Parental allowance for officers

Officers, judges and soldiers can also apply for parental allowance. In this article we explain why their parental allowance is usually higher and what special features they should be aware of.

The regulations on parental leave of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz) do not apply to officers, as they are not covered by its terms. The employers have therefore issued their own maternity leave and parental leave ordinances, which, however, adopt the provisions of the Parental Leave Act in full.

Thus, officers are also entitled to 36 months of parental leave per child per parent. Postnatal periods of maternity leave are nevertheless considered as used parental leave, as is the case for employed mothers.

Unlike salaried mothers, officers who expect a child receive “salaries during the maternity leave” during the periods of protection before and after the birth. This is regulated in the maternity leave regulations of the respective employer.

With the announcement of pregnancy, the mother should indicate the expected date of delivery so that the employer can calculate the beginning of the six-week protection period before the birth. The date shall be evidenced by a medical certificate or a midwife’s certificate. If the expected date of delivery is corrected in the course of the pregnancy, the start and end of the protection period shall be adjusted accordingly.

Pregnant female officers may not be employed during the last six weeks before the expected date of birth. They are not required to be on duty during this period. They may continue to work voluntarily if they expressly agree to do so. A female officer who does not work during the maternity leave period may, on a voluntary basis, attend in-service training or take an examination, for example. Willingness to serve or to participate in the relevant measure must be declared in advance in writing or verbally. The declaration may be revoked at any time.

If the calculated date of birth is exceeded, the maternity leave period is automatically extended. This extension does not shorten the protection period after childbirth. The time for recovery after the birth therefore remains unchanged.

During the first eight weeks after the birth, there is an absolute prohibition on employment. This means that the civil servant may not work during this period, even if she would like to work. In the case of multiple births, the maternity leave period after delivery is twelve weeks (More info in the article Multiple birth bonus).

During the maternity leave periods and the period of an individual employment prohibition, the full entitlement to salary remains in force. The payment of service and candidate salaries is not affected. However, previous pay may be reduced if previously paid overtime compensation is eliminated because of the prohibition on working more than eight and one-half hours per day. Allowances shall continue to be granted.

The salary of officers consists primarily of the basic salary according to the salary scale. This is supplemented by the family bonus and, if applicable, by other allowances. Achievement levels, achievement bonuses or achievement supplements, as well as special supplements based on the labor market, may also be paid.

If the officer is assigned overseas, there are specific payments for foreign service.

The family bonus is the family-related component within the salary (level 1: married civil servants or civil servants living in a registered partnership; level 2: married civil servants or civil servants living in a registered partnership and children) and is paid as a social component in addition to the basic salary.

The amount of the family bonus depends mainly on the marital status and the number of children entitled to child allowance. In some cases, it has been significantly restructured in the federal states, for example by abandoning the so-called supplement for married couples (“Verheiratetenzuschlag”) in favor of the so-called child benefit bonus (“Kinderzuschlag”).

The family bonus for officers will be paid as follows from 01.04.2022:

The Act on the Ending of the Special Responsibility (“Gesetz zur Beendigung der Sonderzuständigkeit”) of the child benefit departments (Familienkassen) of the public service in the area of the federal government of December 8, 2016, reorganizes the responsibilities. The law fundamentally reforms the responsibility and structure of the child benefit departments of the public sector:

• In the federal sector, the responsibility of the family funds of the civil service is to be transferred to the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) by December 31, 2021, unless the Federal Office of Administration is entrusted with the calculation and payment of child benefits.

• For the area of federal states and local authorities, public employers are given the option of also handing over responsibility and case processing to the child benefit department of the Federal Employment Agency. There is no fixed deadline for the transfer of child benefit processing for the federal states and local districts.

The employer has a special duty of care for its officers. In the event of illness, nursing care or childbirth, the employer undertakes to reimburse part of the costs incurred within the framework of the benefit for health insurance by the federal or state government (Beihilfe).

The benefit for health insurance by the federal or state government only supplements what is known as reasonable personal provision. The person entitled to the benefit must therefore pay for the costs of treatment, medication and the like that are not covered by the benefit for health insurance by the federal or state governemnt. As a rule, a corresponding private health insurance policy is therefore taken out.

Not all expenses are recognized as eligible for assistance. For example, some treatment methods or medicines are fully or partially excluded from reimbursement. It is also possible to deduct deductibles from the eligible expenses. This means that the officer must bear part of the costs himself or herself. The regulations are generally based on the statutory health insurance system. There are no uniform federal regulations governing the benefit. In addition to the German Federal Ordinance on Federal Benefits (Bundesbeihilfeverordnung, BBhV), most of the federal states have their own state benefit ordinances, which have the same basic structures as the BBhV, but differ in detail.

The following states pay the one-time birth benefit:

The one-time birth benefit is usually applied for by means of a long form application and a copy of the birth certificate at the HR-office of the respective federal state.