Sweden Finland Austria

Maternity leave
In all 8 countries maternity leave and the associated compensation for loss of income is an
important element of the social security system. Compensation in connection with mater-
nity leave is often a separate part of the system for compensation in connection with
illness. Only 
ordinary' maternity leave schemes are covered. Many countries have supple-
mentary schemes, some of which are mentioned in the notes to table 2.15.
Relevant criteria for characterization of maternity leave benefits are:
For how long can the benefit be received?
Has the father a legal right to a share of the maternity leave and the benefits?
Is the benefit a ’flat rate’ or is it ’income related’?
Even if there is a close connection to the system for illness related insurance in several
countries (income concepts, administration etc.) there are also significant differences.
There is no waiting period in any of the 7 European countries when compensation in
connection with maternity leave is considered. There is a waiting period in Canada, where
this scheme together with that for sickness benefits is part of the Employment Insurance
scheme. Neither is there a special low compensation percentage for the first period of the
maternity leave (that was the case in the Swedish sickness benefit scheme for several years
until 1996), but there may be for the last part.
Table 2.15 shows the compensation in connection with maternity leave categorized accord-
ing to the criteria listed.

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56
Table 2.15.
Characteristics of compensation in connection with 
ordinary' maternity leave in 8 
countries, 1997.
DK
S
FIN
A
Max. benefit period
28 + 2 + 2
64 
281 days
16 weeks
weeks
weeks
(approx. 47
1)
2)
3)
weeks)