The SPD plans to relieve young families more strongly in the event of a possible future government participation. According to a passage from the SPD’s election program, reported by the news portal T-Online, the Chancellor’s party plans a series of reforms to promote the compatibility of family and work and equal partnership.
Regarding parental leave, the SPD promises a longer benefit period and a more flexible distribution: “Each parent should have the right to six non-transferable months of parental leave. In addition, there are another six months that can be distributed freely between both parents. This increases the total number of parental leave months from the current 14 to 18 months” it says in the “Draft of the SPD’s Government Program for the 2025 Federal Election.”
As T-Online reports, citing the party leadership, the SPD also plans to increase the amount of parental leave available for free use to 80% of the net income, instead of the current 65%, as long as both parents use these months to the same extent. The condition for the higher rate is that both parents use these months to the same extent.
At the same time, the SPD plans to adjust the minimum and maximum amounts for parental leave (currently €300 and €1,800) since the introduction of parental leave in 2007, citing the party leadership.
The SPD also wants to extend the special notice period for termination of employment after parental leave from one to three months. The maternity protection will be reformed: a “tiered maternity protection” will support women more strongly in the event of a miscarriage in the future.
Currently, expectant mothers who experience a miscarriage are entitled to maternity protection from the 24th week of pregnancy onwards. The goal is to reduce the 24-week threshold in a tiered manner, depending on the pregnancy week, according to the party leadership. The SPD also wants to strengthen maternity protection for self-employed women, who are pregnant. “We also think it’s right that the next federal government develops a concept for maternity protection for the self-employed” it says in the program draft.
In addition to the longer parental leave, young families will benefit from a “family start time”: fathers or partners “should be able to take two weeks of full, tax-financed paid leave after the birth of a child without having to use vacation time” it says in the election program.
The family start time, where fathers or partners are released without having to take vacation, was already proposed in a bill by the Green Family Minister Lisa Paus in March 2023. However, the bill did not become law, as the FDP, the former coalition partner, questioned the funding. Now, the family start time finds its way into the SPD’s election program. “We want to give parents more time for the family and promote partnership. For a successful family life, working parents need time and the necessary free space to organize their daily life in partnership” it says there.