Austria Family Benefits
Folk dancing in traditional dress
Courtesy Austrian National Tourist Office, New York
Austria maintains an extensive support scheme for families.
For example, it is illegal for pregnant women to work eight weeks
before their due date and eight weeks after their delivery, and
they receive their full net pay during this period. Parents of
newborns can take two years of maternity or paternity leave or
split the leave time between both parents. They receive a monthly
support payment of S5,100 (S7,500 for single mothers or lowincome couples) during that time. Employers also are required to
rehire them in positions of equal pay and status after the leave
period is over. Special payments totaling S15,000 are made for
all children between birth and their fourth birthday. In
addition, all mothers receive a monthly child-maintenance
allowance of S1,400 for children up to age ten, at which time the
allowance is increased to S1,650 for children up to age twentyone if the child is living at home, in school, or unemployed.
These payments increase to S1,950 and are made for children up to
age twenty-seven if the child is attending vocational training or
enrolled in a university program.
Special provisions exist for single-parent and large lowincome families. Single mothers and low-income families having
more than two children are most likely to be confronted with
severe economic hardship, and benefits for many members of these
groups need to be improved to prevent them from slipping below
the poverty level. However, the policy of providing higher
benefits for unwed mothers is controversial. Because unwed
mothers who cohabit with their partners receive the same benefits
as single mothers, the higher benefits for single mothers create
a financial incentive that can encourage illegitimacy. Married
couples with children are eligible for fewer benefits and view
themselves as disadvantaged in comparison with unwed, cohabiting
parents.
Data as of December 1993
|