Maternity leave: 16 weeks at 100% of earnings, up to a ceiling of €2,773 a month (24 weeks for third or further child).

Paternity leave: 2 weeks provided by two schemes – 3 working days at 100% of earnings, paid by the employer), and 11 consecutive days (including non-working days) at 100% of earnings, up to a ceiling of €2,773 a month, paid by the social security fund.

Parental leave: until the child is 3 years; family entitlement. A flat-rate payment (€536 per month) is paid to families with a parent not working – whether taking leave or not – whose income is below a certain level (in practice, about 90% of families are eligible). However, for parents with only one child, it is only paid until 6 months after the end of maternity leave; in other families, it is paid until the child reaches 3 years of age. Parents working part time up to 32 hours per week may receive the benefit at a reduced amount.

Leave to care for sick children: unpaid leave for parents of children under 16 years; legally, periods of leave cannot exceed 3 days (or 5 days if a child is under one year old or if there are 3 children or more), but this is a minimum and most collective agreements have special arrangements, as in the public sector where employees can take 14 days a year to care for a sick child. In cases of a serious disability or illness of a child under 20 years, every employee with at least one year of employment with an employer is entitled to paid leave to care for her/his child, or to work part time for a period of up to 3 years (the allowance is paid for a maximum of 310 working days, that is, around 14 months, within a period of 3 years). The level of the allowance depends on the duration of work for the employer and on the family structure (for example, if one parent in a couple family stops work, the amount is €39.58 per day; €47.02 for a lone parent). A similar period of leave is possible for employees who need to care for a relative at the end of life, either a child or a parent living in the same house.

Other: none.