Maternity benefits (maternity benefits) in 2021

To receive all the payments due to pregnant women, you need a document such as a certificate of incapacity for work, or simply a sick leave. You can only get it from a doctor at the clinic where the pregnancy is being carried out. But in order for him to issue such a document, it is necessary that the special fund (FSS) receive contributions giving the right to receive benefits. They are paid either by the employer, or by the educational institution, in the case of female students, or by the woman entrepreneur (IE) herself.

Who is eligible to receive benefits?

The legislation specifies the circle of persons who can count on receiving payment:

• Women subject to social insurance in case of disability: working officially under an employment contract;
• working as civilian personnel in military formations of the Russian Federation on the territory of other states.

Who pays - the employer or the Social Insurance Fund?

• Initially, you need to provide maternity sick leave and an application for payment (usually combined with an application for maternity leave) to the personnel department at the place of work. Then, upon payment, an offset occurs between the employer and the Social Insurance Fund - as a rule, against the insurance premiums payable. That is, in fact, it turns out that the money is ultimately paid from the Social Insurance Fund.
• If a woman went on labor and employment leave within a month after her dismissal, she should apply to her last place of work. This also applies to the following cases:
• moving to another area to join your husband;
• transfer of husband for work;
• illness that prevents you from working or living in the area;
• the need to care for a sick family member or a disabled person of group I.
• However, even a woman with a current job may have difficulty obtaining benefits from her employer. This happens if:
• the organization is preparing for bankruptcy or for some other reason it does not have money in its account;
• company accounts are frozen;
• the employer cannot actually be found;
• the company was closed at the time of applying for payment.
• In this case, you have to go to court and prove the impossibility of receiving money at your place of work. It can be inconvenient and resource-intensive for a pregnant woman or a woman who has given birth, so this can be done within 6 months after the end of maternity leave.

Important! Only after the court decision comes into force will the child’s mother be able to receive money directly through the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). It is easier to arrange a payment without litigation through the Social Insurance Fund in regions where the pilot project “Direct Payments” operates.

• If a woman works for two or more employers (insurers) at the same time and has worked for them for the last two years, she can receive full payments from each of them separately. If over the past two years the expectant mother has worked in other places, the benefit is issued for one of the current jobs (at the applicant’s choice).

What are the deadlines for payments?

On the day the sick leave is transferred to the payer, the pregnant employee will not be able to immediately receive benefits. There are required activities that are carried out by different officials in the organization.

Until the check and accrual work are completed, the employer will not be able to transfer money to the maternity leaver’s account.

The legislator foresaw possible production delays and established that payments should not be delayed for more than a month. You can transfer funds on the day of salary or after 10 days after the employee receives an application from the employee.

Pilot project “Direct payments” with registration in the Social Insurance Fund

Some employees have conflict situations with their employer, especially during an economic crisis, when by law the employer must pay benefits, but does not do so.

Women are most protected from such situations in regions where the Direct Payments pilot project operates. It provides that the benefit will be paid to the woman directly through the Social Insurance Fund. The project has been operating since 2011. Several regions join it every six months. In 2021, the initiative operates in 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. From July 1, 2021, the Bryansk, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Lipetsk and Ulyanovsk regions, and the Republic of Mordovia joined the project.

• In accordance with the terms of the project, usually the employer himself submits documents (sick leave and salary data) to the Social Insurance Fund.
• In some cases, a woman will be able to do this herself - then she needs to contact the Social Insurance Fund at the place of registration of the employer company.

This opportunity makes life easier for the woman, the company’s accounting department, and the Social Insurance Fund employees themselves. Accountants do not need to calculate the amounts of offsets with the Social Insurance Fund. And a woman who goes on maternity leave, regardless of how her employer’s financial affairs are, will receive the following payment:

• in a timely manner;
• correctly calculated;
• in the required amount.

How to get maternity benefits

The benefit is paid for the number of days that the woman actually remains on maternity leave. The right to go on maternity leave and at the same time receive benefits arises within the following period:

• 30 weeks (7 months) in a normal pregnancy;
• 28 weeks - with multiple births;
• 27 weeks - for women living or working in an area contaminated after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant or Mayak PA;
• upon the occurrence of premature birth - in the period between 22 and 30 obstetric weeks.

