Weekly magazine “Argumenty I Fakty” No. 22. Grandfather-hydromet? How to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts 02/06/2021
I am on leave to care for my second child. A third child will be born in a couple of months. Should I take maternity leave or should I extend my parental leave?
If a woman takes maternity leave during her parental leave, she has the right to choose which one to apply for in order to receive a larger allowance. Usually, the maternity allowance is higher, since it is calculated at the rate of 100% of earnings, and the care allowance is 40% of earnings (respectively, for two children-80%).
To calculate the maternity benefit, take the two years before maternity leave, when the woman received the salary. At the same time, it has the option to replace both years or one of them with the previous years. For example, if a mother goes on maternity leave in 2021, and in 2020 and 2019 she was on parental leave, then 2018 and 2017 can be taken into account for calculating the benefit. The calculation excludes periods of leave to care for the second child and sick days when the mother received temporary disability benefits.
After the end of maternity leave (usually 140 days, if there are no complications), the mother can apply for parental leave for the second and third. In case of simultaneous care for two children who are under 1.5 years old, the amount of the monthly allowance is added up. It is worth knowing that it should not be less than the combined minimum amount of the benefit (7082.85 rubles per child per month in 2021) and not more than 100% of the average earnings of the mother.
It is important that only the mother can receive maternity benefits, and the father can also receive a one-time payment at the birth of the child (if the mother did not apply for and did not receive the benefit). But any working relative of the child, for example, a grandmother, can apply for and receive a child care leave.