Single-parent families, those who have a child through adoption or surrogate mother and same-sex couples are also entitled to it.

The maternity allowance is entitled to – among others – single-parent families, all women who have had a child through adoption or surrogate mother and same-sex couples, according to what the Minister of Labor, Domna Michailidou, clarified today speaking to Parapolitika 90.1.

“Motherhood knows no profession, motherhood is a quality in itself. That’s why last week we made a big change by extending the maternity allowance to farmers, freelancers and self-employed women, through a new platform”, Ms. Michailidou noted.

“Until a while ago, there was the following paradox: If you were a mother employed by the State, you received a maternity allowance for 9 months. If you were an employed mother in the private sector you received maternity pay for six months. And if you were a farmer, self-employed or self-employed, you got nothing. We changed these with the aim of strengthening motherhood. First we increased the working mother’s months from six to nine, and then we extended the benefit to all mothers. Last week, the platform was opened so that self-employed people can finally get the minimum wage for 9 months, i.e. around 7,500 euros. Single-parent families, women who have had a child through adoption or surrogate as well as same-sex couples are also entitled to the allowance. The right to maternity allowance is transferable to the father for 7 months. For example, if the mother’s salary or income is higher than the father’s, it is in the family’s best interests for the mother to return to work and for the father to receive the allowance. If one includes the new increased birth allowance in the maternity allowance, we arrive at 1100 euros per month net. Since the basic condition for receiving this allowance is to have insurance capacity, we believe that in the near future many mothers will rush to settle their debts in order to receive it too. In summary, I want to say that at the moment in terms of benefits in the matter of “maternity” we are the second country in the OECD”