An important point is that a woman must apply for maternity benefits within a maximum of six months after the end of her leave under the BiR. It happens that for some reason beyond the employee’s control, it is not possible to apply within such a period. Then, if there is a good reason, you can apply for benefits later and immediately to the Social Insurance Fund.

Valid reasons are:

• insurmountable obstacle (natural disaster, fire);
• long-term illness for more than 6 months;
• moving to another locality;
• illegal dismissal and related forced absence;
• death of a loved one.

If the deadline is missed for another reason, you can apply to the court with a request to recognize it as valid.

Procedure for appointment and payment

First, a pregnant employee must contact the antenatal clinic, where she will be given a sick leave sheet indicating the timing of maternity leave. This certificate of incapacity for work is presented to the accounting department of the enterprise or directly to the Social Insurance Fund.

An application for benefits is usually submitted on the same day as maternity leave. This may happen:

• On the day indicated on the sick leave - this is done most often. Then the benefit will be assigned (in general) from the 30th week.
• On any other day after the start of the maternity period specified in the sick leave - this makes sense if the woman feels well and wants to continue working. Then the vacation days during which the woman worked simply expire, and the benefit is assigned from the day indicated in her application.
• On any day after childbirth, observing the period stipulated by law, money will be accrued from the day of actual maternity leave (except for cases of premature birth, when benefits are assigned for the full period).

In general, benefits are accrued for the standard period of sick leave. If, for example, complications related to childbirth occur, the employee is given additional sick leave, on the basis of which the payment is recalculated. The additional amount is transferred to her account.

Terms of payment and transfer of money

The law stipulates that when applying for benefits from an employer, maternity benefits:

• appointed within 10 calendar days after submission and registration of the application;
• transferred to the day closest to the appointment, on which the salary is usually paid (the benefit itself is transferred to the salary card).

When applying for benefits through the Social Insurance Fund, sometimes you have to wait a little longer:

• the application is also considered within 10 days;
• in case of a positive decision, the money can be paid until the 26th day of the month following the month of application (then the payment is transferred to the woman’s bank account or credited by postal order).

Vacation registration

Maternity sick leave

In order to correctly fill out a sick leave certificate, you must follow the following rules:

1. recordings should be made only in special strictly designated places
2. each new field is filled in from the first cell corresponding to it
3. don't go overboard when writing
4. You must write only in Russian, clearly and legibly
5. The use of a ballpoint pen is prohibited. You can write with a gel pen or any pen that has a rich color.
6. In case of an error, you cannot use a proofreader or cross out. The sheet with the error is thrown away and a new one is provided.

There are also several features when applying for sick leave:

• a document confirming a woman’s incapacity for work is issued directly by the gynecologist himself for the entire duration of the maternity leave. If your gynecologist is not available at the time of applying for sick leave, your family doctor has the right to perform this procedure.
• in special cases, the period of incapacity for work must be established by the commission.

Application for leave

The application is not considered a regulatory document, therefore, it is allowed to fill it out in any form. It can be compiled either by hand or on a computer, in printed form. A sample application for maternity leave is mentioned in the sample section.

Order for maternity leave

An order is a document that is drawn up after consideration of your application. Since the order is formed based on the attached certificate of incapacity for work, its full details must be indicated as the basis for granting leave. The expectant mother must familiarize herself with the employer’s order.

If for any reason the applicant cannot/does not want to consider the order, a note is made about this so that later there are no misunderstandings with the enterprise.

Based on the order, an entry is made in the applicant’s personal card, indicating the duration of the vacation, the start and end date and signature. The last line mentions a reference to the order issued by the employer.

Maternity benefit from May 1, 2021

What is the minimum amount of maternity benefit from May 1, 2018? Will this size change due to an increase in the minimum wage? From what earnings is the minimum maternity benefit calculated from May 1? Let's give new values.

Payment procedure from May 1, 2021

From May 1, 2021, the minimum wage from 9489 rubles. increases to 11,163 rubles. This amount affects the amount of the minimum maternity benefit, the calculation of which takes into account the minimum wage. Let's explain what's going on here.

Maternity benefits, in general, must be calculated from the average earnings for the billing period, that is, for the two years preceding the onset of illness, maternity leave or vacation (from January 1 to December 31). Accordingly, if an employee goes on maternity leave in 2021, then the billing period will be 2021 and 2021 (Part 1, Article 14 of Federal Law No. 255-FZ of December 29, 2006).

