Experience and maternity leave – complete information

What is maternity leave and who is entitled to it?

In 2021, regardless of whether the expectant mother is employed or not, she has the right to social benefits provided in connection with carrying a baby and bringing him into the world - the so-called “maternity benefits”.

Who receives maternity benefits:

• officially employed;
• military personnel;
• having unemployed status;
• who have adopted a child under 3 months of age;
• female students.

The right to leave and financial assistance is regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 255). Each officially employed woman will have her own payment amounts.

The amount of payments depends on:

Articles on the topic (click to view)

• What is included in preferential medical experience?
• How much is the minimum old-age pension without work experience?
• How much work experience does a woman need to retire?
• How much work experience is needed for early retirement?
• How much is preferential teaching experience for retirement?
• How much municipal experience is needed for a municipal pension?
• How many minimum years of service does a woman need to qualify for a pension?

• work experience;
• income for two years before maternity leave (average daily income);
• number of days on the certificate of incapacity for work.

When calculating, they are guided primarily by the currently officially established minimum wage and the maximum permissible maximum payments taken into account.

What determines the size of maternity benefits?

First of all, the size of transfers for an employed woman is affected by length of service. The calculation, according to the law, is carried out taking into account the earnings that the employee received at this or previous place of work in the previous two years.

Expert opinion

Lebedev Sergey Fedorovich

Practitioner lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in defense in court.

There is such a thing as insurance experience. It is not present in the formulas for calculating the size of maternity leave and does not directly affect their size (however, it is also important).

Seniority

When planning to have children, every working woman wonders how long she needs to work to receive maternity benefits.

It is important to know! The expectant mother will receive it in any case, but the amount of payments is directly tied to the two-year period of work.

Women who have this amount of work experience (or more) will receive 100 percent payments. It follows from this that you need to work for at least two years before pregnancy occurs.

If the work experience is less than two years, the woman will also receive benefits, but based on the total accrued amount divided by 730 (731) days, it will be less. In the event that her average daily earnings do not reach the average daily income based on the minimum wage, maternity payments are made on the basis of the current “minimum wage”.

According to the scheme, benefits are calculated on the basis of the minimum wage if the length of work experience does not reach six months.

Insurance experience

The period during which social insurance contributions were calculated from the employee’s income is the insurance period. Although its duration does not affect the amount of financial income during maternity leave, one should not underestimate its importance: to receive 100% of it, such experience is mandatory.

Will maternity pay be paid if there is no experience?

If a woman does not work, she will not receive maternity benefits. But the situation changes if the expectant mother is officially recognized as unemployed: then she is legally guaranteed social benefits.

When documenting the status of unemployed, maternity benefits are calculated based on the established minimum amount of unemployment benefits - 1,500 rubles.

This is important to know: How much is the minimum old-age pension without work experience?

The following formulas are used for this:

• one-time payment amount: 1500 x 24: 730 x 140 = 6904.10 (rubles);
• monthly benefit amount: (850 x 24) / 730 x 30.04 x 0.4 = 335.78 (rubles).

Female students are also entitled to a payment (as those without work experience), its amount will be equal to the scholarship that the woman received before going on maternity leave.

In real terms, cash payments are so small that they do not stand up to scrutiny.

An example of calculating maternity leave in the absence of experience

Voronova V.A. got a job at Kadrovik LLC in January 2021. On April 7, she went on maternity leave. This is her first place of work, and her work experience at the time she went on maternity leave was a little less than 4 months. Pregnancy with one child, childbirth passed without complications. The duration of maternity leave is 140 days (04/07/2020 - 08/24/2020).

1. Let's determine the number of calendar days in months when Voronova was on maternity leave:

• April - 30,
• May - 31,
• June - 30,
• July - 31,
• August - 31.

1. The minimum wage as of 01/01/2020 is 12,130.
2. We calculate the size of SDZ in each month of maternity leave:

• April — 404.33 rub. (12 130 : 30),
• May — 391.29 rub. (12,130:31),
• June - 404.33 rubles,
• July — 391.29 rub.,
• August — 391.29 rub.

1. We calculate the size of SDZ according to the minimum wage for 2 calendar years preceding the decree: 12,130 x 24: 730 = 398.79 rubles.

1. We determine in which months the size of the SDZ, calculated on a monthly basis, is less than that calculated according to the minimum wage. This is May, July and August. In these months, we calculate the allowance for SDZ, calculated for each month of maternity leave. In months where the SDZ calculated on a monthly basis exceeded the SDZ calculated according to the minimum wage (April, June), the benefit is calculated according to the SDZ calculated on the basis of the minimum wage.
2. We calculate the amount of benefits for each month of maternity leave. In April, Voronova went on maternity leave on April 7, which means the number of calendar days in this month, from the date of her departure until the end of the month, is 24 (April 7-30). Maternity leave lasts 140 days and ends on August 24. So for August we take 24 days.

