Amendments to increase maternity benefits for the second six months

Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Thursday unanimously adopted amendments to the maternity and parental allowance law which, from April 1, will increase the allowance for the second six months of the child's life.

During the first six months, the allowance for employed and self-employed parents equals their full pay, and in the next six months, if the parental leave is being used by both parents, the allowance increases by HRK 1,663 to HRK 5,654, which a 41.6% increase.

Until now, for the next six months, if the parental leave is used by both parents, the benefit was limited to HRK 3,991.

The amendments also reduce the duration of years of service required to claim the benefit from 12 to nine months, as well as from 18 to 12 months with interruptions in the last two years.

The fiscal impact of the measures this year amounts to HRK 160 million.

(€1 = HRK 7.57)