However, earnings for the billing period should not be less than a certain amount. The state guarantees the calculation of benefits based on the minimum allowable earnings. It is defined like this:

In total, the minimum earnings for the billing period from May 1, 2018 is 267,912 rubles. (RUB 11,163 x 24)

Another value that will be required to calculate maternity benefits is the minimum average daily earnings. To find out, you need to divide the resulting value by 730. The following formula is used:

Accordingly, from May 1, 2021, the minimum average daily earnings is 367.00273 rubles per day (267,912. / 730 days). From May 1, 2021, the average daily earnings for calculating benefits cannot be less than this value.

BIR benefit amounts from May 1, 2021

If maternity leave begins on May 1, 2021 or later, then the minimum average daily earnings for calculating maternity benefits should be taken equal to 367.00273. If actual earnings are below the minimum, then benefits had to be calculated from this value. Here are the minimum amounts of maternity benefits from May 1, 2021:

• RUB 51,380.38 (367.00273 × 140 days) – in the general case;
• RUB 71,198.53 (367.00273 x 194 days) – in case of multiple pregnancy;
• RUB 57,252.43 (367.00273 x 156 days) – for complicated childbirth.

What were the previous sizes?

From January 1, 2021, the federal minimum wage was 9,489 rubles. And the minimum average daily earnings was 311.967123 rubles per day (9489 rubles x 24 / 730 days). Therefore, if maternity leave began from January 1 to April 30, 2021, then the minimum maternity benefits would be:

• RUR 43,675.80 (311.967123 × 140 days) – in the general case;
• RUB 60,521.62 (311.967123 x 194 days) – in case of multiple pregnancy;
• RUR 48,666.87 (311.967123 x 156 days) – for complicated childbirth.

There is no need to revise the amount of maternity benefits due to the increase in the minimum wage on May 1, 2021. After all, the amount of the benefit is determined on the start date of the vacation. Therefore, if the vacation began from January 1 to April 30, 2021, then the “minimum wage” is determined based on the previous minimum wage - 9489 rubles.

Legislative regulation

Article 8 of Federal Law No. 81 of May 19, 1995 establishes a list of persons who can receive BiR benefits, as well as the amount of such payment. So, for all insured employed women, this is the amount of average earnings, on which insurance premiums are calculated in the Social Insurance Fund in case of temporary disability, including in connection with maternity. In addition, the following are eligible for payment:

• Women dismissed from the enterprise due to its liquidation, cessation of activity (including individual entrepreneurs, notaries, and so on);
• Female students of professional educational organizations and universities studying full-time;
• Employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, customs, GUFSIN, State Border Service, as well as those who have entered into a military contract.

Regulates the procedure for payment, as well as its size and Federal Law No. 255 of December 29, 2006. Thus, Article 11 of the legal act states that all insured women must receive payments in the amount of 100% of the average earnings. Moreover, if the insurance period of such a citizen is less than six months, then she can receive a payment not exceeding 1 minimum wage for a full month.

What documents are needed to receive benefits?

The basis for calculating benefits is sick leave issued at the antenatal clinic. The woman should contact the accounting department of the company where she works.

Typically, in an organization’s business flow, the registration of benefits is combined with the registration of maternity leave. A woman writes one application to go on maternity leave and to receive maternity benefits. Registration of leave is a prerequisite in order to apply for benefits.

Mandatory documents for assigning payment from the employer are an application and a sick leave certificate. Other documents may also be needed:

• certificate of earnings 182n - needed when applying for benefits in the Social Insurance Fund, and is also provided to the main employer from the woman’s additional places of work (if any);
• a certificate of non-receipt of benefits at the place of registration - needed if a woman submits documents to the Social Insurance Fund at the place of actual residence, and not registration.
• an extract from the work record book and a certificate from the employment service declaring the woman unemployed (or data on termination of activity as a self-employed person or a private practice employee) - required when applying to the Social Insurance Fund for women dismissed upon liquidation of an enterprise.

You need to apply to the FSS with a passport or other identification document. When submitting documents for payments, please consider the following. A woman must promptly change her documents if she changes her last name upon marriage, otherwise her application will be returned to the Social Insurance Fund.

