The parental leave allowance represents significant financial support for working parents who wish to dedicate time to caring for their children. DYPA pays this benefit for the first two months of the four-month parental leave, according to the provisions of Law 4808/2021.
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Who is entitled to parental leave allowance
Beneficiaries of the parental leave allowance are all working parents (natural, adoptive, foster, presumed mothers under Article 1464 of the Civil Code) or persons exercising parental care of children up to eight (8) years old, who are employed:
a) in the private sector, with any type of dependent employment relationship or form of employment, including part-time and fixed-term contracts, temporary employment contracts or relationships under Article 115 of Law 4052/2012 (A’ 41), with paid mandate,
b) in the public sector, NPDDs, local authorities and the broader public sector, as defined in Article 14 of Law 4270/2014 (A’ 143), with private law employment contracts (IDAX & IDOX) or paid mandate provided they are not subject to the provisions of Articles 53 of Law 3528/2007 “Code of Status of Public Civil Administrative Employees and NPDD Employees” and Article 60 of Law 3584/2007 “Code of Status of Municipal and Community Employees”, as in force,
c) at the American Naval Facility of Souda through recruitment by the Air Force, to whom parental leave is granted by the employer. This leave lasts for each child up to four (4) months and can be taken either continuously for the entire 4-month period or flexibly (i.e., in parts of the 4-month period or in another flexible way, e.g., in the form of reduced daily hours for some hours within the working day or individual leave days within working days per week/month).
The allowance is paid for the first two (2) months of leave for each child.
Basic requirements for granting the benefit
To receive the parental leave allowance, one must meet specific requirements. Primarily, the posting of Form E.14 in the ERGANI Information System by the employer is required. Additionally, the child must not have exceeded eight years of age at the time of application.
The working parent must have completed at least one year of work with the same employer. This can include continuous employment or successive fixed-term contracts, unless there are more favorable arrangements.
Duration and amount of financial support
Each parent is entitled to parental leave allowance for two months per child. The monthly amount paid equals the statutory minimum wage, regardless of the form of employment. It also includes proportional holiday bonuses and leave allowances.
Payments are made monthly after the issuance of the relevant decision. For parents of twins or multiple births, two additional months of subsidization are provided once, regardless of the number of children born simultaneously.
Special cases and rights
Single parents who exercise exclusive parental care due to death of partner, removal of parental care, or non-recognition of the child, are entitled to double the subsidization period. Specifically, they can receive parental leave allowance for four months instead of two.
Both parents can apply for the benefit for the same child, provided they have taken parental leave with proper documentation. The application can be submitted anytime after the leave is granted, before the child reaches eight years of age.
Application process and required documents
The process for obtaining parental leave allowance begins with submitting an application to DYPA. A prerequisite is the prior posting of Form E.14 by the employer, which certifies the granting of parental leave.
There is no specific deadline for submitting the application, as it can be done anytime after taking the leave. However, it must be submitted before the child reaches eight years of age.
