The new Family Caregiver Leave Act has been in force since January 1, 2012: the so-called Act on the Reconciliation of Care and Work is intended to make it easier for working people to care for family members and to enable them to continue to work while providing care. We have compiled the most important information about the new law for you.
Number of people in need of care is growing
The number of people in need of care in Germany continues to rise: there are currently around 2.5 million people who are dependent on outside help in their everyday lives. Of these, around 1.7 million are cared for at home – either by their own relatives or by an outpatient care service. For relatives who are fully employed, comprehensive care for a person in need of care is usually difficult or impossible to reconcile with their professional duties. However, the new Family Care Leave Act, which was passed by the Bundestag in October 2011, should make it easier for family members to combine care and work in the future.
Family care leave – old regulations remain in place
Before the new Family Caregiver Leave Act came into force – that is, until the end of 2011 – employees who wanted to care for a relative at home had two options: First, they could take up to six months off from work. During this time out, they were not paid any wages or salary, although they continued to be covered by social insurance. However, this arrangement only applied to companies with at least 15 employees. The employer had to be notified of the period of caregiver leave and the extent of the leave at least ten days before it began. Secondly, it was possible to take time off from work for up to ten days in the event of a spontaneous nursing case occurring in the family. This was intended to guarantee that care can be organized for the relative in line with their needs. This regulation also applied to small companies and was therefore not linked to the number of employees. A medical certificate was sufficient for the leave of absence. These two regulations will remain in force after January 1, 2012.
Family care leave from 2012
In the future, employees will be able to reduce their working hours to a minimum of 15 hours for a maximum of two years in consultation with their employer. During this period, known as the care phase, the salary will only be reduced by half of the respective reduction in working hours: anyone who previously had a full job and wants to reduce it to a half job will receive 75 percent of their salary for the period of care. After the end of the care phase – i.e. after two years at the latest – the post-care phase then follows. This lasts the same length of time as the care phase and serves to rebalance the wage and hour account: The employee increases his hours again, but does not receive his full salary until he has reduced his hours deficit: For the example above, this means that the employee returns to a full job but continues to receive only 75 percent of his or her salary. Only when this post-care period is completed can another care period be requested for the same person in need of care.
Family care leave for part-time employees
Part-time employees – in contrast to full-time employees – can compensate for the advance paid by the employer not only through salary, but also through working hours. Here’s another example: an employee who worked 30 hours before the caregiver leave began reduces the number of hours during the caregiver leave to 20 hours and thus gets paid for 25 hours during the caregiver leave period. At the end of the caregiver leave period, the part-time employee now has two options:
- He works 30 hours as before, but gets paid for the period of the post-care phase only 25 hours.
- He now works 35 hours, but gets paid for the period of the post-care phase only 30 hours.
Those who have a temporary amount can apply for family care leave only for half of the time remaining in the employment contract. In this way, it should be ensured that the advance on wages can still be repaid during the employment relationship. The same applies to trainees. The Family Caregiver Leave Act does not apply to civil servants, but under civil service law they can reduce their period of service or take unpaid leave of absence.
Entitlement to family care leave
All employees who wish to care for a close relative in his or her home environment are entitled to family care leave. In this context, the relative in need of care must belong to at least care level 1. In principle, any employee – regardless of the size of the company in question – can apply for family care leave. It should be noted, however, that there is no legal entitlement: If there is an important reason, the employer can also refuse family care time. If the employer has agreed to family care time, he can apply for an interest-free loan from the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Tasks. With the help of this loan, the employer can pay the advance on wages during the care phase. During the post-care phase, the employer then withholds a portion of the employee’s salary and uses it to repay the loan.
Family care leave and pension
A positive aspect of family caregiver leave is that the affected employees do not lose their pension entitlements during the caregiving and post-caregiving phases. During this time, the employer continues to pay pension insurance contributions based on the reduced income. In addition, contributions to the pension insurance fund are also paid by the care insurance fund – provided that the care effort amounts to at least 14 hours per week, while the gainful employment does not exceed 30 hours. The payments into the pension fund are based on the care level of the relative. These additional payments keep pension entitlements at about the level of full-time employment.
Death or relocation of the person in need of care
If the person in need of care dies during the family care period or if care at home is no longer possible, the basic conditions of the family care period no longer apply. The employee is then obliged to inform his employer immediately about the changed situation. In such a case, the family care period officially ends in the second month after the person in need of care moves to a home or dies.
Family care leave: insurance required
To minimize the risk for the employer, a so-called family care time insurance policy must be taken out before the start of the family care time. This insurance takes effect, for example, in the event of occupational disability or incapacity to work, or even in the event of the employee’s death. The insurance means that the employer does not incur any financial losses in such a case. The insurance, whose premiums are relatively low, can be taken out either by the employer or the employee. As a rule, the employer may not terminate the employee’s employment during the care and post-care period. If he does so anyway, the employee no longer has to fulfill the obligations of the post-care period. If, on the other hand, the employee quits or neglects his or her duties during the post-care period, he or she must pay off the wage advance in installments.
Criticism of the Family Care Leave Act
Criticism of the new Family Care Time Act is coming primarily from the ranks of the SPD and the trade unions. They criticize that only employees who earn very well could cope with a longer-term salary sacrifice of 25 percent. In addition, the non-existent legal entitlement is also heavily criticized: It is feared that this will mean that only a few companies will actually engage in family care leave. On the business side, family caregiver leave has not been very popular so far. Companies criticize the fact that – in order to compensate for the downtime caused by family care time – they have to keep more staff on hand. They also fear that many employees will not return to work after the end of the caregiver leave.