Application for maternity benefits in 2021

The application for benefits must include the following mandatory information:

• the name of the organization to which it is submitted (name of the employer, branch of the Social Insurance Fund);
• Full name of the applicant without abbreviations in accordance with the passport;
• information about your identity card (passport);
• information about the place of registration and, separately, about the place of actual residence;
• request to provide maternity leave (dates from sick leave are indicated) and accrue benefits;
• method of receipt (by mail, bank transfer);
• grounds for application (in this case, maternity leave);
• applicant's signature, date.

The application can be submitted in person, through a legal representative with a notarized power of attorney, or sent by mail. In it, the woman declares her desire to go on maternity leave and apply for benefits under the BiR.

When using the scheme of direct payments from the Social Insurance Fund (pilot project), the employer is excluded from the scheme for calculating and transferring benefits. However, he must still accept the application and sick leave from the employee, and submit to the Social Insurance Fund a certificate of the woman’s salary for the previous two calendar years.

Certificate 182n about the amount of earnings for calculating benefits

The main purpose of the earnings certificate 182n is to become the basis for calculating maternity benefits. If a woman makes a payment at her own enterprise, then a certificate is not needed. It is provided:

• when submitting documents to the Social Insurance Fund;
• transferred from the woman’s additional place of work if she applies for labor and employment benefits from the main employer.

The form of the certificate and the procedure for its issuance are approved by Order of the Ministry of Labor of Russia No. 182n dated April 30, 2013. The code name of the document is derived from the order number. In addition to other data (details of the employing organization, full name of the pregnant woman, etc.), the certificate indicates:

• The amount of salary, other remuneration and payments for which insurance premiums were calculated for the two calendar years preceding the year of maternity leave.
• The number of days during these periods during which the woman was temporarily unable to work, was on maternity leave, or child care.

If necessary, the certificate is issued by the employer on the employee’s last working day. If the organization in which the woman worked has ceased to exist, or the certificate cannot be obtained for other reasons, salary data is requested independently by FSS employees from the Pension Fund.

Order on the assignment of maternity benefits

There is no approved order form. The document is published in any form. The order for the organization usually combines the same information as in the woman’s application:

• the head of the organization orders the woman to be sent on labor and employment leave and assigned an allowance;
• the document is drawn up on the basis of an application and sick leave.

In the accounting department, organizations know how such orders are made, and there are usually no problems with paperwork. A copy of the order is given to the woman against a written signature on the main copy.

Payment Features

Minimum vacation pay

The minimum vacation pay in 2021 will be 51,919 rubles.

Maximum amount of vacation pay

Women with extensive work experience, women entrepreneurs and women military personnel can claim maximum maternity leave.

In what cases do people go on maternity leave earlier?

According to the law, it is possible to go on an early maternity leave before the 30th week if twins, triplets, etc. are detected. In such a situation, a certified signature from a doctor is required.

There is another way, although not the most pleasant one - to lie down for preservation. The need to go into confinement under the regular supervision of a doctor is determined personally by the gynecologist if the expectant mother is at risk of problems with the fetus.

In other cases, doctors themselves may make mistakes when calculating the period and prescribe maternity leave 1-2 weeks earlier than the due date.

Other social benefits for pregnancy and childbirth

In some regions, there are analogues of maternity benefits, which are paid through social protection from the regional budget on different conditions. For example:

• In Chuvashia, local B&R benefits are paid only to the unemployed, university graduates, and disabled people of groups I and II. The payment amount is small - about 326 rubles. for each full month of pregnancy from 12 weeks.
• In the Volgograd region, an additional monthly allowance of 500 rubles. can be applied for by a pregnant woman from a family with a low per capita income.
• In many regions of the Russian Federation, a local supplement is provided to pregnant women from low-income families with the wording “for food”. So, in 2021, in the Tomsk region, for each month of pregnancy, starting from the 4th, until the very birth, they will give out 300 rubles, in the Penza region - 580 rubles, in the Ulyanovsk region - 566 rubles.

Also, each individual employer, on its own initiative, can establish an additional payment for a woman on maternity leave, but this amount will already have to be subject to personal income tax. An exception is if the additional payment for the birth of a child is issued as financial assistance and represents an amount of up to 50,000 rubles.

Actions of an accountant when calculating maternity benefits

Action 1: determine the amount of payments for the two years preceding the year the benefit was calculated.

