Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) is apparently planning a far-reaching reform of parental allowance. According to a media report by the magazine “Politico”, a bill from your ministry proposes to reduce the maximum benefit period from 14 to twelve months. The Federal Ministry for Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ) confirmed to our editorial team that the magazine’s information was based on the draft bill, but that the draft is currently still being coordinated by departments. The aim is to create more incentives for “partnership sharing of parental leave”. A reform of parental allowance would also directly affect human resources departments: Above all, they would have to adapt to changes in personnel planning.
Draft law: What changes to parental allowance does the Ministry of Family Affairs envisage?
The draft law from the Ministry of Family Affairs is now intended to change some things about parental allowance. In addition to reducing the maximum benefit period, the compulsory months are to be increased from two to three months. According to the draft law, six additional months can be flexibly divided between the parents. Single parents are exempt from this regulation. In addition, the minimum monthly amount that parental allowance recipients can receive is to be increased from 300 to 330 euros and the maximum monthly amount from 1,800 to 1,900 euros.
Criticism: Equality without structural prerequisites
Sandra Runge, self-employed lawyer specializing in labor law, welcomes the aim of the reform, but sharply criticizes the planned implementation: Involving fathers in childcare earlier is fundamentally right. However, the reform calls for equality without creating the structural prerequisites for this: a lack of daycare places and inflexible employers are not taken into account. In addition, there would be a loss of income due to longer parental leave, because in many families one parent, often the man, earns more. If the compulsory months increase from two to three months, as in the draft law, this means a longer period of time without full income for the higher-earning parent. Anyone who forces partnership instead of enabling it is cutting corners, especially at the expense of families.
What parental allowance variants are there?
There are currently three parental allowance variants that can be combined: basic parental allowance, parental allowance plus and partnership bonus. Parental Allowance Plus makes it possible to extend the payment period: parents receive a maximum of half of the basic parental allowance each month, but can receive it for twice as long. The partnership bonus rewards couples who work part-time at the same time: If they both reduce their jobs to 24 to 32 hours per week, they each receive up to four additional months of Parental Allowance Plus.
What currently applies to basic parental allowance?
The change resulting from the relevant draft law primarily affects basic parental allowance. This can currently be received from the day of birth until the child is 14 months old. In order to receive the benefit, both parents must apply for parental allowance for at least two months each according to the current regulations. The reference period is regulated in Section 4 of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG).
Accordingly, the following currently applies: If one parent receives parental allowance alone, a maximum of twelve months can be claimed. Two additional months, the so-called partner months or father’s months, are added if one parent’s income is reduced for two months. At the same time, both parents can only take one month within the first 12 months of the child’s life.
How much is the basic parental allowance currently?
The amount of basic parental allowance depends on the individual income of the recipient and is legally regulated in Section 2 BEEG. In principle, the state grants parental allowance amounting to 67 percent of the net income that the applicant received from their employment before the birth. For incomes of 1,200 euros or more net, 65 percent of the lost income is lost. As things currently stand, the percentages should not be changed by the reform.
The minimum amount of parental allowance is currently 300 euros, the maximum amount is 1,800 euros per month. According to the law, the minimum amount also applies if the parent did not receive any income from employment before the child was born.
Father’s Months: Norm instead of real responsibility?
Couples can take two additional months of parental leave together, for a total of 14 months, if one parent reduces their income for two months. These “father months” are intended as an incentive. Only if the partner receives parental allowance for at least two months will the joint period of receipt be extended from twelve to 14 months. At least this is the case so far. Data from the Federal Statistical Office show that this model has had little effect so far: In 2025, 1.19 million women received parental allowance compared to only 417,000 men. The number of fathers actually fell by 15,000 compared to the previous year.
These additional months are now to be increased from two to three. Nadine Schulz, expert and consultant for family compatibility, is critical of the increase. Figures from Destatis showed that three quarters of fathers who take parental leave take the two partner months. According to Schulz, you would only meet the mandatory requirements in order to utilize the full amount of parental allowance. With three months instead of two, the norm would shift, but the basic pattern would remain: the father fulfills the minimum, the mother takes on the rest. “Real assumption of responsibility does not arise automatically from this,” says Schulz.
HR under pressure: What a parental allowance reform means for companies
A parental allowance reform also forces companies to take action. According to Nadine Schulz, this was accompanied by concrete measures that would then have to be implemented:
- Return interviews should not take place shortly before the end of parental leave, but much earlier.
- Flexible transition models such as staggered part-time work would help to bridge the often difficult phase between the end of parental allowance and the start of daycare.
- Employers who also offer their own childcare or financial subsidies are ahead in the competition for skilled workers.
Schulz also emphasizes that a culture change is also needed in companies. Managers should support parental leave for fathers just as naturally as for mothers. To achieve this, it is important to promote visible male role models and a family-friendly management culture, which will help ensure that parental leave becomes normal for fathers too.
Paid family start time: An alternative lever in the parental leave debate
While the reform relies, among other things, on more compulsory months, family expert Nadine Schulz advocates a possible alternative approach: a paid family start period immediately after birth, a concept that has been widely discussed in recent years. This involves paid time off for the partner in the first days or weeks after the birth. This would be independent of traditional parental leave. There is currently no legal right to this in Germany, as a recent legal case made clear. “The first few weeks often set the course for the later distribution of roles in the family. Those who start parenthood together from the start often divide up tasks more naturally later,” explains Schulz.
Mara Marx is a volunteer at Human Resources.
