Olha Lutsiv, lawyer, legal counsel in Legal Chatbot for IDPs

 

 

Even in times of war, new families are being started, and little Ukrainians are being born. Even though the number of births decreased by 30% last year, the issue of maternity benefits is always relevant.

The war, the occupation of the homeland, and constant shelling raise the stress level. Many women change their place of residence. That is why it is essential to understand how the state takes care of pregnant women: what help it can provide them in case of inability to work.

Spoiler alert: every pregnant woman living in Ukraine can receive benefits, regardless of whether she is a citizen of Ukraine and whether she is working or not. Moreover, financial assistance is also available to women who have adopted or taken a young child (up to two months of age) into care.

However, the process of receiving assistance and its amount depends on whether the woman is registered in the Compulsory State Social Insurance system.

What are maternity payments?

Maternity payments are financial assistance paid to women as compensation for temporary inability to work due to pregnancy and childbirth. You need to get a medical certificate of inability to work from your physician.

 How do I know if I am registered in the State Social Insurance system?

 The following are not covered by the State Social Insurance system:

• servicewomen in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, other army units, the State Transport Special Service, the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine as well as police officers, senior and rank-and-file personnel of civil protection authorities and units, and the State Penitentiary Service;

• postgraduate students, doctoral students, clinical residents, students of vocational and higher education institutions;

• women registered as entrepreneurs.

The following are also not insured:

• women who were dismissed due to the dissolution of a company, institution, or organisation not earlier than six months before the leave;

• women registered as unemployed at employment centres;

• other women who are not working.

Anyways, the period of inability to work due to pregnancy and childbirth, which is covered and compensated by the state, is the same for all categories of women:

• 126 calendar days (70 days before and 56 days after childbirth) for easy delivery;

• 140 calendar days (70 days before and 70 days after childbirth) in case of birth complications or multiple (two or more children) pregnancy;

• 180 calendar days (90 days before and 90 days after childbirth) for women affected by the Chornobyl disaster.

How can I confirm the fact of a pregnant woman’s inability to work?

After the 30th week of pregnancy, you can get a medical certificate of temporary inability to work. Your attending physician should draw it up for you. For those affected by the Chornobyl disaster, this can be done starting from the 28th week.

Insured women can present a certificate of inability to work, while other pregnant women need only a medical report.

What benefits are available to insured women, and how do I get them?

The process of receiving maternity benefits is quite complex, but with the advent of electronic sick leave, all women have to do is contact their physician and then inform their employer of the medical report. There is no longer any need to carry papers and run from floor to floor just to get them stamped. The hassle falls on the shoulders of the employer and the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

This is what happens behind the scenes:

 

1. The physician registers a medical certificate of temporary inability to work, which is the basis for generating the e-sick note in the system.

2. The employee notifies the employer of the e-sick note.

3. The employer reviews the information on the e-sick note in the Register of Sick Notes.

4. Seven days prior to the date of opening, the e-sick note changes its status to ‘ready for payment’, and the employer assigns maternity payments on its basis.

5. The employer calculates the maternity payments and submits a calculation application to the Pension Fund.

6. The Pension Fund makes a decision on payment and transfers the funds to the employer’s special account.

7. The employer pays the benefit to the employee.

The benefit is paid 100% of the average salary or income at the expense of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. The insurance period does not affect the amount of the benefit.

The formula for calculating maternity payments is the woman’s average salary per calendar day × the number of leave days.

Example: a woman received a salary of UAH 250,000 for 12 months before her leave: 365 days = UAH 684.93.

That is, the woman will receive a benefit of UAH 684.93 × 126 days = UAH 86,301.18.

If you have two or more jobs, your maternity leave starts at all jobs at the same time.

Maternity leave is an employee’s right, not an obligation. If a woman wants to continue working, she decides when to go on maternity leave, so this date may not coincide with the sick note issue date. In this case, the benefit is paid for each day of actual leave, not for the duration of the sick leave.

How can uninsured women apply for maternity benefits?

After receiving a medical certificate of temporary inability to work, a woman has the right to apply for maternity benefits. However, it is important to do so no later than six months before the potential end of the statutory maternity leave.

Example: on 8 February 2023, a woman received a medical certificate of temporary inability to work in the Pregnancy and Childbirth category; if her delivery is easy, her maternity leave will last until 15 June inclusive. So, she can apply for maternity leave from the date of establishment of her inability to work, which in this case is from 8 February to 15 December 2023.

Servicewomen and police officers apply for the appointment and payment of benefits at their main place of service.

Other women can apply to the social security authorities at their place of residence.

To do so, they should bring the following documents:

•        An application for the benefit (passport details and TIN, IBAN and bank details if necessary)

•        Passport

•        The record number of the medical certificate of temporary inability to work in the relevant register

•        A certificate from the main place of service or study stating that the woman is indeed serving or studying

 or

•        A certificate from the Dissolution Committee stating that the woman was indeed dismissed from work due to the dissolution of the company, institution, or organisation

 or

•        A certificate from the employment centre stating that the woman is indeed registered as unemployed

•        or

•        The decision on adoption or guardianship for those who have adopted or taken a child into care.

What kind of benefits are available for uninsured women?

 1. Servicewomen, military personnel, and others may enjoy the benefit of 100% of the salary.

2. Women, who are dismissed from work due to the dissolution of a company, institution, or organisation, will receive 100% of their average monthly income. The amount of the benefit is also calculated by multiplying the average daily earnings by the number of calendar days. At the same time, it cannot be less than 25% of the subsistence minimum for an able-bodied person per month.

The calculation period for these two categories is the last 12 months before the pregnant woman’s inability to work has been established. Therefore, you need to divide the salary for 12 months by the number of calendar days of employment. This includes weekends and holidays but does not include bona fide leave of absence, such as sick leave.

So, with a total annual salary of UAH 144,000 and a full year of work, the average daily wage will be UAH 144,000: 365 days = UAH 394.52.

And the maternity payments will be UAH 394.52 × 126 days = UAH 49,709.52.

 

3.     Women registered as unemployed at the employment centre may receive maternity benefits of 100% of the minimum unemployment benefit, which is UAH 1,000 in 2023.

In this case, a woman with an easy pregnancy (126 days of leave) will receive UAH 4,064.76. This is the average daily income from unemployment benefits multiplied by the number of leave days.

Unemployed women who have birth complications or give birth to two or more children will receive UAH 4,516.4.

4.     Postgraduate students, doctoral students, clinical residents, students receiving vocational (vocational-technical), professional pre-higher, and higher education may receive benefits in the amount of a monthly scholarship.

If you continue your studies, you must choose whether to receive a scholarship or maternity benefit. In this case, the benefit is appointed within the gap between the date the scholarship is terminated and the date of maternity leave.

5.       Women, who do not work, and women-individual entrepreneurs may enjoy the benefit of 25% of the subsistence minimum for an able-bodied person per month (UAH 671 in 2023).

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