Currently there is a wide variety of work permits available depending on the job and the background of the applicants. The Hungarian work permit is in fact a residence permit given for the purpose of work, but having children in Hungary is not supposed to affect the residency status while foreign workers will also be eligible for most Hungarian child benefits.
Becoming a parent in Hungary
As an incentive for having children in Hungary, the government offers various child benefits to parents. Tax benefits and allowances do not affect your Hungarian business, although it is normally your accountant or your HR or payroll specialist who files for them on behalf of your employee. At the same time, new parents will become eligible for additional time off, which might affect your Hungarian operation as you will have to compensate for work power.
Maternity leave
Most importantly, mothers in Hungary can go on maternity leave around the time their child is born. The leave may start at most 4 weeks before the projected due date, and must be at least 6 weeks long. However, the maternity leave may be 24 weeks long in total, and mothers in Hungary usually take advantage of the full period. Additionally, the mother can stay on leave until the child turns 3. This extra period is officially referred to by the name of the allowance available to the mother, but colloquially it is also called maternity leave.
From the employer’s point of view, both types of maternity leaves are unpaid leaves. If the mother has been insured for at least a year (more precisely, for at least 365 days within the last 2 years), she may be eligible for successive, gradually decreasing allowances from the Hungarian State Treasury (read more here):
- Maternity allowance: one-time allowance after the baby is born
- CSED: monthly allowance during the 24 weeks of the maternity leave
- GYED: monthly allowance after the maternity leave until the child turns 2
- GYES: monthly allowance after GYED until the child turns 3
- GYET: monthly allowance for families raising 3 children, until the youngest turns 8
During the entire time of the maternity leave, the employer is not allowed to terminate the employment relationship. As such, even though the mother will not be working and the employer will not be paying them a salary during this time, the employment relationship itself will remain intact. As a result, the mother’s work permit should remain valid, and extending it should remain possible.
Paternity leave and other parental leaves
While this prolonged leave applies only to mothers, both parents will be eligible for additional leaves connected to having children. Again, these should affect neither the employment relationship nor the work permit status of the employees.
- Paternity leave: given to a father within 4 months after their child is born. It entails 5 days paid at 100% of their absence pay, and an additional 5 days at 40%.
- Parental leave: 44 days available until the child turns 3 years old, paid at 10% of the parent’s absence pay.
- Parental sick leave: parents of children under 12 may go on sick leave together with their children. The number of available days gradually decreases as the child gets older.
- Additions to the annual leave: 2, 4, or 7 days added to the annual PTO of parents of 1, 2, or more children under 16, compensated at 100% of their absence pay.
You can read more about parental leaves in our articles about paid time off in Hungary and sick leave in Hungary. We also have an article about additional child benefits, such as allowances and tax benefits here. Make sure to consult your accountant or your HR or payroll specialist when your Hungarian employees are having children to ensure that your business remains compliant with local regulations.
Work permit and family unification
Some work permits are available with severe restrictions. One of these is that specific work permits cannot be exchanged for different permits. For example, a guest worker residence permit cannot be exchanged for a family unification + work permit without the holder returning to their home country and submitting a new application independent of the previous permit. However, changing the permit type is not a requirement when the marital status of employees changes or they are having children; they can continue to use their existing work permits if the employment relationship remains unchanged.
High-risk pregnancy
The situation is slightly different if the pregnancy is declared high-risk by the mother’s doctor and the mother cannot continue to work in her contracted position. This in fact might cause issues with the Immigration Office, as it has been evident from a recent case where the residence permit of a Filipino woman was revoked. In the end, however, the court ruled in the family’s favor, so the guest worker was allowed to stay in Hungary with her Hungarian citizen husband and child, and she is eager to return to work.
Helpers Hungary at your service
The Helpers Team has 20 years of experience supporting international clients looking for business solutions or residency in Hungary. We provide assistance both with company setup and work permit application while our services also include every aspect of running a successful business in Hungary, such as accounting, HR compliance and payroll administration – including the required logistics when your foreign employees are having children. Should you need help, feel free to reach out to us.
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