• Benefits
• Pre-natal family benefit / Increased family benefit for children and young persons

Employees - Maternity, Paternity and Adoption

Direcção-Geral da Segurança Social
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PARENTAL SOCIAL PROTECTION SCHEME - MATERNITY, PATERNITY AND ADOPTION

The new scheme came into force on 1 May 2009

Protection provided to employees through the granting of benefits in case of clinical risk during pregnancy, voluntary interruption of pregnancy, birth of children, adoption, particular risks and for the care of children and grandchildren with the aim of compensation for loss of earnings during employee leave periods, such as:

- Benefit in case of clinical risk during pregnancy
- Benefit in case of voluntary interruption of pregnancy
- Benefit in case of particular risks
- Parental Benefit:
. Initial Parental Benefit
. Initial (exclusive for mothers)
. Initial (exclusive for fathers)
. Initial (for one of the parents, if the other parent may not take leave)
- Extended Parental Benefit
- Adoption Benefit
- Adoption Benefit in case of extended leave
- Benefit for the care of children
- Benefit for the care of disabled or chronically ill children
- Benefit for the care of grandchildren:
. In case of birth
. In case of a minor grandchild or a disabled or chronically ill child


Qualifying conditions
Granting Periods
Claim Forms

QUALIFYING CONDITIONS

Eligibility is based on the following cumulative conditions:
. 6 calendar months with registered earnings, from the first day of the leave period (means testing).

The qualifying period may be completed with periods of earnings registration completed under any other Portuguese or foreign social protection scheme that covers parental protection, including civil servants’ protection scheme.

. Periods of parental leave (paid and unpaid leave periods), as foreseen in the Labour Code, taken by employees or equivalent periods taken by other beneficiaries.

Entitlement to the benefit in case of pregnancy as regards performing artists also depends on if the performance of their artistic activities is considered to be a risk factor for the normal development of pregnancy.

Note: The workers who don’t fulfil the qualifying conditions for the entitlement to the benefits may be entitled to social benefits if they comply with the means test requirements applied to persons in socioeconomic need.

SOCIAL BENEFITS AMOUNTS

They are calculated in percentage of the amount of beneficiary’s Reference Earnings –RE, as follows:



The amount of the Benefit in case of pregnancy (Performing Artists) is 80% of RE, calculated on the basis of sickness benefit they are entitled to receive.

REFERENCE EARNINGS – RE is defined as:

RE = R/180 where:
R = total registered earnings in the 6 calendar months preceding the second month prior to the beginning of the leave period.

Or

RE = R / (30Xn), if any registered earnings have been made during the above mentioned period of 6 calendar months in case of agregation of insurance periods, R = total registered earnings from the beginning of the reference period until the beginning of the month of the leave period and n = the number of months with earnings registration.
Christmas bonus, holiday bonus or others are taken into account.

EARNINGS REGISTRATION

Granting periods are considered as periods with earnings registration in the following situations:
- Granting of benefits treated as work earnings;
- Part-time work, in case of workers with children under the age of 12, or without age limits if the children are disabled or chronically ill. The worker shall inform about this situation and the earnings registration corresponds to the maximum amount of the average earnings registration on the basis of full-time job;
- Unpaid leave periods to assist children, after Extended Parental Leave has been exhausted. The worker shall inform about these periods, which are taken into account for the calculation of Old-Age and Invalidity Pensions under the general social security scheme.



- Decree-Law Nº 91/2009, of 9 April – Parental protection scheme
- Law Nº 7/2009, of 12 February – Labour Code



Self-employed persons
Workers covered by voluntary social insurance scheme
Persons in socio-economic need (social benefits)

Rights and Obligations

Social Protection