Granting and disbursement of paternity benefit

Who is eligible to receive paternity benefit:

• the newborn child's father;
• a person who is not the child’s mother, if the child’s paternity has not been acknowledged (established), or if the child’s father is deceased, or if the father’s custody rights have been terminated.

Entitlement to the benefit depends on the following conditions:

The applicant must be either:

• an employee whose employer has granted a 10 working day leave due to the birth of a child;
• self-employed. In this case, the application must specify a 10 working day period related to the birth of the child during which no economic activity will be carried out.

The leave must be granted no later than six months after the child’s birth.

Paternity benefit can also be received by one of the adoptive parents who has adopted a child (up to 18 years of age) previously placed in out-of-family care, provided that the employer has granted a 10-day leave related to the adoption of the child.

Leave related to the birth or adoption of a child is granted by the employer, while the benefit is paid by the State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA).

The right to receive paternity benefit applies to persons for whom mandatory contributions for paternity insurance have been made, or were required to be made, for:

• at least 3 months within the last 6-month period before the month in which the insured event occurred (i.e. the first day of the leave granted to the child’s father or adoptive parent), or
• at least 6 months within the last 24-month period.

When determining the amount of the paternity benefit, the applicant’s calculated average insurance contribution wage is taken into account.

The average insurance contribution wage per calendar day is calculated as follows:

For an employee, the calculation is based on a 12-month period that ends two months before the month in which the leave granted to the child’s father or adoptive parent begins.

For the self-employed, the calculation is based on the actual contributions made for the last 12 month period, which ends one quarter (3 months) before the quarter in which the leave granted to the child’s father or adoptive parent begins.

The average wage per calendar day is calculated using the following formula:

Vd = (A1 + A2 + … + A12) : D

Vd – average insurance contribution wage per calendar day

A1, A2, …, A12 – sum of the insurance contribution wages

D – number of calendar days

If, during the 12-month period used to calculate the average insurance contribution wage, the person was:

• on parental leave,
• on unpaid leave granted due to the need to care for a child,
• on leave granted to the child’s father,
• on maternity or childbirth leave,
• on temporary incapacity for work,

then, when calculating the average wage, the days in question are excluded from the total number of calendar days.

If, during the entire 12-month period, the income was not affected by any of the above mentioned reasons, the average wage is calculated based on the previous 12 calendar months before the periods of leave and temporary incapacity for work, i.e., from the income earned by working or making mandatory contributions as a self-employed person before these periods. In such cases, there is the possibility to determine the average contribution wage based on the 12-month period prior to the occurrence of the above mentioned justifying periods.

If, during the 12-month period there were months with no income from work because the person was not in an employee status and did not make mandatory contributions as a self-employed person or was on unpaid leave, the average salary for this period is determined at 70% of the average insured income salary in the country.

The contribution salary amount does not include allowances, bonuses, benefits, and other types of compensation paid by the employer to the employee during temporary incapacity for work, pregnancy/maternity or parental leave, or unpaid leave granted due to the need to care for a child.

When calculating the average insured income salary for the purpose of determining the benefit amount, the calculation does not include discharge pay and compensation for unused vacation.

For recipients of paternity benefits who have multiple employers, but parental leave due to the birth of a child is granted by only one or a few of the employers for different periods:

• Paternity benefit is granted for the first 10 days of leave.
• The average insured income salary is calculated based on income from all employers earned in the 12-month period ending two months before the month in which the granted leave began, meaning also from income with the employer(s) where the employee is not on leave and continues to earn income.

Important! If the paternity benefit for 10 working days has already been granted, the benefit for the leave period granted by another employer will not be granted.

The benefit is granted at 80% of the applicant's average insured income salary, applying a coefficient of 1.46.

The coefficient of 1.46 is set as the average value over a five-calendar-year period (from 2018 to 2022) and is a constant in order to determine the benefit amount for working days.

The benefit is granted and paid for 10 working days for which leave is granted due to the birth or adoption of a child.

The benefit is transferred to the beneficiary's account in a Latvian credit institution or the postal settlement system (PNS).

If the benefit is granted in accordance with an international social security agreement concluded by Latvia or the terms of the Regulation, and the beneficiary's place of residence is in an EU/EEA member state or a contracting state, the benefit may be transferred to the account of the relevant foreign credit institution.