The benefit amount will be:

• for April - 9,570.96 rubles. (398.79 x 24),
• for May - 12,130 rubles. (391.29 x 31),
• for June - 11,963.70 rubles. (398.79 x 30),
• for July - 12,130 rubles. (391.29 x 31),
• for August - 9,390.96 rubles. (391.29 x 24).

1. We calculate the total amount of benefits for the entire maternity leave: 9,570.96 + 12,130 + 11,963.70 + 12,130 + 9,390.96 = 55,185.62 rubles.

Thus, Voronov will receive an allowance in the amount of 55,185.62 rubles.

We recommend that you pay attention to other articles on calculating maternity benefits:

• “How to calculate maternity benefits in 2021: an example”;
• “Maternity benefits based on the minimum wage in 2021”;
• “From maternity leave to maternity leave: benefit calculation in 2021”;
• “Pregnancy benefit for workers in 2021”;
• “How to calculate maternity benefits when working part-time.”

Maternity benefit for unofficial employment

Lawyers believe that the concept of “unofficial employment” is not legal. Legislation regulating benefits paid during the period of gestation and birth to working women takes into account only those of them who are officially enrolled in the organization's staff, work under a contract or receive income in another legal way by paying taxes and making social contributions.

At the same time, it is completely unclear how long such an employee must work in order to count on financial assistance from the state.

There are several ways to get out of the situation:

• obtain unemployed status;
• personally make contributions to the Social Insurance Fund (SIF).

Having confirmed her unemployed status before the start of maternity leave, the pregnant woman will receive unemployment benefits. Maternity leave is calculated based on the minimum wage in a certain region.

If the future maternity leaver transfers insurance contributions to the Pension Fund herself at least once, this will allow her to receive all payments in the future. To apply for benefits, you need to contact the Social Insurance Fund. Maternity leave will be minimal, according to the minimum wage in the region of residence.

Maternity benefits and other payments in 2019:

Expert opinion

Lebedev Sergey Fedorovich

Practitioner lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in defense in court.

Each employed woman will receive maternity benefits based on the length of her work experience (if she has insurance coverage) and taking into account her salary. The optimal work experience is at least two years.

Calculation of maternity benefits for unemployed women

Some non-working categories of employees can also receive B&R benefits. Let's look at these categories to know how maternity payments are calculated for them:

• Women dismissed due to the liquidation of a company or the closure of an individual entrepreneur are also entitled to this benefit. This rule applies to them only if they are registered with the employment service and receive unemployment benefits there. For this category of women, starting from February 1, 2021, taking into account annual indexation, it is 708.23 rubles.
• Female full-time students receive a B&R allowance at the rate of 100% of the scholarship per month;
• female individual entrepreneurs who have independently entered into an insurance contract with the Social Insurance Fund receive benefits based on the minimum wage .

Does the amount of benefits depend on length of service?

Maternity leave is paid, its duration is about 4 months (two before and two after childbirth). During this period, it is the mother of the child who receives cash payments from the state; no other family member can be provided with this benefit.

In addition, it is important to know whether length of service is taken into account when calculating sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth. According to the law of the Russian Federation, the amount of payments varies depending on the length of the working period, but this applies to recently employed citizens with less than six months of experience.

According to the rules of the Labor Code, women who:

• work officially under an employment contract;
• serve in government agencies and local governments;
• are full-time students on a budget basis;
• serve in the armed forces of the Russian Federation;
• carry out entrepreneurial, legal and notarial activities;
• lost their job due to the closure of an organization or individual entrepreneur no more than a year ago and are registered with the employment center.

After 4 months, a second leave is granted - to care for a child, for the period of which accruals are also provided. They can be received by any family member caring for the child after submitting all the necessary documents.

Length of service and amount of maternity leave

If a woman worked for more than six months and during this period

regular payments to the Pension Fund, the amount of maternity benefits will correspond to the average salary (100%) received by a woman during this period - maternity benefits. If we are talking about a monthly child care benefit, then the amount of payments here will be 40% of the average salary for the last two years.

If the work experience is less than six months, only the minimum wage in a particular region will be taken into account (100% of the minimum wage). For January 2021, this is the minimum amount of 6,204 rubles per month (for regions) and 12,500 rubles for the Moscow region. On July 1, 2017, the minimum wage will be indexed and will be 7,800 rubles (for regions) and 17,561 rubles for Moscow and the region. We are talking about maternity benefits. Accordingly, the higher the official salary, the greater the maternity payments. And experience in this case does not play a special role.

