Reconciling care and work

The things that help family caregivers reconcile work and care differ on a case-by-case basis: the more support the people in care need, the trickier it is to reconcile the two areas. To complicate things further, it is not always possible to plan care as the care needed can change spontaneously, for example as a result of illness.

Some relatives need time and the ability to flexibly respond to unexpected events, others benefit from practical support with everyday care. Some need someone that they can share their concerns with – and some need a mixture of all of these things.

Financing is also an important aspect. People who work fewer hours in order to provide some of the care needed receive little compensation. Caregivers who have a low income and few assets sometimes have to apply for social assistance.

Long-term care insurance providers offer care benefits that provide financial support for services that relieve the burden on family carers and offer them freedom. Employed family caregivers have special legal rights to leaves of absence and temporary part-time work that are associated with special financing options and protection against dismissal:

• Caregiver leave
• Family caregiver leave
• Short-term inability to work

These relief options are only possible if the care recipient has or is being assigned a care level. In the case of a short-term inability to work, it suffices to present a medical certificate showing an expected need for care.

Irrespective of the above, many employees also support relatives that are not entitled to care benefits, for example elderly relatives or family members who have suddenly fallen seriously ill. In other cases, the care benefits are not sufficient or cannot be sufficiently aligned with the professional requirements, as is often the case when caring for children in need of care.

In some cases, it is possible to make use of the general entitlement that all employees have to part-time work and special leave. However, this is not linked to the advantages associated with family care such as protection against dismissal, accident insurance and flexibility. 

If statutory benefits do not suffice, it can be useful to ask an employer for support: a growing number of companies are adapting to wage earners caring for elderly and sick relatives.

You can find care advice centers near you in the Center for Quality in Care (Zentrum für Qualität in der Pflege, ZQP) database.

If family caregivers wish to continue their work, they usually need someone who can look after the person in need of care for several hours, part of the day or even continuously. It also helps if they can delegate tasks such as household activities and errands.  

What benefits do long-term care insurance providers offer to support the reconciliation of care and work?

Several services are subsidized by the benefits offered by long-term care insurance providers:

• Care and support services: employees provide care and support services at home for a certain amount of time. The precise length of this depends on what they are commissioned to do.
• Day care: people in need of care spend part of the day being cared for and supported in an outpatient care facility. Night care services are also available in some places.
• Respite care allowance: if the caregiver is temporarily unavailable, for example due to professional obligations, the respite care allowance can be used to finance a weekly, daily or hourly replacement. Such replacement care can be provided by care services, relatives or volunteers.
• Short-term care: if the caregiver is unavailable, for example due to a longer business trip or vacation, the person in need of care can receive interim care in a care facility.
• Additional relief: this can be used to finance hourly care, for example at home or in group service facilities such as dementia cafés. The additional relief can also be used to pay for direct help during everyday life, for example home help.
• Nursing care allowance: this can be used to offer relatives, friends and/or acquaintances financial recognition for their help.

These benefits are all subject to a care level of at least 2 having been awarded. Only the additional relief is available from care level 1.

Specific examples of how care services can be used to support relatives during their everyday lives can be obtained from the consumer advice centers.

Volunteer and local community services 

A great deal of voluntary activities occur in many places: volunteers and neighbors spend hours caring for the elderly and people in need of care, for example by reading to them or accompanying them while they perform errands outside the home.  

These services are usually free or associated with an allowance for expenses. They can be used by both people who have not been assigned a care level and people for whom the care benefits do not suffice or who do not have any relatives nearby. 

Social, welfare and self-help associations often offer visiting, accompaniment and other voluntary services. Many care support points and community facilities know which local services are available. 

The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) provides an overview of voluntary services. 

Live-in support 

Families looking for all-day support often opt for carers who live in the care recipient’s home. In such cases, families have to cover the costs themselves. People with a care level can use nursing care allowance to this end. 

This model is also known as 24-hour care although it cannot usually be used to provide round-the-clock care and medical treatment care. 

More information can be obtained in the article Support from domiciliary carers. 

If relatives unexpectedly and immediately need to take care of a close family member, they can take a spontaneous leave of absence from work for up to ten days by making use of the entitlement relating to the “short-term inability to work”. As of 1 January 2024, this is possible on an annual basis, provided that the prerequisites are met. In addition, the entitlement is valid for each person in need of care. This period can be used to organize and arrange subsequent care.

Such acute situations can arise, for example, if a caregiver or outpatient care service becomes unavailable at last minute or if a family member suddenly becomes dependent on care and support due to an illness.

Wage earners are entitled to this leave of absence irrespective of the size of their company. No notice period applies. Employees are obliged to provide immediate information about why they are unable to work and how long they expect this to last. At the employer’s request, they must also provide a medical certificate to show that a relative is (expected to be) in need of care and that such care needs to be organized or independently provided.

People do not have to take the ten days in one go and can instead take a few days of leave on several occasions. The leave can also be split between multiple people. If a different family member becomes in need of care, employees can take another ten days of leave.

