Maternity benefits in situations when a mother becomes pregnant for the second time, considers earning additional money, or when the family faces illness.
In the third part of our series, we and the Czech Social Security Administration bring you information about maternity benefits in situations when a mother becomes pregnant for the second time, considers earning additional money, or when the family faces illness.
Making Extra Money
Under certain conditions, employees and businesswomen can work while receiving maternity benefits. Employees are allowed to work, but not within the job they receive the benefits from. Businesswomen (self-employed) do not need to stop or pause their business activities while receiving maternity benefits; however, they cannot perform these activities in person, but only via their employees or fellow workers. Additionally, during maternity leave, they are exempt from paying advance contributions for pension and social insurance, as maternity leave and subsequent childcare up to 4 years of the child’s age are included in the period required for pension eligibility.
Second Pregnancy
If a woman is receiving parental benefits for her first child and is about to start maternity leave with her second child, she should ask for the parental benefits to cease the day before she starts receiving the new maternity benefits. If her fixed-term contract as well as her protective period ends during her maternity/parental leave, and she does not meet the conditions for further maternity benefits, she can apply for parental benefits (paid by the Employment Office) from the day of the second child's birth.
Related Information
- If a woman is unable to or cannot take care of her child due to severe and long-term illness (if she is recognized as temporarily incapacitated to work), her husband or the child’s father can apply for maternity benefits instead, even during the puerperium period.
- If the woman on maternity leave has a second child who falls ill (and she is not receiving maternity benefits for this child), she is not entitled to a care allowance. However, her husband or the child's father, provided he has health insurance, can apply for it if needed.
- After her maternity benefits period ends, the woman is entitled to be compensated for vacation accrued during this time, including any unused vacation prior to starting maternity benefits.
- The “maternity leave” period counts as a substitute period for insurance purposes for pension eligibility up to the child’s 4 years of age. For pension calculation, this period is considered an excluded period and therefore does not negatively affect the amount of the pension.
Download PDF: Maternity Benefits III – Making Extra Money, Second Pregnancy & Others
