START DATE AND DURATION
In accordance with the provisions of Article 64 of the Consolidated Law, the maternity/paternity protection takes place in the forms and according to the methods provided for employment, regardless, as regards the maternity allowance, of actual abstention from work.
The maternity period starts two months before the expected delivery date and ends three months after the actual delivery date.
The eligible period may be longer than five months plus the day of delivery, if:
- the actual delivery date is after the expected delivery date.
Also the days between the two dates are compensated; - the delivery date is before the expected delivery date.
Days not taken before the expected date are added after three months of postnatal period, even if the delivery takes place before the start of the eligible maternity period.
Pregnant workers have the right to postpone the beginning of the maternity period:
- in the month before the expected delivery date (so-calledflexibility),if the continuation of work at the eighth month of gestation does not harm the health of the worker or the unborn child
(see art. 20 of legislative decree 151/2001 and paragraph 2.2. of INPS circular no. 109 of 16 November 2018); - on the actual delivery date (or on the expected delivery date) to benefit from thefive months of maternity after the delivery date(or after the expected delivery date), if the continuation of work does not harm the health of the worker or the unborn child
(see art. 16, paragraph 1.1. of legislative decree 151/2001 and paragraph 2. of INPS circular no. 148 of 12 December 2019).
In relation to the flexibility options or the use of the maternity period exclusively after delivery as stated above, it should be noted that it is not necessary to produce the medical certifications required by law to INPS, since the Institute is still required to pay the maternity allowance regardless of actual abstention from work.
The worker who chooses to take advantage of these options is in any case required to notify the Institute (by ticking the specific option in the digital application procedure for maternity leave), to:
- allow the identification of the reference period (which coincides with the 12 full months preceding the start of the different maternity period communicated by the interested party);
- verify the satisfaction of the contribution requirement and the reference remuneration/income.
The period of maternity leave may also be extended in the presence of measures of early or extended disqualification from work, which may concern:
- gestation periods prior to the beginning of the maternity period if the Local Health Authority orders (by administrative measure and not with medical certification) the early disqualification from work due to pregnancy at risk (see Article 17, paragraph 2, letter a) of legislative decree 151/2001);
- periods prior to the beginning of the eligible period of maternity or periods subsequent to the eligible period of maternity (up to the seventh month of the child's life) if the Territorial Labour Inspectorate provides for early/extended disqualification from work for tasks incompatible with pregnancy (Article 17, paragraph 2, letters b) and c) of Legislative Decree no. 151/2001).
The disqualification is not recognised for freelance professionals women registered with the Separate Pension Scheme.
Abstention from work is always mandatory for periods of disqualification.
For maternity periods (wholly or partly) regarding 2022, the maternity allowance may be claimed for a further three months from the end of the maternity period, provided that in the preceding year the declared income is less than €8,145 (increased by 100% of the rise resulting from the annual change in the ISTAT consumer price index for blue- and white-collar households).
For further information, seeINPS circular no. 1 of 3 January 2022.
In the case of twin births, the duration of maternity leave does not vary.
The date of birth is a separate day compared to the two months ante partum and three months postpartum and, therefore, this day must always be added to the five months eligible for maternity leave.
If the newborn is hospitalised in either a public or private facility, the mother who chooses to abstain from work may:
- even partially suspendthe period of maternity allowance following the delivery (Article 16 bis, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law) and resume work;
- benefit from the period of residual maternity starting from the date of the child's discharge.
This right may be exercisedonly once per child.
In the event oftermination of pregnancy, the worker enrolled in the Separate Pension Scheme is entitled to the leave:
- from the 180th day from the beginning of gestation or death of the child at birth;
- during the period for which the maternity allowance is payable.
In case of adoption or national pre-adoptive foster care of a minor, the maternity allowance is due for five months starting from the entry into the family of the minor adopted or entrusted before the adoption.
For international adoptions or international pre-adoptive foster care, the allowance is due for five months starting from the entry into Italy of the adopted or entrusted minor. The eligible period may also be used partially before the minor’s entry into Italy.
The maternity protection in case of non-pre-adoptive foster care is not offered to workers enrolled in theSeparate Pension Scheme.
Paternity leave is acknowledged when events occur concerning the mother of the child and it is in the case of:
- death or serious illness of the mother.
The claimant father, when completing the claim, must:- state the mother's details;
- state the date of death;
- submit the health certificate of serious illness in a sealed envelope to the INPS legal medical centre, at the counter or by registered letter;
- abandonment of the child by the mother, to be certified by completing the responsibility statement on-line;
- exclusive custody of the child to the father, who must communicate the identifying elements of the provision:
- the type and number of provision issued by the Juvenile Court;
- the judicial authority;
- the section;
- the filing date in the registry;
- any document that is useful for identifying the listed elements;
- adoption or pre-adoptive foster care of minors following the total or partialwaiver by the mother (enrolled in the Separate Pension Scheme) of the maternity period.
The waiver must be communicated by filling in the responsibility statement on-line.
Paternity leave, which runs from the date on which one of the events listed above occurs, lasts as long as the eligible period of maternity not used by the working mother. If the mother is not working, paternity leave ends three months after giving birth.
Also for the father enrolled in the Separate Pension Scheme, the possibility of suspension and postponement of paternity for hospitalisation of the child is envisaged.
WHAT AM I ENTITLED TO?
An allowance equal to 80% of 1/365 of the incomederiving from:
- coordinated and continuous collaboration activities;
- free-lance activities, useful for contribution purposes, within the limits of the set annual ceiling.
In the case of para-subordinate relationship, the income of the 12 months resulting from the contribution payments referred to the worker concerned, based on the client's declaration, is taken as a reference.
In the case of free-lance activities, 1/12 of the income from the tax return for free-lance activities relating to the year/s when 12 months are included is taken as a reference for each of the months of interest.
For further information, see INPS circular No. 93 of 26 May 2003.
The allowance is paiddirectly by INPS:
- by postal transfer;
- by crediting a bank or postal current account.
Periods of stay abroad are also compensated only if there is a provision for adoption or foster care that is valid in Italy.
The right to the allowance:
- expireswithin one year;
- starts from the day followingthe end of the period that maternity (or paternity) leave is payable.
To avoid losing the right, it is necessary for workers to submit to INPS (before the end of the year) written claims with a certain date, aimed at obtaining payment of the allowance.
The right to the maternity/paternity allowance:
- also applies in the event that at the time of the eligible event (two months before the delivery date or the date of entry into the family of the minor for adoption/foster care) the working mother is no longer registered under the Separate Pension Scheme (Law 335/1995), but has nevertheless accrued the minimum contribution requirement;
- does not apply if you are entitled to maternity benefits of a higher amount, due to a different (employed or self-employed) work activity undertaken subsequently.
Otherwise, at the claim of the person concerned, the differential benefit will be payable by the Separate Pension Scheme, up to the amount that would have been due to her as a worker registered in the Separate Pension Scheme.
In the event that, at the date of the eligible event, the para-subordinate worker is at the same time an employed or self-employed worker, she will be entitled to maternity allowance limited to employed or self-employed work, since the decree of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of 4 April 2002 excludes the protection of maternity for workers enrolled in other compulsory social security schemes and for pensioners.
In this case, in fact, registration in the Separate Pension Scheme does not entail the payment of the increased contribution provided for the protection of maternity.
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