Step 2: determine average daily earnings. To do this, divide the amount of earnings for two years by the number of calendar days in the billing period, if the period is fully worked out (in 2021 it should be divided by 366 + 365 = 731). Or minus days that should be excluded according to the law. Compare average daily earnings with the minimum and maximum amounts.

The billing period may consist of 730 calendar days (if the billing period consists of 2014 and 2015), as well as 732 calendar days (if the billing period includes 2012 and 2021) Letter of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation dated March 3, 2017 No. 02-08-01/ 22-04-1049l.

Step 3: calculate the benefit amount. Average daily earnings multiplied by the number of days indicated on the certificate of incapacity for work (for example, 140 days).

Example of calculating maternity benefits

Petrova Valentina goes on maternity leave from June 10, 2021 for 140 calendar days. In 2021, the specified employee was on leave to care for her first child in the period from January 1 to September 30. In October 2021, Petrova did not work - she was on study leave and on leave without pay. Started work on November 1, 2021.

For the period from November 1 to December 31, 2021, she received a salary of 84,000 rubles.

During the period from January 1 to December 31, 2021, the employee received the following payments:

salary - 781,000 rubles;

vacation pay - 34,000 rubles.

Total for 2021 - 815,000 rubles.

Petrova Valentina did not provide an application for a replacement for 2021. Accordingly, the calculation period includes 2021 and 2021.

We will determine the amount of maternity benefits.

Solution

1. Determining the billing period

366 – 273 + 365 = 458 days

Please note that in 2021, days of study leave and unpaid leave are not excluded from the calculation period. Only the period of parental leave was excluded.

1. Determining payments that should be included in the calculation

84,000 + 755,000 = 839,000 rub.

Please note that in 2021 we will take into account only RUB 755,000. – the size of the maximum base for calculating insurance premiums.

1. Determining the average daily earnings

839,000 / 458 = 1,831.88 rubles.

1. We determine the amount of maternity benefits.

1,751.09 x 140 = 256,463.2 rubles.

Calculation of benefits based on the minimum wage

If:

• the pregnant employee had no earnings during the billing period;
• or the average earnings calculated for this period, calculated for a full calendar year, are below the minimum wage,

then the average earnings, on the basis of which benefits are calculated, are taken equal to the minimum wage (the federal minimum wage from January 1, 2021 is 9,489 rubles).

When calculating, the federal minimum wage should be used (clause 1.1 of Article 14 of Law No. 255-FZ).

If the insured person, on the date of the occurrence of the insured event, works part-time (part-time, part-time), the average earnings, on the basis of which benefits are calculated, in these cases, are determined in proportion to the duration of the insured person’s working hours. Also, if the calculation is made based on the minimum wage, the regional coefficient should still be applied.

Benefits are also calculated from the minimum wage if this is a woman’s first job and she goes on maternity leave without working for six months.

Important! In all cases, the monthly child care benefit cannot be less than the minimum amount of the monthly child care benefit established by the Federal Law “On State Benefits for Citizens with Children” dated May 19, 1995 No. 81-FZ.

Calculation of child care benefits up to 1.5 years

If, when calculating temporary disability benefits, no periods are excluded from the calculation period, then when calculating child benefits, the following should be excluded from the calculation period:

• periods of temporary disability;
• periods of maternity and child care leave;
• periods of release of an employee from work with full or partial retention of wages, for which insurance contributions were not charged.

Additional paid days off to care for disabled children are not excluded

If the billing period has been fully worked out, then the actual number of days in the years of the billing period should be included in the calculation. For example, when calculating child benefits in 2021, with a fully worked out calculation period, 731 days should be included in the calculation: 366 days in 2021 and 365 days in 2021.

How does indexation and regional coefficients affect?

When calculating the amount of benefits, the indexation coefficient for the current year is always taken into account. This indicator is determined based on Rosstat data on the size of actual inflation for the previous period. Thus, by Government Decree No. 74 of January 26, 2018, the indicator was set at 1.025. Benefits increased by this coefficient will be paid only if the right to them arises from February 1, 2018. With regard to the B&R benefit, when calculating for employed insured women, the indexation of the minimum wage (for the minimum indicator) will be important; for women laid off from work, the amount of the benefit is established by Federal Law No. 81. Before indexation in 2021, it was equal to 613.14 rubles for 1 month of sick leave, after which it became equal to 628.47 rubles.

