Parental leave
Parental leave enables parents to take unpaid leave in order to dedicate themselves entirely to childcare. Pay scale employees are eligible for parental leave in accordance with the federal parental allowance and parental leave act (Gesetz zum Elterngeld und zur Elternzeit, BEEG) until the child is 3 years old. This also applies to civil servants. Their parental leave options are subject to the Hamburg parental leave regulation (Hamburgische Elternzeitverordnung, HmbEltZVO)
Please refer to the office responsible for parental leave at your local district office (Elterngeldstelle) to claim parental pay. For further information, please consult your local Hamburg district office.
Both parents can take parental leave at the same time or consecutively. Each parent may divide their parental leave period into up to 3 parts.
Please note the following deadlines: Parental leave requests covering periods until the child has reached the age of 3 must be submitted 7 weeks before the intended start date; parental leave requests covering periods from the ages of 3 to 8 must be submitted 13 weeks in advance. Up to 24 months of parental leave may be spread out over the entire period before the child’s 8th birthday. Any claims prior to the child’s 8th birthday vary accordingly.
You can also claim parental leave for adoptive and stepchildren. Please note that deadlines are different in these cases. Under certain conditions, grandparents are eligible for parental leave as well.
You will not receive remunerations during parental leave.
For further details, please refer to our parental leave guidelines (PDF) and the links below.