Eligibility

Close relatives include:

• married couples and couples living together in a union resembling marriage
• siblings, parents, grandparents and step-parents
• children, grandchildren, step-children, foster children and adopted children as well as adopted or foster children of the married partner
• parents-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the spouse or partner, children’s spouse or partner (children-in-law)

Wage earners include:

• employees
• trainees/apprentices
• employee-like people

Care support allowance

Anyone who makes use of the short-term incapacity to work will only continue to receive a salary if this has been agreed in an employment or collective labor contract or a works agreement, or if an entitlement exists on the basis of other legal regulations. Otherwise, it is possible to claim care support allowance for up to 10 working days for each person in need of care.

Care support allowance amounts to 90% of the lost net remuneration and must be immediately applied for from the statutory long-term-care insurance fund or private long-term care insurance provider of the relative in need of care. When doing so, it is necessary to submit a medical certificate that details the (expected) need for care and clearly indicates the need for the leave of absence from work. It is not necessary for the relative to have a care level.

Further information on the short-term inability to work and care support allowance can be obtained from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs (Bundesfamilienministerium).

Social insurance contributions

In the case of a short-term inability to work, people are still protected by health, care, pension and unemployment insurance even if they do not receive a wage/salary.

If you receive care support allowance, this is used to pay for the insurance contributions. 

Paid special leave 

In addition to a leave of absence due to a short-term inability to work in accordance with caregiver leave legislation, all employees are entitled to paid special leave in accordance with the German Civil Code (§ 616 BGB) if they are unable to work for personal reasons or reasons that are out of their control.

The law does not provide any further details about such reasons or the duration of the paid leave. Unexpected illnesses of close relatives who therefore require care can be classed as such a reason. However, even in serious circumstances, only a few days of special leave are usually permitted.

Details can often be found in the employment and collective labor contracts or in works or service agreements. For example, many collective labor contracts stipulate the permitted length of paid leave depending on the reason for the inability to work. Contracts can also stipulate that paid leave is not possible.

If family carers wish to focus on caring for their relatives for an extended period, there are various options with regard to taking a leave of absence from work or working reduced hours for a certain period of time.

What are caregiver leave and family caregiver leave?

Close relatives of people with a care level are entitled to take a leave of absence or temporarily work part-time within the scope of caregiver leave and family caregiver leave.  

Caregiver leave enables employees to take a complete leave of absence from work or reduce their working hours for a total of six months. They will only receive a salary if they continue to work part-time during this period. Caregiver leave can only be taken in companies with over 15 employees. 

Family caregiver leave enables employees to reduce their working hours for a total period of 24 months. However, they must still work at least 15 hours per week. It is also possible to work a different number of hours each week and follow a different working hours schedule, but the number of hours per week must still be at least 15 when averaged out over the year. Family caregiver leave can only be taken in companies with over 25 employees.

Caregiver leave and family caregiver leave can be combined. In this case though, the absences must run in immediate succession and must not exceed 24 months in total. 

An entitlement to caregiver leave and family caregiver leave exists

• when caring for close relatives with a care level of 1 to 5 who are cared for at home.
• in the case of children or grandchildren under the age of 18 in need of care who are cared for at home or in an inpatient facility.

The entitlement exists once per close relative with a care level. In other words, caregiver leave and family caregiver leave can be taken several times if, for example, a mother and father are in need of care.

Applications 

Anyone who wishes to take caregiver leave must inform their employer in writing at least ten working days before they plan to start their leave. In the case of family caregiver leave, eight weeks’ notice is required. You cannot be dismissed after providing such notice. The protection against dismissal starts at the earliest 12 weeks before the start of the leave of absence and terminates at the end of it.

The application must contain details of the period during which the caregiver leave or family caregiver leave is to be taken and the number of hours by which the working hours should be reduced or the desired schedule of hours.

In the case of caregiver leave followed by family caregiver leave, employers must provide three months’ notice for the family caregiver leave. In the case of family caregiver leave followed by caregiver leave, employees must provide eight weeks’ notice for the caregiver leave.

Financing

The leave is unpaid: the income is reduced or suspended during this period. The loss of income can be compensated for by means of an interest-free care loan.

The loan amount is calculated based on the amount of the lost income. It covers up to half of the lost net salary and is paid in monthly instalments. The loan must be paid back after the leave has ended. This can also be done in instalments. Hardship regulations also make it possible to defer repayment of the loan, partially write off the loan or completely write off the loan subject to application.

Loan applications must be submitted to the Federal Office of Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions (Bundesamt für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben).

Social insurance contributions

Leaves of absence from work due to caring for a close relative affect social insurance contributions for health, care and pension insurance.

If you take a complete leave of absence or earn a part-time salary of less than 521 euros, no social insurance contributions are made. Employees can, however, be co-insured by a family member or voluntarily insure themselves during this period. In the case of voluntary insurance, long-term care insurance funds and private insurance providers pay subsidies to the health and long-term care insurance fund. Further information in this regard can be obtained from your health and long-term care insurance fund or your private insurance provider.

Further information about caregiver leave, family caregiver leave, financing and insurance as well as sample letters can be obtained from the “Care options” (“Wege Zur Pflege”) portal provided by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs (Bundesfamilienministerium).

