This chapter explains the benefits that parents of children can receive in the Czech Republic. This includes support before birth, which some mothers are eligible for, and care for new-born and older children. Other EU nationals are eligible for such benefits if they meet the same conditions as Czech nationals.

Some benefits are identical for all parents, regardless of income, while others consider the individual economic and social situation of the family.

The benefits explained are the following:

• pregnancy and maternity compensatory benefit (vyrovnávací příspěvek v těhotenství a mateřství);
• parental allowance (rodičovský příspěvek);
• maternity benefit (peněžitá pomoc v mateřství);
• paternity benefit (dávka otcovské poporodní péče - otcovská)
• child allowance (přídavek na dítě)
• advance of maintenance payment (náhradní výživné.

In what situation can I claim?

Pregnancy and maternity compensatory benefit (vyrovnávací příspěvek v těhotenství a mateřství) is provided to pregnant women and mothers of new born children who are employed. It compensates for lost earnings if women are reassigned to a lower paid position because of pregnancy or maternity, and is paid from sickness insurance.

Parental allowance (rodičovský příspěvek) is the primary form of support for families with small children. Specifically, it is for parents caring for the youngest child (up to the age of four) in the family. The child's biological mother or father, a court-ordered guardian or adoptive parent is eligible for this benefit; only one parent can receive the benefit.

Maternity benefit (peněžitá pomoc v mateřství) replaces the mother's income just before birth and in the first months after birth. Women who participate in sickness insurance, either as employees or as self-employed persons (see Jargon buster), are eligible for this benefit. You can apply for this benefit before giving birth. Under specific conditions, the insured father of the child or husband of the surrogate mother is also entitled to Maternity benefit.

Paternity leave (dávka otcovské poporodní péče – otcovská) can be granted to fathers under sickness insurance as of 1 February 2018. Those entitled are insured fathers caring for their child or insured foster parents (men and women) caring for their foster child if it is under seven years old at the start of the foster care.

Child allowance (přídavek na dítě) is a long-term benefit specifically for low-income  to middle-income families. It helps them cover the costs associated with raising and supporting dependent children. Eligibility for this benefit is based on the family's total income.

Advance of maintenance payment (náhradní výživné) can be granted (since July 2021) to dependent children whose absent parents do not fulfil or fully fulfil their legal obligation to pay maintenance for their children.

What conditions do I need to meet?

Pregnancy and maternity compensatory benefit (vyrovnávací příspěvek v těhotenství a mateřství)

Performing specific occupations is explicitly prohibited to women during pregnancy and the early stages of maternity. A treating physician may declare other occupations too risky in individual cases of pregnancy or maternity. If an employed woman is reassigned to a lower paid position due to her pregnancy or maternity, she is eligible for compensatory benefit. Employed women are also eligible if her working conditions have to be adapted because of her pregnancy or maternity, such as shorter working hours or exemption from night work.

The benefit is paid from sickness insurance and only employees are entitled to this benefit. It is paid for the duration of the reassignment to a lower paid position up to the start of the sixth week before the expected due date. In specific cases, it may also be paid after the mother has given birth.

Parental allowance (rodičovský příspěvek)

A biological or foster parent with residence or employment in the Czech Republic (EU, EEA, Swiss, or UK*  nationals) is eligible for parental allowance when personally providing full-time regular care for a child up to the age of four. It is only paid for the youngest child in the family. Parental income has no effect on eligibility.

Parental allowance can be claimed if the child attends pre-school. Children under two can attend pre-school for 92 hours per month at most, but there is no limit for children above 2. Also, a parent has the right to continue working while receiving this benefit without any restrictions on earnings.

Maternity benefit (peněžitá pomoc v mateřství)

For employees, the main condition for maternity benefit is participation in sickness insurance at the time of applying for the benefit or to be in the protection period if their sickness insurance has expired. In addition, their employers need to have paid sickness insurance contributions for them for at least 270 calendar days during the two years preceding the day from which the payment of the benefit begins.

Self-employed persons are eligible for this benefit if they participate in sickness insurance and meet the minimum insurance period (same as for employees) and have paid voluntary sickness insurance contributions for at least 180 days during the year preceding the day from which the payment of the benefit begins.

The child's father or the mother's husband can claim this benefit

• if he has concluded a written contract with the mother stating that he will care for the new born child;
• if the mother cannot or should not care for the child due to serious health reasons.

Paternity benefit (dávka otcovské poporodní péče - otcovská)

Participation in sickness insurance at the start of paternity leave is the main requirement for entitlement. Paternity leave can be granted to fathers if the child cared for was born after 20 December 2017. In the case of foster care, the child should be under seven at the start of the foster care. Paternity leave should begin within six weeks after the birth of the child or the beginning of foster care.  From 1 December 2022, it is also granted to fathers of a still-born child or of a child that died within 6 weeks after birth.