Speaking about the monthly child benefit, it should be said that it will be as follows:

• 3077 rubles 32 kopecks for the first child;
• 6154 rubles 64 kopecks for the second and subsequent ones.

Payment of sick leave after dismissal must be made in the same manner as for a working employee.

If a pregnant woman does not work, or her salary is small, then maternity leave can be issued to her husband. You can read a detailed description of how to do this in our article.

Are you currently “in a position”? Find out how maternity benefits are paid in 2021 by reading this article.

How does it affect maternity leave?

If there is work experience, payments are calculated depending on the employee’s average earnings or her status, without taking into account length of service. Officially employed women and those serving in service receive benefits equal to their average earnings, no more and no less.

You can calculate charges for an employed woman, taking into account the following parameters:

• income for the last two years;
• number of working days;
• days of maternity leave.

The entire salary must be divided into working days.

If there are no days that can be excluded, then there will be 730 of them in two years (731 if one of the years is a leap year). Then multiply by the duration of maternity leave.

The latter indicator depends on how pregnancy and childbirth proceeds, and on the number of children in the womb (the minimum can be 140 days, the maximum can be 194). The working period for two years does not include days of temporary disability, maternity leave and child care.

This is important to know: How much work experience does a woman need to retire?

Second pregnancy during maternity leave

If the second baby was born during unfinished maternity leave, the mother has the right to receive the required benefits and lump sum payments.
In this case, you must write an application for the required transfers. In this case, one of two possible options remains at the discretion of the mother:

1. Maintain child care benefits for your older child.
2. Arrange payments for the second pregnancy and childbirth.

In any case, the first maternity leave is interrupted automatically and a new one is granted. When the maternity leave ends, benefits for caring for the first and second child will be summed up and transferred within the framework of payments established by law.

If maternity leave ends before the second pregnancy, the mother registers for receiving payments, as in the case of caring for her first child.

Advice! To save the amount transferred monthly for the care of the first-born, you can do this: the mother takes care of the newborn, the first child remains in the care of any family member who can take maternity leave.

Calculation rules

The benefit amount is calculated according to a certain formula.
According to current legislation, the period of maternity leave cannot exceed 140 days: it is divided into equal time intervals of 70 days before and after childbirth.

To calculate the benefit, you need to multiply this period of time by the amount of daily earnings.

The calculation period is considered to be 730 days of work experience, excluding sick leave and statutory vacations. Accordingly, to receive benefits in 2021, 2015 and 2016 will be taken as the basis.

It is important to understand that when making calculations there is a certain threshold set at the maximum allowable level of income. For the indicated billing period, the following amounts are relevant:

• 2015 - 670 thousand rubles;
• 2016 - 718 thousand rubles.

If a woman’s work experience is less than 6 months, the minimum wage is taken as the basis. Today it is 7,800 rubles.

Accordingly, this amount must be divided by 30 and multiplied by 140. As a result, maternity payments will amount to 36,400 rubles.

Amount of payments depending on the complexity of childbirth

It is important to understand that pregnancy does not always proceed normally.
In case of possible complications, women's maternity leave periods are extended, and the amount of compensation changes accordingly. It looks like this:

1. Singleton pregnancy with uncomplicated childbirth - 140 days;
2. Singleton pregnancy with difficult childbirth - 156 days;
3. Multiple pregnancy - 194 days.

Example

The woman went on maternity leave, having worked the pay period with a regular salary of 15,000 rubles. The birth was fraught with complications.

In this case, the amount of maternity leave will be calculated according to the following principle:

360,000 (income for two years) / 731 (daily earnings for the billing period) * 156 (vacation days) = 76,826 rubles.

Important! The employer is obliged to pay the entire amount within 10 working days from the date of submission of the application to the accounting department of the enterprise.

Payment calculation example

An employee with insurance experience is going on maternity leave from January 20, 2019.

Amount of income (100%) and calendar days (non-leap periods):

It's fast and free!

Dear readers! Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.

If you want to find out how to solve your particular problem, please use the online consultant form on the right or call:

It's fast and free!

If your work experience is less than 6 months

There is also a maximum amount; it is limited by the size of the maximum base of insurance premiums. In case of repeated maternity leave, when the employee returns to perform her duties for a short period of time or without going to work at all, the benefit is provided a second time.

