Papamonat: advance notice and notice of a father's month off (Austria)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The letter to an Austrian employer for the Papamonat, a father's month off at the birth under § 1a of the Fathers' Leave Act (VKG), in three versions: the advance notice at least three months before the due date, the notice of the start after the birth (within a week of it), and the notice after a premature birth that left no time for advance notice. With due date, start and end of the leave and a receipt block. The Papamonat is unpaid; the family time bonus (Familienzeitbonus) is claimed separately from the health insurer, usually the ÖGK. In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Employee
- Employee's address
- Employer
- Employer's postal address (department if any, street, postcode and town)
- City
- Date
- Employee's personnel number
- Advance notice, or notice after the birth
- Child's date of birth, or expected date of birth
- Period from
- Period to
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Must an employer in Austria grant the Papamonat?
- Yes. Since 1 September 2019 there has been a legal right to one month off at the birth of a child, if you live in one household with the child (§ 1a VKG). It starts at the earliest the day after the birth and ends at the latest when the mother's post-birth employment ban ends. It depends on advance notice at least three months before the due date; after the birth you tell the employer at once and give the start date within a week. If a premature birth made the advance notice impossible, that notice alone is enough.
- Is any money paid during the Papamonat in Austria?
- Not by the employer: the leave is unpaid. Instead there is the family time bonus (Familienzeitbonus), €54.87 a day for births from 1 January 2025, if you were employed for at least 182 days before the birth and take 28 to 31 days of family time within 91 days after it. It is claimed not with this letter but from the health insurer (usually the ÖGK), no later than 121 days after the birth.
- Does the Papamonat protect against dismissal in Austria?
- Yes. Protection against notice and summary dismissal starts with the advance notice, but not earlier than four months before the due date, and ends four weeks after the leave ends (§ 1a VKG). That is why the advance notice should be in writing with a dated receipt. Hand the letter over against a receipt, or send it by registered post.
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