Regional coefficients play a significant role in calculations. If it is taken into account when calculating the salary (this point can be clarified in the accounting department or looked at in salary slips), then a separate multiplication by the indicator is not required. If the calculation is carried out on the basis of the minimum wage (when the insurance period is less than six months), then the regional coefficient will act as a separate multiplier, which will significantly increase the final amount of payment. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 316) states that the size of the coefficients should be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation, but as of 2021, the Decree of the State Committee for Labor of the USSR, the Secretariat of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions No. 527/13 dated July 27, 1959 is still in force, according to which the coefficient, for example, in Khabarovsk region is 1.40, in the Irkutsk region - 1.20, in the Kurgan region - 1.15, and so on. At the same time, regional authorities can independently set this indicator for their subject. For example, according to the Decree of the USSR State Committee for Labor, the coefficient in the Novosibirsk region is 1.15, but in reality it is 1.20.

Actions of an accountant when calculating child care benefits for children up to one and a half years old

Action 1: determine the amount of payments for the two years preceding the year the benefit was calculated.

Step 2: determine the average daily earnings in the same way as determining the average daily earnings for calculating maternity benefits.

Step 3: compare average daily earnings with the minimum and maximum amounts.

Step 4: multiply average daily earnings by 30.4 days.

Step 5: calculate the benefit amount. To do this, multiply the value determined in step 4 by 40%.

An example of calculating child care benefits for children up to one and a half years old

Immediately after maternity leave, the employee provided the necessary documents to assign her child care benefits for up to one and a half years.

We will determine the amount of childcare benefits for children up to one and a half years old, based on the average daily earnings of 1,549.23 rubles.

Solution

The benefit will be:

1,549.23 x 30.4 x 40% = 18,838.64 rubles.

Please note that it is imperative to compare the amount of the calculated benefit with the amount of the benefit calculated from the maximum (based on the maximum base for calculating insurance premiums) and minimum values ​​(based on the minimum wage).

An example of calculating benefits when the employee was on maternity leave during the billing period and worked part-time

Engineer Bulkina N.V. has been working at Krug LLC since 2008.

On January 1, 2021, she went on maternity leave, and from May 21, 2021, on maternity leave for up to one and a half years. Bulkina started working part-time as of October 1, 2021. And from February 1, 2021, she again goes on maternity leave (continues what started on May 21, 2021).

In this case, child care benefits will have to be calculated based on the new billing period. Since the case occurs already in 2018. Accordingly, we will include the years 2021 and 2021 in the calculation.

What needs to be excluded from the calculation:

• maternity leave time, from January 1, 2021 to May 20, 2021, which fell in 2021,
• time to care for a child up to one and a half years from May 21 to December 31, 2021, regardless of the fact that Bulkina worked part-time from October 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

BUT! Salaries for the period from October 1, 2021 to December 31, 2017 should not be excluded, since insurance premiums were calculated on them!

How is sick leave paid?

Sickness benefits are not subject to contributions to the Social Insurance Fund, so they are excluded when calculating average daily earnings.

For example, a woman goes on maternity leave in 2016, her salary for 2014 was 350,000 rubles, she spent 19 days on sick leave (18,000 rubles). The salary for 2015 was 408,000 rubles, I spent 20 calendar days on sick leave (21,000 rubles). The formula for calculating the amount of benefits will be:

(350,000 + 408,000)/(731 days - 19 days - 20 days) * 140 days = 153,353.3 rubles.

Part-time or weekly work

Average earnings in the billing period under conditions of part-time work or part-time work are calculated in proportion to the normal working hours.

Total insurance period less than 6 months

If before going on maternity leave your total work experience in all jobs is no more than 6 months, then the amount of the benefit will not exceed the minimum wage for each calendar month of vacation.

Important! Also, based on the minimum wage, benefits will be calculated if you had no earnings during the billing period or if your average monthly earnings were below the minimum wage.

Required documents

To receive payments you must provide:

• Certificate of incapacity for work (obtained from the antenatal clinic);
• Salary certificate from previous/previous places of work (if any);
• Application for maternity leave.

The amount of payments will be determined within 10 days after submitting the documents. The benefit will be paid on the day the salary is issued (closest to the date of appointment).

