Recently, Zhejiang Provincial Medical Security Bureau and Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance issued the "Notice on Assisting "Zhejiang Good Education" to Promote Prenatal and Postnatal Education, which will be effective from July 1, 2022.
Among them, the "Notice" makes it clear that people with flexible employment will be included in the coverage of maternity insurance ; the maternity medical expenses of maternity insurance will be reimbursed at a level that is not lower than the local employees' basic medical insurance benefits; the starting time of maternity insurance benefits is different from that of employees. Basic medical insurance is the same.
Enjoy the benefits of maternity allowance after giving birth, which is a very important guarantee for working mothers. But many people have more or less questions about maternity benefits: How are the standards for maternity benefits calculated? How to receive maternity allowance? How long does it take to receive...
Let’s take a look at these tips on “maternity allowance”!
Is maternity allowance = maternity leave pay?
Maternity allowance, the issuing entity is the social security department, and the receiving entity is the employer. The premise for the payment of maternity allowance is that the employer has paid maternity insurance for the female employee and the employer has advanced the female employee's salary during the maternity leave month by month.
maternity leave wages, is issued by the employer and the recipient is the female employee. Employers shall pay maternity leave wages to female employees based on the number of maternity leave days and the amount of prenatal wages for female employees.
Article 8 of " Special Provisions on Labor Protection of Female Employees ": Maternity allowances during maternity leave for female employees who have participated in maternity insurance shall be paid by the maternity insurance fund based on the employer's average monthly salary of employees in the previous year; for those who have not participated in maternity insurance, Maternity insurance will be paid by the employer based on the female employee’s salary before maternity leave.
Therefore, maternity allowance is not equivalent to maternity leave pay.
Why are the maternity leave wages and maternity allowance amounts different?
1. The number of days calculated between the two is different.
Article 7 of the "Special Provisions on Labor Protection of Female Employees": Female employees are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave after childbirth, of which 15 days can be taken before childbirth; in the case of difficult labor, an additional 15 days of maternity leave will be added; in case of multiple births, , for every additional baby born, the maternity leave will be increased by 15 days.
Although the law stipulates that the number of maternity leave days for female employees is 98 days, each province and city in my country has also introduced its own standards. For example, Guangdong Province has an 80-day maternity leave reward. However, additional maternity leave is not eligible for maternity benefits. Therefore, the calculation of maternity allowance is based on 98 days of maternity leave, and the salary during the 80-day bonus maternity leave period is paid by the employer in accordance with the prenatal salary standards for female employees.
2. The two calculation bases are different.
Maternity allowance = When an employee gives birth or undergoes family planning surgery , the employer’s average monthly salary of employees in the previous year ÷ 30 × the prescribed number of vacation days.
If the average monthly salary of employees in the previous year actually declared and paid by the employer where the female employee gave birth was 9,000 yuan, then the maternity allowance issued for normal childbirth is: 9,000÷30×128=38,400 yuan.
If the employer does not have the average monthly paid wages of its employees in the previous year, the maternity allowance will be calculated based on the average monthly paid wages of its employees in this year.
If the employer’s average monthly salary of employees in the previous year is different from the average monthly salary of the female employee, then the amount of maternity allowance will inevitably be different from the amount of maternity leave pay.
What should I do if the maternity allowance calculated by the Social Security Bureau is inconsistent with the actual maternity leave salary amount of the female employee?
One-sentence answer: If the maternity allowance is higher than the original salary standard, the employer will pay the balance of the maternity allowance; if it is lower than the original salary standard, the employer will make up the difference.
There are changes in the application for maternity subsidy, and it will arrive in the fastest 5 days.
Change 1: The application conditions have changed.
In most cities, if you want to enjoy maternity insurance benefits, you need to pay maternity insurance continuously for a certain period of time (usually 12 months), and In some areas, even back payment is not considered as continuous payment. It is also required to apply for maternity allowance within a certain period of time. If it expires, you will not be able to receive it.
In recent years, many places have lowered the continuous participation threshold for maternity insurance and shortened the time for receiving maternity benefits. Taking Guangdong Province and Fujian Province as examples -
Guangdong Province
" Guangdong Province Employee Maternity Insurance Regulations" About There are two main points in the maternity allowance:
1. The enjoyment of benefits is no longer restricted by the one-year insurance period: Starting from the month after the employer pays in full and on time, , employees and their unemployed spouses can enjoy the corresponding maternity insurance benefits.
2. Extend the time for receiving maternity allowances: Before the issuance of the new policy, Guangdong Province required that the application and reimbursement of maternity allowances and reimbursement of maternity expenses must be processed within one year after the birth. However, after the new regulations, can apply for maternity benefits and reimburse childbirth expenses from the second day after giving birth until within 3 years.
Fujian Province
All insured persons in Fuzhou, Zhangzhou, Sanming who have not paid for 12 consecutive months of maternity insurance before giving birth (even if they have only been insured for 1 month) can still enjoy half of the maternity allowance. .
Insured persons in Ningde and Quanzhou areas can enjoy 50% of the maternity benefits of normal employees only if the new insured persons have paid maternity insurance continuously for less than 12 months.
