Both new mums and dads in Germany can take advantage of a generous parental leave policy. Here’s what you need to know, including the unique way leave can be split up, how it applies to freelancers, and where the Bundesrepublik stands in comparison to other countries.
The federal government has announced a new model of parental leave pay starting in July 2015 called Elterngeld Plus, heralded as a step forward for working mothers by the federal Families Minister - but not all working parents are happy about it.
The pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) is stepping up its effort to revive flagging voter interest with an overhaul of Germany's social welfare net, suggesting a basic children’s income should replace all parenting and child payments.
In an effort to signal a break with the past and whip up fresh momentum, the pro-business Free Democrats have blasted the “bureaucratically fossilised welfare state” and called for an end to parenting payments.
Parents hoping for an extension of <i>Elterngeld</i> parenting payments are set to be disappointed, with Family Minister Kristina Schröder reportedly ditching a plan for the number of “fathers’ months” to be doubled.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet signed off Wednesday on a hefty austerity package that critics say will hit the poorest hardest and could endanger Germany and therefore Europe's economic recovery.
Central family policy projects laid out in Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition contract have apparently been put on ice, a media report said on Monday.
The German government plans to conduct a sweeping review of its family policies and benefits to see whether they have been effective, Family Minister Kristina Schröder said on Wednesday.
Cuts to Germany's <i>Elterngeld</i> parenting benefits will be deeper than previously thought, with its centre-right government planning to benefits for low-income parents who work part-time, media reported Friday.
As the dust settles on the German government's plans for a round of brutal belt-tightening, The Local breaks down the numbers and the details to see how it affects you.
German Family Minister Kristina Köhler has suggested cuts to <i>Elterngeld</i>, or parental benefits, by some €70 per month to help solve the government's budgetary woes, a media report said on Tuesday.
Germany's Ministry of Family Affairs accused EU statisticians on Tuesday of using inaccurate birth rate data in a new study that placed it dead last among European countries.
German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen has made parental leave benefits more flexible during the recession so that new families don’t have to fear leaving the workforce in a cutthroat job market, daily <i>Bild</i> reported on Friday.
