3 ms·

In Germany you'll get up to three years right-of-return. The employer doesn't pay you a dime. First twelve months you get approx. 60% of your current income fr

In Germany you'll get up to three years right-of-return. The employer doesn't pay you a dime. First twelve months you get approx. 60% of your current income from the government (BTW the same coverage people get when unemployed). You can expand those twelve months into 24, halving the amount of what you're paid. You can also apply for additional support (e.g. there's a fixed amount per kid you'll get until it reaches adulthood). From the feedback I've gotten so far 3 years sounds bizarre to most people outside of Germany. It certainly sounds like something guaranteeing a manifestation of gender-pay-gap. But it is in my experience actually the women here, who mostly want those 3 years. And equally bizarre: how shocked many are to hear how fast mothers return to their jobs in say France or Switzerland.

bluecalm 8y ago
I like what they do in Switzerland. 3 years is ridiculous for a small business, you often don't know you can survive the next year let alone plan for 3. It's the problem with laws in EU in general though. They are very often made for reality of big businesses hiring hundreds of people. The laws and regulations often make sense there but present a huge obstacle for small players.
- simion314 8y ago
  If you pay the person well then that person will go back to work for the extra money(though some people are not into making more and more money).
barry-cotter 8y ago
Germany’s total fertility rate is below all but one of its neighbours so whatever it’s doing it’s not making things easier for women who want to have children. Germany 1.41 France 1.98 Luxembourg 1.78 Denmark 1.74 Netherlands 1.66 Switzerland 1.44 Austria 1.38 Poland 1.27
- xzel 8y ago
  I doubt that number has much to do with leave benefits because from what I understand those benefits have only increased. I think it would be much more cultural and generational.
- woodpanel 8y ago
  Not to nitpick: Fertility rate (FR) in Germany is at 1.50 (2016), up from 1.24 (1994). Other than that you're right. One thing I keep hearing that actually worked better in Eastern Germany were the government funded expenses to make sure, women stayed financially independent from the father (and family), if need be (as indicated by the fact that Eastern German women that experienced the GDR are usually immune to today's extreme forms of feminism). One thing in particular was that in the GDR day-nursery coverage was at 80%, in cities at 100% and they were completely free (except for the food). FR was higher than in Western Germany during the whole time GDR existed. Note: This is not an endorsement of high government spending or communism. The US trumps all of Europe with their FR while having assumably a far looser social security net [1]. In GDR there also wasn't much choice for where to put your kids and the methods of caring for them were certainly blind to trends like "montessori" etc. I guess, much of FR is due to economic predictability and less to the height of income you predict. [1] For now, since US FR is declining, against the trend in Europe. Also of interest: How much of that rate (US or EU) is inflated by migrants?
- ionised 8y ago
  You can't infer from the birth rate that German women want to have kids but can't. Birth rates drop as prosperity increases and people feel less need to have children (some rejecting children entirely), and Germany is one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

bluecalm 8y ago

I like what they do in Switzerland. 3 years is ridiculous for a small business, you often don't know you can survive the next year let alone plan for 3. It's the problem with laws in EU in general though. They are very often made for reality of big businesses hiring hundreds of people. The laws and regulations often make sense there but present a huge obstacle for small players.

simion314 8y ago
If you pay the person well then that person will go back to work for the extra money(though some people are not into making more and more money).

barry-cotter 8y ago

Germany’s total fertility rate is below all but one of its neighbours so whatever it’s doing it’s not making things easier for women who want to have children. Germany 1.41 France 1.98 Luxembourg 1.78 Denmark 1.74 Netherlands 1.66 Switzerland 1.44 Austria 1.38 Poland 1.27

xzel 8y ago
I doubt that number has much to do with leave benefits because from what I understand those benefits have only increased. I think it would be much more cultural and generational.
woodpanel 8y ago
Not to nitpick: Fertility rate (FR) in Germany is at 1.50 (2016), up from 1.24 (1994). Other than that you're right. One thing I keep hearing that actually worked better in Eastern Germany were the government funded expenses to make sure, women stayed financially independent from the father (and family), if need be (as indicated by the fact that Eastern German women that experienced the GDR are usually immune to today's extreme forms of feminism). One thing in particular was that in the GDR day-nursery coverage was at 80%, in cities at 100% and they were completely free (except for the food). FR was higher than in Western Germany during the whole time GDR existed. Note: This is not an endorsement of high government spending or communism. The US trumps all of Europe with their FR while having assumably a far looser social security net [1]. In GDR there also wasn't much choice for where to put your kids and the methods of caring for them were certainly blind to trends like "montessori" etc. I guess, much of FR is due to economic predictability and less to the height of income you predict. [1] For now, since US FR is declining, against the trend in Europe. Also of interest: How much of that rate (US or EU) is inflated by migrants?
ionised 8y ago
You can't infer from the birth rate that German women want to have kids but can't. Birth rates drop as prosperity increases and people feel less need to have children (some rejecting children entirely), and Germany is one of the most prosperous countries in the world.