Putian, Longyan, Nanping and Pingtan New insured persons who have not paid for maternity insurance for 12 consecutive months can only enjoy 50% of the maternity medical reimbursement and no maternity allowance.
Fuzhou and Putian If the maternity insurance is interrupted for more than 3 months in the 12 months before delivery (including the current month), you can still enjoy half of the maternity benefits after making up the payment.
Change 2: The application method has changed
At present, Chongqing City, Zhengzhou in Henan Province, Quzhou in Zhejiang Province, some cities in Hubei Province and other places have started a "no need to apply and receive" maternity subsidy policy, and the payment will be received as soon as 5 days.
Although it is currently only a pilot project in some areas. However, the human resources and social system is becoming more and more advanced, and it is certain that it is becoming more and more convenient to receive benefits.
Chongqing
Starting from April 2021, Chongqing High-tech Zone’s first “no application and no enjoyment” maternity subsidy system has been officially launched. Through the exchange of hospital and medical insurance information, as long as insured employees of Chongqing High-tech Zone use maternity reimbursement for maternity expenses in designated hospitals, , you can receive monthly maternity benefits without filing a declaration.
Eligible insured employees are exempt from declaration and can directly enjoy maternity subsidy. They can enjoy maternity subsidy within 5 working days at the fastest.
Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province
In November 2021, the Quzhou Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau created the "Quzhou Medical Insurance Non-intrusive Intelligent Office" multi-scenario application, including "maternity allowances arrive in seconds".
Source: Quzhou Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau
In the past, when employees applied for maternity allowances, those receiving the benefits needed to prepare discharge records, maternity allowance application forms, medical expense lists, copies of marriage certificates and other relevant materials in advance, and go to the window to apply offline. It takes about 30 days for the subsidy to arrive after the formalities. what about now?
After the reform, maternity benefits will be automatically paid to mothers who have just given birth while they are still in the hospital. After medical staff upload maternal diagnosis data to the medical insurance system, the system will automatically determine whether they meet the conditions for receiving maternity benefits. If it is consistent, the medical staff will then contact the mother to complete the relevant production information.After successful submission, the maternity allowance can be immediately paid to the bank account designated by the mother.
During the entire process, the mother only needs to cooperate with the medical staff to sign a "Maternity Allowance Application Commitment Letter".
Zhengzhou City, Henan Province
On March 16, 2022, ten facts of the Zhengzhou City Medical Insurance Management System were confirmed, which clarified that "one-stop settlement" for the assessment and payment of maternity insurance benefits will be realized in 2022.
realizes the direct reimbursement of prenatal check-up fees and maternity benefits for female employees whose insurance is discontinued and the spouses of male employees who have no job at designated medical institutions; realizes direct settlement of birth allowances for insured persons for births and family planning surgeries in designated medical institutions; realizes out-of-town births and family planning surgeries The insured person's maternity medical expenses, prenatal examination fees, maternity allowances, etc. are paid in one lump sum.
Hubei Province
Xianning City
Starting from August 7, 2021, the maternity allowance "enjoy without application" service has been officially launched. The notice confirms that insured employees in municipal units who enjoy maternity allowances in accordance with the rules will be exempted from the maternity subsidy application process after giving birth, and can enjoy maternity subsidy benefits after being discharged from the hospital. The Maternity Insurance Department of the Municipal Medical Insurance Service Center will review the relevant information and materials. If the review is qualified, the maternity allowance will be allocated to the employer within 5 working days.
Suizhou
When female employees who are eligible for the maternity subsidy policy are hospitalized for childbirth at designated medical institutions in the coordinating area, they must fill out the "Suixian Urban Employee Maternity Allowance "Enjoy Without Application" Information Extraction Form" and submit it to the medical insurance office of the designated medical institution. After the medical insurance office of the designated medical institution collects the information, it will be submitted to the Suixian County Medical Security Service Center for review. If the review passes, the maternity allowance will be allocated to the employer of insured employees within 3 working days.
Enshi Prefecture
Starting from May 1, 2022, Enshi Prefecture will implement the "no application and instant access" service model for maternity allowances for female employees. When insured female employees handle maternity discharge settlement at state-level designated medical institutions, the medical institution where they are located will do so on their behalf. After applying for maternity allowance, it will be disbursed to the employer within 5 working days.
Can I not be paid salary and maternity allowance during maternity leave?
The maternity allowance issued by the social security department is generally paid to the employer's account and has a lag. Therefore, during the maternity leave of a female employee, the employer should still pay the maternity leave salary according to the employee's wage standard first, and then pay the maternity allowance after receiving the maternity allowance. Handle according to actual situation. If an employee claims to terminate the labor relationship on the grounds that the employer has not paid maternity leave wages or maternity benefits, the employer must pay compensation for the termination of the labor relationship.
In addition, if an employer violates these regulations and damages the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, female employees may complain or report to the labor and social security, personnel and other administrative departments; or apply for mediation to the labor and social security, personnel mediation organization in accordance with the law; or apply to the labor and social security, personnel mediation organization If you are dissatisfied with the arbitration award and are not satisfied with the arbitration award, you may file a lawsuit with the People's Court in accordance with the law, unless otherwise provided by law.