In this case, calculations will be made for the two working years that preceded the first vacation. To receive benefits, you must have a basis - a certificate of temporary incapacity for work. It is issued in district antenatal clinics for a period of pregnancy from 28 weeks.

Calculation of maternity benefits

The formula for calculating maternity benefits in 2021 directly depends on the formula for calculating average earnings for benefits:

Next, the resulting average earnings are simply multiplied by the number of days of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth.

The calculation period for average earnings is 2 calendar years that preceded the onset of leave under the BiR.

So, to calculate maternity benefits, you must first determine the amount of average earnings for the above billing period.

To ensure that you do not make mistakes and do not have to recalculate maternity benefits, please note that women’s earnings include all payments that were included in the base for insurance premiums for temporary disability and maternity.

To calculate maternity payments, are excluded :

• temporary disability due to illness;
• holidays according to the BiR;
• maternity leave;
• other days of release from work with retention of wages (partial or full), when insurance premiums were not charged on the payment amounts.

Please note that when paying maternity benefits in 2021, the calculation period includes the 2020 coronavirus year, when the concept of non-working days with continued pay was introduced. Wages for non-working days were subject to insurance contributions. Therefore, non-working days and payments for them should not be excluded from the billing period.

What are maternity payments?

The concept of “maternity leave” is not reflected in legal acts. This term usually refers to the time when a woman takes care of her baby or takes leave to relax during the last months of pregnancy. Only a woman who has previously worked has the right to go on this leave. The duration of the maternity leave is established by law.

In a standard situation, it is equal to one hundred and forty days. This applies to cases where a woman is carrying one baby. If there is more than one fetus, the leave is extended to 194 days. When difficulties arise during childbirth, the woman also has the right to extend her leave. In this case, the duration is 156 days.

The specified period is subject to payment. These payments will be maternity payments. If an employee worked part-time, she can also count on benefits. It is important to note that if there is more than one place where the expectant mother worked, a lump sum payment is provided in each company. If we talk about monthly accruals, they are made only at the main place of performance of labor functions.

As of 2021, the following are entitled to process the funds in question:

• mothers who officially work;
• those for whom the status of unemployed has been established;
• students of educational institutions;
• undergoing military service.

An expectant mother who does not perform work functions and is registered with the Central Labor Protection Center cannot apply for maternity leave. This type of rest time can be used by the mother and persons related to the baby.

Cash payments to mothers are regulated by the provisions of tax, labor and civil legislation. In addition, separate laws developed at the federal level are applied in this direction.

Who makes the payments

When the vacation in question is taken out, the finances must be provided by the company in which the mother is registered. The legislation specifies the time frame within which it is necessary to transfer money to a woman. This period should be 10 days. The countdown begins from the moment the complete package of documentation is provided.

In a situation where a citizen applies for money six months after the birth of the child, the amounts will be accrued and paid from the Social Insurance Fund. The reasons for departure from the established periods must be valid. If the mother does not have enough output, then payments to her will be provided from the budget of the Central Employment Center.

How long do you need to work?

The fact that the expectant mother has insurance coverage does not in any way affect her eligibility to receive the benefits in question. This factor affects the amount of payment. This provision is connected by the fact that when calculating the amount, a couple of calendar years that preceded the decree are taken into account. Also of key importance is the size of a citizen’s salary.

Legislative acts define the rules in accordance with which benefits are calculated:

• when the time worked is a couple of years or more, the payment will be equal to forty percent of the employee’s average income;
• if the output is less than this value, then benefits are calculated based on the amount of payment for this time.

This is important to know: Continuous work experience for retirement

Sometimes situations arise that the expectant mother has worked partly for the required period of time, and the output is less than a couple of years. In this situation, when calculating, it will be necessary to take into account what level of average wages occurred during the period worked.

When the output is less than six months, the calculations take into account the minimum wage established in the country. As of 2019, this figure is about 11.2 thousand. If the citizen was registered in the Central Taxpayer's Office, this indicates her authority to deduct the amounts in question. The accruals take into account the amount of benefits accrued by the specified service.

Maximum and minimum benefit amount in 2019

If a female representative has a high level of income, then payments are limited by legal provisions. The maximum basis for calculating insurance premiums was 755 thousand rubles. Previously the figure was lower. When registering vacation time, earnings for 2021 and 2017 will be taken into account.

If the duration of maternity leave is extended, then the calculation takes into account the number of days reflected in the sick leave.

Expert opinion

Lebedev Sergey Fedorovich

Practitioner lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in defense in court.

The minimum value that the citizen receives as the payments in question is fixed. This indicator is set for those who:

• worked less than six months;
• did not work on an official basis.

