The Greek Ministry of Labour and Social Security has issued a new ministerial decision expanding eligibility for the special maternity protection allowance, a benefit paid to working mothers on top of standard maternity leave. The decision introduces six changes designed to close gaps that had previously left some categories of working mothers without access to maternity leave coverage.
Labor Minister Niki Kerameus said the goal was to further protect motherhood and support working women who are also mothers. She noted the ministry has already extended maternity leave from six to nine months and widened eligibility for the maternity allowance to more categories of workers, and said this decision continues in the same direction, to encourage and facilitate motherhood and stand by families as they balance work and personal life.
Here is what the six changes cover:
- Adoptive mothers who started as foster carers
Under the previous rules, a mother who took maternity leave as a foster carer and later adopted the same child could lose access to the special maternity protection allowance if she had already returned to work in the interim before the adoption was finalized. The new rule allows the allowance to be granted once the adoption process is complete, even if the mother went back to work during the gap between the foster placement and the adoption ruling. The change accounts for the fact that adoption proceedings can take considerably longer to finalize than the foster care arrangement that preceded them.
- Part time workers and additional hours
Eligibility for the full amount of the special maternity allowance depends on a calculation of a mother’s average working hours. Under the new rule, additional hours worked by mothers on part time contracts will now count toward that average. In practice, the full benefit will be tied to the hours a mother actually worked, including extra shifts, rather than only the hours listed in her original contract. The ministry said this brings more equal treatment for working mothers regardless of the type of contract they hold.
- Employers who pay full wages during leave
Some employers choose to pay a mother’s full salary during pregnancy and postpartum leave rather than relying solely on the state maternity benefit administered by e-EFKA, Greece’s single social security fund. Previously, this could mean a mother had not technically received the e-EFKA maternity benefit and so risked losing eligibility for the special maternity protection allowance. Under the new rule, the special allowance will still be granted in these cases. The ministry said the change ensures that more generous terms offered by an employer do not end up costing a mother her right to the separate protection allowance.
- Mothers with a second job
The special allowance will now also be available to mothers who hold a second job, as long as they are not working during the specific hours covered by their special maternity protection leave. The ministry said this removes a previous exclusion for mothers with a supplementary source of income who otherwise meet the conditions for the benefit, while still allowing them to stay connected to the labor market.
- Seasonal businesses
Mothers employed by businesses that do not operate year round, because of the seasonal nature of the business itself, will now be eligible for the allowance regardless of that seasonal closure, as long as their employment relationship remains active throughout.
- Mothers previously insured as self employed
The sixth change addresses mothers who received the e-EFKA pregnancy and postpartum benefit while insured as self employed workers, for example as freelancers, rather than as salaried employees. Under the new rule, this prior insurance status will no longer be grounds for exclusion from the special maternity protection allowance, extending the benefit to salaried mothers whose earlier maternity benefit came through self employed insurance rather than employee status.
Source: OT.gr
