Amendment of Social Insurance Law (59(I)/2010) to extend the parental leave and increase of childbirth allowance

Law 157(I) 2024 issued on 30/12/2024, amended the Social Insurance Law reflecting the following major changes:

• Extension of the Parental Leave Allowance

• Extension of the Period for exercising the right to Parental Leave  

• Increase of Childbirth Allowance for children born from 01/10/2024 and afterwards 

Extension of the Parental Leave Allowance

With the amending Law 157(I) 2024, article 29B of the Social Insurance Law regarding the parental leave allowance has been amended in relation to the timeframes during which this allowance will be paid by the Government. This amendment extends the total period during which the parental leave allowance will be paid with effect from 31/03/2025 to a total period of 8 weeks for the first child, 10 weeks for the second child, 12 weeks for the third child and 14 weeks for the forth and each subsequent child.

Extension of the Period for exercising the right to Parental Leave  

The allowance is paid until the completion of the 15th year of each person or until the age of 21 for a person with a disability. We note that before the amendment, the allowance was paid until the age of 8 and 18 respectively.

Through this amending Law, it was further clarified in article 29 B of the Social Insurance Law that effective from 31/03/2025 

1. the birth order is determined taking into account the total number of births of the mother

2. in case of twins or more children from the same birth, it is considered that they were born from a different birth and the total period of parental leave is calculated accordingly

3. in case the parents have adopted a child up to the age of 15 or had a child through a surrogate mother, the adoption or the birth through surrogacy are considered as a birth for purposes of determining birth order

Increase of Childbirth Allowance for children born from 01/10/2024 and afterwards 

Table 4 of the basic Social Insurance Law has been amended as follows:

The amount of the childbirth allowance in relation to a child born on or after 1 October 2024 amounts to one thousand euros (€1,000) for the first child, one thousand five hundred euros (€1,500) for the second child, two thousand euros (€2,000) for the third child and two thousand five hundred euros (€2,500) for the fourth and each subsequent child.

The amount of the childbirth allowance in relation to a child born before 1 October 2024 remains to 6% of the annual basic insurable earnings.

Amendment of The Leave (Paternity, Paternity, Care, Force Majeure) and Flexible Working Arrangements for Work-Life Balance Law of 2022 (216(I)/2022)

Law 156(I)2024 issued on 30/12/2024, amended respectively article 9 of the Leave Law in relation to the Period of exercising the right to parental leave which has been extended up to the 15th year of the child and up to the 21st year of a person with disability.

Also, the parent of a person up to 15 years old or a childcare worker as per the amended Article 19 of the Law, are eligible to submit a formal request to the employer for flexible working arrangements.

The content of this article is intended to provide general information on the subject matter and does not constitute legal advice. For any further information or assistance, please contact Marilou Pavlou by email at marilou@mpc.legal.com or by phone at +357 22552727.