General requirements
As the role of the parents is particularly important in the first years of the child’s life, states are encouraged to create a social support system which allows at least one of the parents to stay at home for a certain period of time and look after the children. Appropriate benefits, allowances or compensation should be available for the parent taking care of the child.
Latvian law
According to Latvian law, several benefits and allowances are made available for the parent taking care of the child:
Shortly after the child is born, parents are entitled to receive a child birth allowance, a one-time social benefit. This benefit is paid for each child born.
note Some municipalities, including the capital Riga, grants additional benefits for child birth, if at least one of the parents is registered as a resident in that municipality.
According to the Labour Law, parents in Latvia are entitled to parental leave which does not exceed one and a half years. This leave can be taken by the parents up to the day the child reaches the age of eight years.
There are also several social benefits available to parents in Latvia. During the period of parental leave, the parent taking care of the child can receive:
- Childcare benefit – a fixed monthly allowance afforded to the person taking care of a child that has not reached the age of two years. This benefit ensures that families with young children receive a minimum income. It is given to employed and unemployed persons alike.
- Parental benefit – a monthly allowance afforded to employed persons until the child reaches the age of 1 or 1.5 years. The amount of this benefit depends on the amount of the parent’s previous salary before the parental leave, the length of the leave and whether the person continues to work during the leave.
Where a family has two or more newborn babies, the amount of the childcare benefit and parental benefit is increased.
After the child has turned one year of age, one of the parents taking care of the child is entitled to receive a fixed monthly family allowance. If a family raises two and more children, the family allowance is increased by an additional payment. The amount of this benefit and additional payment depends on the number of children in the family.
The conditions and requirements for receiving these benefits are stipulated in the Law on State Social Allowances and in the Law on Maternity and Sickness Insurance. You can learn more about parental leave and benefits available to parents in the webpage of the State Social Insurance Agency.