Sick leave, maternity and parental leave in Germany 2026

Germany's sick leave policy, step by step

1. Weeks 1 to 4 of a new job: no employer sick pay yet. The claim starts after four weeks of uninterrupted employment (EFZG section 3(3)).
2. Up to six weeks per illness: the employer pays full salary.
3. From week seven: the health fund pays Krankengeld, 70% of regular gross pay up to the EUR 5,812.50 monthly ceiling, and never more than 90% of last net pay.
4. Limit: employer pay and Krankengeld together run for at most 78 weeks in 3 years.

A recurring illness can restart the six weeks if the employee was not off with the same illness for at least six months before, or if twelve months have passed since the first absence for it. On a EUR 35,000 salary, six weeks of sick pay cost 35,000 / 52 x 6 = EUR 4,038.46.

Leave rules in Germany at a glance

Mutterschutz: 14 weeks and the employer top-up

The protection period runs 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after the birth, and longer for premature or multiple births. Pay comes from two places:

• The statutory health fund pays Mutterschaftsgeld of up to EUR 13 a day (about $14.63), based on the last 3 months' average net pay.
• The employer pays the rest up to full average net pay, the Arbeitgeberzuschuss.

Illustration, with an assumed average net pay of EUR 65 a calendar day: the fund pays 13 and you pay 52. Over the 98 days of a standard 14-week period that is 52 x 98 = EUR 5,096 from the employer. Women who are privately insured or family-insured get at most EUR 210 in total from the Federal Office for Social Security instead of the daily EUR 13. The employer-only U1 and U2 levies, priced by health fund, sit alongside these costs.

Elternzeit and Elterngeld

After maternity protection, German parents can take parental leave (Elternzeit) and claim parental allowance (Elterngeld). The federal family portal describes Elterngeld as a state family benefit, so the employer does not pay it, and notes new rules for births from April 1, 2024. We did not confirm the length of Elternzeit or the Elterngeld amounts on an official page this month, so we do not quote them.

Is there paternity leave in Germany?

We found no statutory paternity leave in force. A two-week partner leave after birth has been proposed, but we could not confirm that it applies, so fathers today rely on Elternzeit and Elterngeld rather than a dedicated paternity right.

Holidays and payroll costs

Statutory holiday is 24 Werktage a year, every day except Sundays and public holidays, which equals 20 working days on a five-day week, with the full right after 6 months. Public holidays are set by each state, so the count depends on where your hire lives. Employer contributions are 21.30% (EUR 7,455.00 on EUR 35,000) before the U1, U2 and accident insurance levies; see the Germany employer cost guide, Germany's 2026 minimum wage and median pay in Germany.

German leave through an EOR

The EOR pays the six weeks of sick pay and the maternity top-up through German payroll, deals with the health fund and bills you for both. Ask whether its quote includes the U1 and U2 levies, since they vary by fund and are left out of headline contribution rates.

EOR list prices run from $99 (Native Teams, whose help center says EUR 99) to $699 (Oyster) per employee per month (country cost index), with Deel at $599, checked October 16 and 18, 2026. Compare on our EOR rankings, or see Dutch sick pay, which runs two years.