In the first situation, the current minimum wage value is taken into account. In the second, it is necessary to take into account the basis for the calculation as the amount of benefits that goes to those who are not employed.

The law reflects the minimum amounts of the income under consideration: for the first-born it is 3,050 rubles, for the rest - 6,100. Bodies authorized to transfer funds cannot pay less than the indicated amount. If a woman gives birth to twins, then the calculation operation will look like this: 3050+6131 = 9181 rubles.

Maximum and minimum average earnings in 2021

To calculate the amount of maternity benefits, you need to know that the maximum amount cannot be more than a certain amount. For 2021, this amount is calculated as follows: it is necessary to take the maximum amount for insurance premiums for 2021 and 2021 and divide it by 730 days.

Let's calculate this maximum amount of average daily earnings:

(912,000 + 865,000.00) / 730 days = 2434.25 rubles.

When calculating the amount of maternity benefits, in addition to the maximum amount, you need to remember the minimum amount of average earnings. This amount is determined in accordance with the Federal Law “On Compulsory Social Insurance in Case of Temporary Disability and in Connection with Maternity” dated December 29, 2006 No. 255-FZ (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 255-FZ). This amount is equal to the 24th minimum wage .

The minimum wage for 2021 is set at 12,792 rubles . This means that the minimum maternity benefit per day will be:

12 792 × 24/730 = 420.56 rubles

So in 2021 the benefit amount will be:

How to calculate maternity money? For this:

1. The calculated average daily earnings are multiplied by the number of days of sick leave according to the BiR.
2. The resulting value is then compared with the minimum and maximum possible benefits.

If:

• the resulting allowance fits into the “fork” - they pay it;
• the calculated benefit is less than necessary - they pay the minimum - according to the minimum wage;
• the calculated amount has exceeded the maximum benefit according to the contribution limit - the maternity leaver only needs to pay the maximum possible limit.

Examples of calculation depending on length of service

When a mother has accumulated experience of a couple of years or more, and her earnings amount to 35 thousand rubles, then the following points need to be taken into account:

• there are time periods that need to be subtracted (for example, while mom was sick);
• how many babies does she bear?
• the presence of complications during the birth process.

To calculate the monthly allowance you need to: multiply the average daily allowance by 30.4 and 0.4. The first indicator is a quantitative expression of the annual period divided by months.

If a citizen has unemployed status, then the amount of the minimum unemployment benefit must be taken into account when calculating. It is equal to 850 rubles. Then: (850*24)/730*140 = one-time payment is 3912 rubles. In this case, every month the citizen will receive 335 rubles. (850*24)/730*30.04*0.4.

Examples of calculating benefits for BiR in 2021

EXAMPLE 1

The employee is going on maternity leave in 2021. Her earnings in 2021 amounted to 480,000 rubles, and in 2021 – 545,000 rubles.

The average daily earnings are 1,402.19 rubles. ((RUB 480,000 + RUB 545,000) / 731 days)).

The amount of maternity benefit will be:

RUB 1,402.19 x 140 days = 196,306.6 rub.

EXAMPLE 2

The employee is going on maternity leave in 2021. Her earnings for 2021 amounted to 450,000 rubles, and for 2021 – 510,000 rubles. At the same time, the employee was on sick leave in 2021 - 19 calendar days, in 2021 - 20 calendar days.

Days of temporary disability and the amount of benefits paid during this time are not taken into account when calculating the amount of maternity benefits.

The average daily earnings are 1,387.28 rubles. ((RUB 450,000 + RUB 510,000) / (731 days – 19 days – 20 days)).

The amount of maternity benefit will be:

1387.28 rub. x 140 days = 194,219.2 rub.

EXAMPLE 3

The employee goes on maternity leave in 2021. In 2019 - 2021. she was on maternity and child care leave. Earnings for 2021 amounted to 400,000 rubles, for 2018 - 460,000 rubles.

The amount of average daily earnings when using 2017-2018 as the calculation period. equal to 1178.08 rubles. ((400,000 rub. + 460,000 rub.) / 730 d.).

The amount of maternity benefit will be:

1178.08 rub. x 140 days = 164,931.2 rub.

Payments to female students without work experience

Women who are studying full-time can count on the payments in question. In this case, the basis does not matter, that is, it can be paid or free. The amount of payment is determined as the scholarship that the citizen received at the time of registration of leave.

Speaking about correspondence students, it is worth noting that they are not eligible. The period while a citizen is studying at an educational institution cannot be classified as length of service. This indicates that this time is not taken into account when calculating maternity leave. The exceptions are persons studying in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Ministry of Defense.