According to the law, in general, a woman is entitled to maternity leave from the 30th week of pregnancy. This is exactly the right, not the obligation – she can go on maternity leave later. The number of days of maternity leave will decrease.
Example 1
The employee brought a sick leave for maternity leave on July 30, 2024, but it indicates the period of sick leave from July 22, 2024 to December 08, 2024 (140 days – 70 days before and 70 days after childbirth). In the order for maternity leave, you need to specify the period from the moment when she wrote the application, that is, from 30.07.2024 to 08.12.2024. This means that the number of days in the order will not be 140, but 132, since she worked for 8 days from 22 to 29. See Rostrud’s explanations on the Online Inspection website.RF.
Also keep in mind that this will affect the amount of the benefit.
Firstly, the allowance itself will be accrued only for the actual days of the decree. While the expectant mother is working, she receives a salary, and she is not entitled to benefits during this time. This means that the part of the allowance that falls on unused vacation days simply disappears.
Continuation of example 1
Since the employee has worked the first 8 days of maternity leave, she needs to be paid for them. And the SFR will calculate the maternity allowance in 132 days (from 30.07 to 08.12.2024).
Secondly, the calculation period may shift – the years for calculating average earnings will be determined based on the date of the actual start of maternity leave.
Example 2
The employee had the right to leave in December 2024, and she issued it in January 2025. In this case, the billing period will be 2023 and 2024. While with timely maternity leave, it should be 2022 and 2023.
Explanations from “ConsultantPlus” will help you fill out the maternity leave list. You can get trial access to the legal system for free.