Who pays the benefit

Depends on the woman’s employment in the last two years:

• One organization where a woman has worked for the last two years.
• All organizations in which the woman worked in the last two years.
• Territorial insurance company (indicated on the compulsory medical insurance policy). In the event that the employer cannot make the payment.
• Social protection authority. In the event that the organization in which the woman worked was liquidated. To do this, you must register with the employment center within a year from the date of dismissal. The benefit amount is 613 rubles/month. Educational institution. For female students studying on a paid or budget basis on a full-time basis.

Examples of calculations

In order to independently calculate the amount of maternity payments, you must:

Add up all income for the last two years (2012 and 2013). Take into account all the organizations where you worked.

Since 2013, the law has stipulated that maternity benefits will be calculated only on the basis of salaries for the last two years. You can't solve this on your own. If previously a woman could prefer to calculate payments only for the last year (for example, with an increase in earnings), now there is no such option.

Subtract the periods from the sum of calendar days 2012 and 2013 (731 days):

• sick days, maternity leave, child care leave;
• additional paid days off taken to care for a child with a disability;
• days when they were released from work with partial/full pay (if no insurance premiums were accrued for this period).

Divide the resulting amount of income by the remaining number of days. The resulting value is called average daily earnings (income).

Multiply the number of days of maternity leave by the amount of average daily earnings.

If a year or two before going on maternity leave you gave birth to a child and are on maternity leave, you can replace the years in the calculations. In this case, earlier data may be used to determine benefits. This may increase your payout.

How maternity leave is processed at work

To assign benefits, you must provide the following documents to the manager:

• passport;
• sick leave;
• certificate of early registration (if any);
• application for free leave;
• information from the previous place of work (if necessary): about the average salary;
• about periods that should be excluded from calculations.

Help: if the employer cannot pay for sick leave, then the insurance company will finance it.

What documents are submitted to social security?

Women in labor who were laid off a year before applying apply for benefits to the social security authorities. They need to provide the following documents:

• application (form will be provided on site);
• passport;
• certificate of incapacity for work;
• certificate of registration in the early stages of pregnancy;
• work book (another document confirming the fact of dismissal from the last place of service);
• a certificate from the employment authorities confirming registration as unemployed.

Attention: the application is processed within ten days.
You are allowed to submit a package of documents:

• personally;
• through a representative (power of attorney required);
• by post with a list of attachments;
• through the State Services portal.

Peculiarities of assigning maternity leave to individual entrepreneurs

According to the law, individual entrepreneurs receive the right to pay sick leave from the Social Insurance Fund only if they have voluntarily transferred contributions to this body for at least six months. In this case, the amount of assistance depends on the minimum wage.
To receive money, individual entrepreneurs apply directly to the Social Insurance Fund. You must provide:

• passport;
• application in free form;
• certificate of registration date;
• sick leave

If an individual entrepreneur additionally works under a contract for another person, then mandatory contributions are made to the Fund for him. Consequently, this person receives the right to maternity benefits as if he were employed.

Important: an individual entrepreneur working under a contract can count on two types of maternity leave:

1. Through the Social Insurance Fund.
2. Through the employer.

Calculate the date of maternity leave

The date of maternity leave is calculated based on the certificate of incapacity for work. Typically, leave begins 70 days before the birth (84 days if pregnant with two or more babies). At the same time, a woman can go on maternity leave not 70 days before, but later. This will not change the benefit amount.

After childbirth, maternity leave lasts 70 days (if everything went without complications). 86 days if there were complications, and 110 days if the woman gave birth to more than one baby. The period of leave after childbirth can be reduced and you can go back to work earlier. In this case, payments are not made for the remaining days.

Calculation principle

The formula for calculating payments implies that a woman in labor who has worked in a certain organization for two years without vacation, sick leave or other time off has the right to count on a larger amount. It will be equal to what she would have earned at the enterprise for all this time. That is, no deductions will be made.

The essence of the formula is that a woman’s income in an organization twenty-four months before maternity leave is added up and divided by the number of working days in the mentioned two years. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to calculate a woman’s income for one working day; after this calculation, the amount is multiplied by the days that constitute maternity leave. Again, you need to take into account the fact how much the woman in labor received at work - the lower the salary, the smaller the benefit will be.