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Request for parental leave
Parental leave is an unpaid break from work for mothers and fathers who care for and raise their child themselves. Each parent is entitled to up to three years of parental leave from their employer. You can take your parental leave before your child’s third birthday. You can also take part of it between your child’s third and eighth birthdays.
During parental leave, parents are not required to work. If they are not employed, they do not receive a salary. To compensate, you can, for example, apply for parental allowance. However, parents may work part-time during parental leave if they wish. While on parental leave, they may work a total of 64 hours per week (32 + 32).
The employment contract remains in effect throughout the entire parental leave period. Once it has expired, the employee is entitled to return to their previous work schedule. Since the employment relationship is merely suspended during parental leave and is fully reinstated at the end of parental leave, the employee must be employed in accordance with the terms of the employment contract. Special protection against termination applies throughout the entire period of parental leave.
For fixed-term contracts of research staff, special conditions apply regarding contract renewal:
If the contract is limited in duration pursuant to the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (WissZeitVG), then the total permissible fixed-term duration is extended by two years per child when caring for one or more children under the age of 18.
For third-party-funded projects, the contract between the third-party funding provider and Clausthal University of Technology applies. It must be determined whether the contract term can be extended. This is typically specified in the respective contract.
In the staff comittee’s FAQ, you will find important regulations regarding, among other things, the fixed-term nature of contracts.
Where is the application for parental leave submitted?
• To the employer
When should the application be submitted?
• No later than seven weeks before the planned start of parental leave. Before the child is born, the estimated due date counts as the start date. If the non-pregnant parent wishes to take parental leave immediately after the birth, this means the application must be submitted seven weeks before the estimated due date.
Required documents:
• The request must be submitted in writing and include information about the duration of parental leave
• At Clausthal University of Technology: Submit the application in Liquid Office
Comprehensive information on parental leave can be found on the Family Portal of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth and in the brochure “Parental Leave and Parental Allowance.”