Parental Benefit

• Beneficiaries of the social security system covered by the scheme of:
  • the employees
  • the self-employed
  • voluntary social insurance (Scientific Research Fellows)
• Pre-retirement recipients, in a situation of reduced work performance
• Beneficiaries receiving unemployment benefits (unemployment benefit, social unemployment benefit, benefit for termination of activity and benefit for termination of professional activity) whose payment is suspended during the time they are receiving parental benefit
• Beneficiaries receiving relative invalidity pension or survivor's pension who are working and with registration of pay-slips in the Social Security.

If you work but do not meet the conditions required above, please go to Social allowances under the contingencies of maternity and paternity.

General entitlement conditions

• 6 continuous or non-continuous calendar months with registration of pay-slips at the date of the contingency, taking into consideration, if necessary, the month in which the contingency occurs, if in that month there was registration of pay-slips (qualifying period).

All periods of compulsory affiliation to any social protection scheme providing for maternity cash benefits, including the civil servants scheme, with registration of pay-slips, shall be considered, insofar as they do not overlap.

• You must have taken all the non-remunerated leaves, absences or equivalent periods under the Labour Code dispositions.

The termination or suspension of the labour contract does not affect the right to the benefits.

Specific entitlement conditions

Granted in case of birth of a child to those who qualify, corresponding to the periods of compulsory or optional uptake in the following modalities:

• Initial parental benefit – paid to the father only if the mother is working and has not applied for the benefit 
• Initial parental benefit for the mother – with pay-slips for at least one month in the 6 months immediately prior to the fact that gives rise to the protection
• Initial parental benefit exclusively for the father – with pay-slips for at least one month in the 6 months immediately prior to the fact that gives rise to the protection
• Initial parental benefit for one parent in case the other one is not able to apply – in case of physical or psychological incapacity or death of the other, during the period of Initial parental benefit still to be paid.

You may also qualify for the Extended Parental Benefit that shall be granted after  birth to one or both parents, alternately , in a situation of unavailability to pursue occupational activity due to  extended parental leave  to care for a child who belongs to your  household.

• Initial parental benefit shall be granted for a period of up to 120 or 150 continuous days, according to the parents’ option, who may share that period after the childbirth.

These periods are increased by 30 continuous days in situations of leave sharing provided that each parent takes leave of:

• 30 continuous days or
• two periods of 15 continuous days, following the mother’s initial parental leave corresponding to 6 weeks after the child birth.

In cases of multiple births the above referred periods are increased by 30 consecutive days per sibling beyond the first.

• Initial Parental benefit reserved for the mother shall be granted for an optional period of up to 30 days before the childbirth and for a compulsory period of six weeks following childbirth, which integrate the granting period corresponding to the initial parental allowance.
• Initial parental benefits in the event  of one of the parents being prevented from taking leave, shall be granted for the remaining period of corresponding to the initial parental allowance not yet taken due to:
• Medically-certified physical or mental incapacity and as long as this situation persists
• death

In the event of the mother’s death or physical or psychological incapacity , the initial parental benefit for the father is paid for a minimum period of 30 days.

• Initial parental benefit  reserved for the father*

Period of:

•  28 compulsory working days, of which:
• 7 consecutive days immediately after  the birth
• 21 days, consecutive or not, in the 6 weeks following the birth
• 7 optional days, consecutive or not, provided they are taken after the 28 mandatory days and during the period for which him or the mother has been granted  the initial parental benefit.

In the case of multiple births, each of the periods indicated above are increased by 2 two days for each child born alive, in addition to the first one, to be taken immediately after each of  those periods.

The father is not entitled to this optional period if the child is still born, nor to the addition of  2 more days after the mandatory period of  28 days in the case of a still born twin child.

* The reference to the father also applies to the other holder of the  parental rights

• Extended Parental Benefit shall be granted for a period up to 3 months insofar it is taken immediately after the granting period of the initial parental benefit or the extended parental benefit of the other parent.

The reference earnings are calculated using the formula:

RE = R/180, whereby

R means the total earnings registered in the 6 calendar months preceding the second month prior to the fact that determined the protection (excluding Holidays, Christmas and other similar bonuses).

If the qualifying period is not accomplished due to aggregation of contributory periods, the reference earnings is calculated in another way. 

You can apply for the benefit through:

• The Segurança Social Direta, at www.seg-social.pt
• The form Mod.RP5049-DGSS, accompanied by the documents indicated therein, to be submitted:
  • At the Social Security office
  • At the citizen's shops.

 If the subsidy is applied for online, at the Segurança Social Direta, the means of proof can be sent by the same route as long as they are correctly scanned.

Time limit for the claim

The claim must be submitted within a period of 6 months of the first day of no longer working.

If the claim is presented late, there will be a corresponding reduction in the period of concession.

You may be entitled to the Benefits compensating for holidays and Christmas bonuses, so in your own interest please read this document.