Child allowance (přídavek na dítě)

Child allowance is specifically for children in  families whose monthly income during the previous calendar quarter did not reach the threshold income of 3.4 times the living minimum of the family which is defined  as the total of living minimum amounts of all members of a family/household:

Example:

At least one of the parents must reside or work (including as self-employed) in the Czech Republic (or another EU or EEA country or be Swiss or UK* nationals) to be eligible for this benefit.

*   Each case needs to be assessed individually to determine whether a person falls within the scope of Art 30 of the Withdrawal Agreement, and so the EU Coordination Regulations apply, or whether they fall within the scope of situations described in Art 32 of the Withdrawal Agreement and/or come under domestic legislation and the Protocol on Social Security Coordination attached to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Advance of maintenance payment (náhradní výživné)

A dependent child who has  permanent residence and habitual residence in the Czech Republic is entitled to advance of maintenance payment. Permanent residence is not requested if directly applicable EU legislation is applied.

The first specific condition for the claim is that the parent (liable person) does not pay the maintenance determined by a court decision. The second condition to receive advances on maintenance payment is that execution proceedings or proceedings on the judicial enforcement of a decision to recover maintenance must be ongoing.

Family income has no effect on eligibility.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

Pregnancy and maternity compensatory benefit

This benefit is determined as the difference between the daily assessment base (see Jargon busters) which is calculated on the date of reassignment to a lower paid position and the average daily earnings after the reassignment.

The daily assessment base is calculated on the basis of the average daily earnings over the past 12 months which is reduced for calculating benefits if above a specific amount:

The resulting amount is paid as long as the employee is reassigned to a lower paid position, but not for the days when she is unable to work, in quarantine or is caring for a sick family member.

Eligible women should fill in the application form for the pregnancy and maternity compensatory benefit together with their employer who will then send it to the District Social Security Administration (Okresní správa sociálního zabezpečení) competent for their place of business.

Parental allowance

A parent is entitled to claim a maximum benefit of CZK 300,000 until the child reaches the age of four. In the case of twins or multiple births, the total amount is increased to CZK 450,000.

The parent is free to decide how this amount will be paid, including the amounts of monthly payments.

There are different variants for receiving this benefit. A simple example:

The beneficiary of parental benefit can alter the amount once every three months.

The individually defined payment amount is limited to 70% of 30 times the daily assessment base for defining maternity benefit (see Jargon busters). This is roughly determined by previous average monthly earnings. This only applies if the parent is entitled to maternity benefit and has participated in sickness insurance. In certain situations, the child´s other parent may also be considered as the beneficiary.

The monthly benefit cannot exceed CZK 49,440 (in 2023) for persons with a higher assessment base (higher previous earnings).

Parents who have not paid into sickness insurance and for whom no assessment base can be defined (students, the unemployed and the self-employed who have not paid voluntary sickness insurance contributions) are eligible for a monthly amount of parental allowance up to CZK 13,000.

The mother and father can alternate between receiving the parental allowance. Only one of them is entitled to the benefit at any time.

The parental allowance application can be filed electronically or in person at the Labour Office's regional office or contact point at the place of residence.

Maternity benefit

Maternity benefit can normally be claimed during pregnancy. In general, the period of receiving maternity benefit corresponds to the period of maternity leave. Pregnant women may determine the onset of maternity benefit between the eighth and sixth week before the expected due date. Maternity benefit can be claimed after giving birth as well.

The period in which the benefit is provided varies:

• 28 weeks of payment for a woman who gives birth to a single child;
• 37 weeks for mothers who give birth to multiple children;
• The child's father or mother's husband is eligible for 22 weeks of benefits from the moment he takes over the care of the new born child;
• The children's father or mother's husband is eligible for 31 weeks of benefits from the moment he takes over the care of multiple new-born children.

If the father or mother’s husband takes over the care of the new born child, the period that the benefit was provided to the mother after giving birth will be taken into consideration when calculating his period of benefit receipt.

The benefit is paid for calendar day and is calculated as 70% of the daily assessment base.

The daily assessment base is calculated on the basis of the average daily earnings over the past 12 months which is reduced for the purpose of calculating benefits if above a specific amount:

An employed woman fulfilling the conditions completes the maternity benefit application form with her employer who will then submit it to the District Social Security Administration (Okresní správa sociálního zabezpečení) competent for their place of business. Self-employed women must complete the application form and submit it to the District Social Security Administration at their place of business themselves.

