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- Maternity maneuver: The Ministry of Health wants to change the rules of registration of sick leave for parents
Maternity maneuver: The Ministry of Health wants to change the rules of registration of sick leave for parents
The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation proposed to adjust the procedure for issuing sick leave for parents on parental leave. The changes are aimed at preserving the citizen's right to receive benefits if he officially works for another policyholder during this period. At the same time, the provisions that previously linked the retention of payments to compulsory part-time employment or work at home were removed from the draft. Izvestia has found out what practical consequences the new procedure will entail for employees and employers, whether there are risks of abuse or double payments of benefits if these changes are adopted, as well as how else the authorities can support working parents.
Social guarantees
Tatyana Butskaya, First Deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood, positively assessed the initiative of the Ministry of Health in an interview with Izvestia, as the change expands opportunities for parents on parental leave to officially earn extra money.
— The nature of the work varies. There are professions where it is necessary to be constantly at the workplace. These options are difficult to combine with child care. At the same time, there is employment that can actually be done in parallel with raising children. In these cases, it is important to preserve all social guarantees for the working parent, including an official salary and the right to receive sick leave," the deputy said.
Butskaya also drew attention to the problem of families with several children.
— Now, if one parent is already on parental leave, the other parent may be denied sick leave, even if the other child is ill. The Council of Mothers is dealing with this situation. The organization asks the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor to look into this issue," the parliamentarian noted.
Increased support
The changes make the social support system more flexible and better adapted to real employment conditions, Peter Shcherbachenko, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. As a result, parents who are on parental leave will be able to combine maternity and parental leave with work in other organizations without the threat of losing insurance benefits.
In the development of the initiative, according to him, it is advisable to consider additional measures to support working parents. In particular, expanding remote employment opportunities for families with several children would reduce the workload and simplify the combination of work with child care.
— The issue of a phased increase in the amount of benefits per child is also relevant. Currently, it usually amounts to 40% of the average parent's earnings over the previous two years, and its growth would make parental leave more financially sustainable," the expert noted.
Special attention should be paid to the development of methodological and educational support for families with children at the state level, he added.
— We should think about launching and scaling up training programs and trainings for parents on maternity leave or parental leave, as well as expanding grant mechanisms. In this context, we can mention the "Mother Entrepreneur" program, which is implemented by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, aimed at supporting women's entrepreneurship," Shcherbachenko emphasized.
There are several key measures in place in Russia to support families with children. Maternity capital is provided upon the birth of the first child starting in 2020, as well as upon the appearance of subsequent children. The funds received can be used, in particular, to improve housing conditions, pay for education or help children with disabilities.
There is also a single allowance introduced in 2023. This is a monthly payment for families with incomes below one subsistence level per person. It is prescribed to pregnant women and families with children under 17 years of age.
Child care allowance is paid until the child reaches the age of one and a half years and amounts to 40% of the average earnings of a parent. In 2026, its size varies from 10,837 to 83,021 rubles.
In addition, a one-time payment is provided for the birth of a child. A family mortgage program with a rate of up to 6% is also available for families with children. At the birth of the third and subsequent children, partial repayment of the loan in the amount of up to 450 thousand rubles is possible.
Additional support measures are provided to families with many children, including cash payments, discounts on housing and communal services, free travel, provision of school uniforms and priority enrollment of children in kindergartens.
In addition, there is a social contract, a tool for helping low—income families, aimed at overcoming a difficult life situation and increasing income levels.
In fact, the initiative of the Ministry of Health expands opportunities for employees to legally earn additional income and flexibly combine different employment formats at different stages of life, Maxim Chirkov, associate professor of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Management, told Izvestia. At the same time, the risks of violations are minimized, since state control in this area remains quite strict.
"Potential abuses that may occur when combining work and social benefits are already being effectively identified, and as digital and information systems develop, this control will become even more accurate," the expert noted.
Speaking of supporting working parents, we can consider increasing individual payments, he said. An increase in the amount of benefits related to the birth and upbringing of a child could strengthen support for families with children, despite the fact that the government in Russia already uses a wide range of assistance measures.
Total number
Currently, about 25 million families with children live in the Russian Federation. Census data show that about 55% of such families raise one child, about a third have two children, and about 12% belong to the category of large families. There is a steady increase in the number of families with three or more children. By the end of 2025, their number was close to 3.9 million, and the total number of children in such families exceeded 9.2 million.
More than 20% of all households in the country are full families with children. However, there has been an increase in the number of parents raising children alone.
The most populated regions of the country are in the lead in terms of the total number of families with children. First of all, this is Moscow and the Moscow region. The Krasnodar Territory and St. Petersburg are also among the leaders, although the share of large families in the latter remains one of the lowest in the country.
If we look not at the total number, but at the share of large families, then other regions are in the lead. The highest rates are observed in the Chechen Republic, the Republic of Ingushetia and the Republic of Tuva.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
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