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Participation of the
None
None
None
Yes, share of
father, rights
10 weeks
Benefit formula
Income related
Income related
Mixed
Income related
1) The new scheme (implemented from the start of 1994) for ’leave of absence for parents’ may be
used to prolong the maternity leave substantially (by up to 1 year). The new scheme is intended to
increase ’rotation’ on the labour market.
2) From July 1st 1994 a special benefit for care of small children (1-2 years) was introduced. That
replaced the last 12 weeks of maternity leave. The new scheme was abolished from January 1995
and the old reimplemented. In the ’old’ scheme 52 weeks of the leave has a benefit which is income
related, the benefit in the remaining 12 weeks is flat rate.
3) Week days. Finland also has a special benefit if one of the parents stay at home to care for the
child.
4) Austria has a supplementary scheme where the father can also participate. The benefits are
reduced.
5) Germany has a supplementary system where the mother or the father can receive 600 DM/month
in up to 24 months for children born in 1997. After 6 months this benefit is means-tested, for high
income families (140,00 DEM and above) immediately.
6) 2 of the 27 weeks will be waiting period. If the father participates, there will also be a 2 weeks
waiting period for him.
7) The 4 weeks are split in 2 + 2 weeks. 2 weeks can be taken just after delivery and 2 weeks after the
expire of the
ordinary' leave.
Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain have schemes characterized by rela-
tively short benefit periods and with rights for the mother only. The compensation is ba-
sically equal to the lost income in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. In Sweden
(1997), it is 75 per cent of the lost income (up to an upper limit) for the first 8 weeks (4
weeks for each of the parents), and also 75 per cent for the following 44 weeks, which can
be divided between the parents, and then a low flat rate compensation for the remaining
12 weeks. In Denmark the compensation is ’income related with a low cap’ (the maximum
will be reached at approx. 60 per cent of the APW income, for income below that level, the
compensation equals the lost income). Finland uses a ’stepwise’ benefit formula, which is
income related with a decreasing compensation rate for increasing income. In Great
Britain, the benefit is ’income related’ for the first part of the period (the first 6 weeks) and
’flat rate’ for the last part. The Canadian benefits are income related, 55 per cent of the lost
income, up to a ceiling, 39,000 CAD being the maximum insurable amount.
58
The level of compensation
With considerable variation in the schemes for maternity leave between the countries, two
calculations have been made. The first shows the effect on disposable income of utilizing
the maximum possible duration (one year being the limit as the calculation concerns the
change in annual disposable income) of the maternity leave in each country, the second
shows the effect of a ’common period’; that of Germany which is 14 weeks. Table 2.16
contains the results. Several of the countries have, as already mentioned, supplementary
maternity or parental leave schemes, usually at lower benefits than during the
ordinary'
leave. The supplementary schemes are not included in the calculations.
Table 2.16.
Effects on disposable income from
ordinary' maternity leave benefits in 8 countries, 1997.
DK
S
FIN
A
D
NL
GB
CAN
Maximum duration of maternity leave
Compensation percentage
53
75
69.5
100
100
100
53
53
1)
Change in disposable income,
per cent
-6.7
-8.8
-7.3
0
0
0
-4.5
- 6.6
Common duration of maternity leave
Compensation percentage
53
75
69.5
100
100
100
58
50
1)
Change in disposable income,
per cent
-2.9
-2.3
-2.0
0
0
0
-3.1
- 3.7
1) The compensation per cent is after taxation.
The change in disposable income is measured in proportion to an APW-couple with two
children. The interpretation is then that the family gets its second child in the start of the
year. Concerning the ’timing problems’ here, cf. appendix 1 (Denmark, The couple gets
the second child and then has 2 children). In the three Scandinavian countries it has been
assumed that the father uses his minimum rights (for Denmark only 2 weeks) in the case
of maximum duration. The Canadian father does not participate in the maternity leave in
the calculation presented here.
Three of the countries with short maximum benefit periods, Austria, Germany and the
Netherlands, have full compensation for the lost income, this is not the case for the fourth,
Great Britain, where the decrease, however, is modest. In the three Scandinavian countries
the APW-couple experiences relatively modest decreases in disposable income, both in the
maximum duration and in the common duration case. The Swedish system has the longest
income related benefit period of the 8 countries. The loss of income during maternity leave
is also relatively modest in Canada.
59
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