2023-10-01 05:09:39
More and more teachers are interrupting their parental leave during the nine-week summer holidays. They don’t have to work, after all the schools are closed. During this time, however, they receive their normal salary, while their partner can receive childcare allowance. In 2021/22, according to a response to a parliamentary question, 12 percent of compulsory school staff on leave and 18 percent of federal school teaching staff took advantage of this opportunity.
Between 2012/13 and 2021/22, 4,100 to 4,400 compulsory school teachers and 800 to 900 federal school teachers were on parental leave each year. In 2021/22, 528 and 167 of them interrupted their maternity leave in July and August; in the previous year there were 455 and 167 (11 and 16 percent, respectively). According to data on federal school teachers, breaks in maternity leave have actually multiplied over the years. In 2012/13, only 55 people or seven percent had their maternity leave interrupted in the summer, according to Education Minister Martin Polaschek’s (ÖVP) response to a current NEOS parliamentary question. Due to the responsibility of the states, no data from previous years was available for compulsory schools.
According to the law, parental leave can be shared, but until 2009 there was a minimum period of three months per partner. Since 2010, two months have been enough, which allows construction to take place during the summer holidays.
A recently passed reform of parental leave is likely to make returning to work over the summer even more popular among teaching staff: in the future, both parents will have to take at least two months to receive full child benefit.
For the NEOS, “such maternity leave treats” need to be phased out as quickly as possible, emphasizes education spokeswoman Martina Künsberg Sarre to the APA. The number of breaks in maternity leave in the summer months has risen continuously over the last 10 years and is estimated to cost almost seven million euros – “money that would be better used for the benefit of the students.”
For parents from other professional groups, it is incomprehensible why teaching staff can interrupt their maternity leave for two months with full pay and at the same time have nothing to do at school because it is the holidays. “Minister Polaschek remains inactive in this matter and obviously has no plans to change the regulations,” criticizes Künsberg Sarre. For example, according to the response to the query, there are no plans to use the teachers in question in summer school. This is voluntary and is also paid for separately. In addition, the aim is to primarily employ student teachers there, according to information from the education department.
The head of the ARGE teachers in the union, Paul Kimberger (FCG), has no problem with the breaks in maternity leave during the holidays. The current legal situation provides for this possibility. “If the colleagues in their families decide this way, it’s a good thing as long as it’s valid law.” From a pedagogical point of view, it is even positive that the break in maternity leave takes place in the summer. As a result, there are no constant staff changes in the schools during the school year, the top teacher representative told APA.
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