Childcare: What is grandparent leave and who can take advantage of it?

The following definition can be found on the family portal of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ): “Parental leave is an unpaid break from working life for mothers and fathers who look after and raise their child themselves.” Employees can request parental leave from their employer and be released for up to three years. This concept is well known and used by most families. In addition to parental leave, there is also grandparent leave. What it is all about and who can use it is explained in this article.

Two initial situations entitle you to use grandparent leave

Grandparent leave comes into play where the child’s parents cannot take parental leave. The BMFSFJ names two different types of grandparent leave:

1. Parental leave for grandparents if one parent is still a minor or is doing an apprenticeship that started before their 18th birthday;
2. Parental leave for grandparents and other relatives if there is particular hardship (for example, the parents are seriously ill).

The concept: If the child does not live with its parents but with its grandparents, they can – under certain conditions – take up to three years of grandparent leave.

The same conditions apply as for parental leave

According to the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG), the requirements are the same as for taking parental leave:

1. The grandparents are employees,
2. live with the child in the same household,
3. look after and bring up the child themselves,
4. either do not work at all or work a maximum of 30 hours per week during parental leave (for births after September 1, 2021: 32 hours per week) and
5. if they do not have custody of the child, the grandparents need the consent of the parent with custody.

In addition, only either the parents or the grandparents can take parental or grandparent leave. However, it does not matter which parent is still a minor or in education: the grandparents with whom the child lives are potentially eligible for grandparent leave.

There are special regulations for cases of hardship

Grandparents who take grandparent leave are not necessarily entitled to grandparent allowance: In an interview with the information portal aktiv, a spokesman for the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs explained that parents are often entitled to parental allowance despite grandparent leave. However, it always depends on the individual case – the parents live in another city and do not participate in childcare, and there is no parental allowance either. If there is no entitlement to parental allowance, the grandparents can apply for grandparent allowance. In certain situations, there is the option of submitting a hardship application. This is the case, for example, when the child is temporarily cared for by grandparents or other family members because the parents are deceased or seriously ill – regardless of whether the child was or is to be adopted by the family members caring for them.

Due to the many special cases and the complexity of family situations, it is advisable to always seek advice from the parental allowance office about the possibilities of receiving grandparent allowance. The advice is free of charge and can help to find the most suitable individual approach.

Olga Rogler / Editor finanzen.net

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