Paternity Leave

Paid paternity leave is granted to one parent and does not vary with the number of young children cared for at the same time. It is paid for fourteen calendar days and cannot be interrupted and re-used later. Paternity leave should start within six weeks after birth or the date the foster care begins.

The paternity leave benefit amounts to 70% of the reduced daily basis of assessment per calendar day. The daily assessment base is calculated on the basis of the average daily earnings over the past 12 months and is reduced if above a specific amount:

As with other sickness insurance benefits, employees have to apply for paternity leave through their employers. Self-employed persons should submit their applications directly to the District Social Security Administration (DSSA) where they are registered.

Child allowance

This benefit is paid in three levels depending on the age of the dependent child and in two amounts varies according to the type of income. Eligibility for the increased amount is determined by having income from employment or from certain social benefits.

The legal representative (or foster parent or guardian) of a child up to the age of 18 can claim this benefit. The child must then apply for this benefit once they have reached the age of majority.

Up to three months of benefits can be claimed retroactively. The benefit is handled by the Labour Office's regional offices and contact points at the place of residence.

Advance of maintenance payment

The amount payable is the difference between the monthly maintenance determined by the court and (partial) payment of the maintenance that was paid in the relevant month. The maximum benefit amount is CZK 3,000 per month.

The maximum period for benefit payment is 24 months, resp. 24 instalments. 

The amount paid is recovered from the liable parent when the claim has ended.

The benefit can be claimed by the parent (legal representative) of a child up to the age of 18 and by the child itself when they reach the age of majority. Applications (using the correct form) are handled by the Labour Office's regional offices and contact points at the place of residence of eligible persons.

Jargon busters

• The daily assessment base (denní vyměřovací základ) is used to define sickness insurance benefits. This is a proportion of wages and it does not include excused absences from work.
• Decisive income (rozhodný příjem) is a family's total income and includes all earnings and other forms of income such as support benefits and stipends.
• A dependent child (nezaopatřené dítě) is a child up to the age of compulsory school attendance or up to the age of 26 if they study or are unable to study due to health issues.
• Self-employed person (osoba samostatně výdělečně činná) is the term used for a person with income from business or other self-employment (private farmer, trade licence holder or artist).

Forms you may need

• Pregnancy and maternity compensatory benefit application (Žádost o vyrovnávací příspěvek v těhotenství a mateřství): this form must be confirmed by a gynaecologist (in Czech);
• Parental allowance application (Žádost o rodičovský příspěvek) (in Czech);
• Confirmation of daily assessment base for determining the parental benefit (Potvrzení o denním vyměřovacím základu ovlivňujícím výši rodičovského příspěvku) (in Czech);
• Confirmation of nursery, kindergarten or other facility attendance (Potvrzení o návštěvě jeslí, mateřské školy nebo jiného zařízení), obligatory attachment for applications involving children under the age of two (in Czech);
• Maternity benefit application (Žádost o peněžitou pomoc v mateřství ), this form must be confirmed by a gynaecologist (in Czech);
• Paternity Leave application (Žádost o dávku otcovské poporodní péče (otcovskou) (in Czech);
• Child allowance application (Žádost o přídavek na dítě) (in Czech).
• Advance of maintenance payment application (Žádost o náhradní výživné), www.mpsv.cz/web/cz/formulare#nahradni-vyzivne, in Czech

Know your rights

These links do not lead to European Commission websites and do not represent the views of the European Commission:

• Act on State Social Support (Zákon o státní sociální podpoře) (in Czech);
• State social support (mpsv.cz), in English;
• Advance of Maintenance Payment (mpsv.cz), in English

Please use the EU assistance services if you experience any problems in applying your rights: Family benefits: your rights in the EU

Useful contacts

Czech Social Security Administration (Česká správa sociálního zabezpečení)
Křížová 25
225 08 Prague 5
CZECH REPUBLIC
Call centre: +420 257066077

e-mail: posta@cssz.cz

Data box: 49kaiq3

List of Czech Social Security Administration offices (in Czech)

Czech Social Security Administration electronic registrar (in Czech)

Labour Office of the Czech Republic (Úřad práce České republiky)
Contact counselling centre:
Tel.: +420 844844803
kontaktni.centrum@mpsv.cz, callcentrum@mpsv.cz

List of the Labour Office's regional offices and contact points (in Czech): https://www.uradprace.cz/web/cz/kontakty-2

Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic (Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí ČR)
Na Poříčním právu 1/376
128 01 Prague 2
CZECH REPUBLIC
Tel. +420 221921111
Data box: sc9aavg

Website of the Ministry of labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic in English: https://www.mpsv.cz/web/en