work or resources. How do these two very similar legal concepts differ and to what circumstances can they be applied? This is the focus of our article.
As mentioned above, maternity pay is covered by sickness insurance benefits. However, its payment is not compulsory for self-employed persons. However, any entrepreneur can volunteer to pay sickness insurance.
Entrepreneurial mothers are entitled to maternity pay if they have paid sickness insurance for at least 270 days (nine months) in the two years prior to taking maternity leave, including at least 180 days (six months) in the last year.
This length of payment is intended to prevent the expectant mother from paying sick pay on purpose only when she finds out she is pregnant. She may do so, of course, because she is worried about a common illness, but even then she will not be entitled to sick pay until three months after the payments begin.
A female entrepreneur who satisfies the above condition for sick pay payments can draw cash assistance, like an employee, from the eighth week (and no later than the sixth week) before the due date of childbirth. Here too, the entitlement to payment is 28 weeks (or 37 weeks in the case of more than one child).
We often see businesswomen start paying their sickness insurance too late. However, the law requires a minimum period of participation which cannot be retrospectively topped up.
Tip: From January 2025, the reduction thresholds have been increased by 6.5%. This increase affects the calculation of maternity allowance, and persons with above-average incomes (above CZK 45,000 gross) can expect a higher maternity allowance. The method of applying for maternity allowance has also changed after 1 January 2025. The payment of the benefit is now made in the same way as the insured person’s wages are paid by the employer, similar to eSick leave.
The payment of sickness insurance also determines how high the maternity allowance will be. Understandably, the more you pay, the higher the maternity pay you get. However, how much sickness insurance is paid depends on how much the self-employed person pays in social insurance.
✔ You have been insured for at least 270 days.
✔ The insurance is still in force or you are in a protection period.
✔ You start 6-8 weeks before giving birth.
✔ You are self-employed and pay your own sickness insurance.
The father of the child or the mother’s husbandcan also apply for maternity pay after the end of the six-month period. This happens in situations where, for example, the mother cannot or does not want to give up her career because she is the breadwinner. On the other hand, it may also be the case if the woman has not had a job or has not paid her sickness insurance as a self-employed person. For the purposes of the authorities, it is necessary in such cases to conclude a written agreement with the child’s mother that the father will care for the child. The mother’s signature must be officially certified.
Of course, the same conditions apply to the father in terms of sickness insurance, i.e. participation for at least nine months in the last two years, six of which must have been in the last year. Fathers can only take maternity leave from the seventh week after giving birth and are also entitled to a shorter period overall – 22 weeks for one child or 31 weeks for several children.
The application for paternity leave is now processed digitally. All communication between the doctor, the employer and the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ) is done electronically, which simplifies and speeds up the whole process.
To qualify for maternity leave and maternity pay, you must have been on sickness insurance for at least 270 days in the two years before you started maternity leave. For the self-employed, voluntary payment of sickness insurance for a specified period is required. Maternity leave may be taken between 6 and 8 weeks before the planned date of childbirth, for a total of 28 weeks, or 37 weeks in the case of multiple births. If employment is terminated shortly before the birth, a protection period of 180 days applies, during which the right to maternity leave may still arise. The fathers of the child can also take maternity leave if they take over care and meet the legal conditions.
No, you can also be entitled during the protection period after you leave your job or if you are self-employed, as long as you pay your sickness insurance.
Yes, as long as sickness insurance has been deducted from them (e.g. employment or part-time work over the limit).
Yes, previous employment counts towards the 270 days required.
You may be in a protection period of up to 180 days, during which your entitlement to maternity pay does not end.
For multiples, maternity lasts 37 weeks.
Yes, but only after the sixth child and by agreement with the mother.
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.
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