Civil servants and soldiers

Civil servants and soldiers have similar entitlements to leave and part-time work as employees. Instead of an interest-free loan, they receive an advance on future salary payments from their employers. Once the caregiver and family caregiver leave have finished, the salary payments received are reduced until the advance payments have been paid back.

Further information on family caregiver leave for civil servants can be obtained from the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).

Part-time work 

All employees have a general entitlement to part-time work. Even those without relatives with a care level can apply to their employer for a reduction in their agreed number of working hours within the scope of the German Act on Part-Time and Temporary Work (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz – § 8 TzBfG).

An entitlement exists if you have worked for the company for at least six months and the company has more than 15 employees.

The TzBfG can also be used to limit the duration of the part-time work: temporary part-time work enables you to return to your normal working hours at the end of the temporary period. However, this only applies in companies with at least 45 employees and if not too many other people are already using their entitlement to temporary part-time work. The time limit placed on the part-time work must be between one and five years.

The application must be submitted three months prior to the desired start date of the reduction in working hours. You cannot be dismissed due to applying for part-time work.

More information about the general entitlement to part-time work, part-time models and temporary part-time work can be obtained from the Federal Ministry of Labor (Bundesarbeitsministerium).

An entitlement to caregiver leave also exists if family members are at the end of their life.  

In such situations, close relatives can take a complete or partial leave of absence from work for up to three months. This type of caregiver leave is possible if the care is provided at home, in hospital, in a nursing home or in a hospice. 

There does not have to be a need for care but employees must present their employer with a medical certificate indicating the family member’s limited life expectancy. 

All other prerequisites are the same as with a long-term leave of absence in the form of caregiver leave.

Parents of children in need of care are entitled to complete and partial leaves of absence in accordance with the German legislation on caregiver leave and family caregiver leave – even if the care is not provided at home. For example, if children under the age of 18 in need of care require long-term inpatient treatment in hospital and support from their parents.

Parents can also combine leaves of absence for care and support at home and in an inpatient facility. The overall period must not exceed six months in the case of caregiver leave or 24 months in the case of family caregiver leave. The combination of all options for leaves of absence must not exceed 24 months. 

The entitlement exists once per parent or close relative. All other provisions established in German legislation on caregiver leave and family caregiver leave remain valid.

More information about supporting children in need of care and relief for their parents can be found in the article Children and adolescents in need of care.

Further information and practical examples of how to reconcile caring for a child in need of care with work can be obtained from the Federal Association for People with Physical and Multiple Disabilities (Bundesverband für körper- und mehrfachbehinderte Menschen e.V. – BVKM).

Companies can voluntarily support their employees in relation to caring for relatives – irrespective of legal framework conditions and social insurance requirements: they can offer a broader definition of the concept of care as well as earlier and more individual support than that from long-term care insurance providers.

Ask the human resources department or works council whether your company has a reconciliation concept or work agreements, which measures your company offers and if there are any other ways in which you can be accommodated. 

Employers can play a major part in relieving the burden on carers by offering flexible working time models and the ability to work in a mobile fashion or from home.

Examples include: 

• the option of a temporary care leave, leave of absence or (paid) special leave, for example through similar policies to days off in the event of sick children (carer days).
• long-term solutions such as flexible working hours through flextime, flexible break policies, working time accounts, flexible overtime usage and job sharing, as well as the ability to conduct certain tasks at home or delegate them to other colleagues if necessary.
• subsidies to help in the household and the ability to use the company car and phone for private use.

Some companies employ care managers who provide employees with advice on the topic of reconciliation.

More information about support from companies can be found in the guide “Caregivers in employment require support” (“Pflegende Beschäftigte brauchen Unterstützung”) provided by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs and the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag e.V.).

How can I identify care-friendly companies? 

There are few certificates and seals that specifically identify the care-friendliness of a company. Instead, they usually provide a more general acknowledgement of family-friendly employers, such as the “work and family audit” (“audit berufundfamilie”) seal or the “family as a success factor” (“Erfolgsfaktor Familie”) corporate network. There are also many regional initiatives.

Even if companies have not been recognized as family friendly, it is still worth asking what support is available with regard to reconciling work with care.

Further information about the “audit berufundfamilie” can be obtained from berufundfamilie Service GmbH.

Further information about the “Erfolgsfaktor Familie” network can be obtained from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs.

To prevent leaves of absence and reduced working hours from negatively affecting your pension, you can use the care activity to collect extra pension points: the care recipient’s long-term health insurance fund pays pension insurance contributions for the caregivers.

For the above to be possible, you must be registered with the long-term health insurance fund as a caregiver. The prerequisites for this are as follows: 

• You care for someone for at least ten hours per week and on two or more days.
• You do not make a living from being a caregiver.
• You do not regularly work more than 30 hours per week.
• The care recipient has a care level of at least 2.
• The care is provided at home.

You can also share the care work with others as long as you do at least ten hours.

More information on additional pension points for family carers can be obtained from the German Pension Insurance Organization (“Deutsche Rentenversicherung”).

Further information about flexible pensions can be obtained from the consumer advice centers.