What documents are needed before parental leave in Germany?

Before parental leave in Germany, employees give the employer documents such as the certificate of eligibility for leave and certificates of income and assets

Introduction

Germany offers many benefits to its citizens. One of these benefits is parental leave. Parental leave gives parents the opportunity to spend time raising their newborn or preparing for the arrival. However, before you can start taking parental leave, you will need to gather certain documents and information. This includes dates of employment, personal information, and which documents will be needed by the employer. Parental leave is a special time in life when it's important to learn how it works in your hometown and country.

Employees who want to take parental leave must give their employer certain documents. These include a certificate of eligibility for leave from the family benefits office (Familienkasse), a birth certificate or other proof that the birth has taken place, and their child’s health insurance card. In addition, employees who wish to receive parental allowance must give their employer their current bank details. If they have already been on parental leave once before, they must also give their employer a certificate showing what amounts of income and assets they received during their last period of parental leave

Before a period of parental leave begins, they must give the employer:

The certificate of eligibility for leave. This document confirms that you are eligible for parental leave and has been issued by the Federal Social Security office. It also shows how much money you receive from them in your child’s first year (the “child’s allowance”).
The birth certificate or other proof that the birth has taken place. You will need to give an official copy of this document to your employer if they ask for it.
Your child's health insurance card. By law, all parents must ensure that their children have valid health insurance coverage at all times—including during periods when they are not working and cannot be covered by their own or their partner's policy

a certificate of eligibility for leave issued by the family benefits office (Familienkasse)

The certificate of eligibility for leave is a form that you must complete and submit to the family benefits office (Familienkasse). The form includes information about your income, assets and whether or not you have children already. The family benefits office will then issue a certificate of eligibility for leave. This document will be necessary when applying for parental leave in Germany, so it’s important that you keep it safe until then!

a birth certificate or other proof that the birth has taken place

All documents must be submitted in German or English. If you are using a translator, make sure that the translator has translated the documents accurately and translated them into German for your child's birth certificate.

If you have a child born outside of Germany, there are three options:

You can obtain an Apostille from the country where your child was born (you will need to send this document to Germany.)
You can have your child's birth certificate sent by post to Germany (this requires that you have proof of identity on file with the relevant government agency).
You can get proof that they are exempt from paying taxes in their country of residence and submit it along with their passport or another identification document (this requires contact with the relevant government agency).

the child’s health insurance card.

In addition to the required documentation, the employee must also provide their employer with a health insurance card for their child. This is necessary because, during parental leave, an employee is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits if they are not insured with health insurance. In order to both qualify for and receive parental leave benefits, the child must have a valid health insurance card at all times throughout the period of parental leave. The employer will need to obtain copies of these documents from the parent after receiving them from their doctor or medical professionals.

In addition, employees who wish to receive parental allowance must give their employer their current bank details.

In addition, employees who wish to receive parental allowance must give their employer their current bank details. This is necessary so that the parent can receive the allowance directly into their bank account. Employees who do not have a bank account in Germany can use the online tool ElterngeldOnline to create printouts of all documents that need to be submitted and send them to their employer.

Please note

If the employee has already been on parental leave once before, they must also give their employer a certificate showing what amounts of income and assets they received during their last period of parental leave. All documents can be submitted electronically via Elterngeld Online Service. Alternatively, employees can use the online tool ElterngeldOnline to create printouts of all documents that need to be submitted and send them to their employer. The employer will then use this information to calculate and pay parental allowance.

If you are eligible for the parental allowance, you must provide the following documents to your employer:

A certificate of eligibility for parental leave (Vorläufiges Bescheinigungsverfahren) from your health insurance fund. This is a document that states that you are entitled to receive the parental allowance. It contains information about the date on which you became eligible and how long it will take before the next step in calculating your payments can begin (if applicable).
A certificate of income and assets (Bescheinigung über Einkommen und Vermögen). This document shows how much money any benefits have been reduced or replaced since last year's payment period ended. The amount shown on this certificate can be used as an estimate when determining how much money needs to be paid out during this current period of payment—so that parents do not need to wait until their final tax return has been processed before beginning their claim with Kela

Conclusion

The law requires employees to give their employers certain documents before they can take parental leave. These documents include a certificate of eligibility for leave issued by the family benefits office (Familienkasse), the birth certificate or other proof that the birth has taken place, and details about their bank account. In addition to these documents, employees who wish to receive parental allowance must also provide their employer with information about what amounts of income and assets they received during their last period of parental leave. All documents can be submitted electronically via Elterngeld Online Service or alternatively created using the online tool ElterngeldOnline before sending them to their employer via email or post office delivery service