Fathers

More and more couples strive for both partners to equally apply themselves in job and family. Most fathers wish to spend more time with their families. Ulm University wants to help.

Both mothers and fathers benefit from the flexibility that the University offers their employees. Examples are: flexible work hours, part-time, alternating telework, Elternzeit (parental leave), leave of absence/ academic leave, Pflegezeit (caregiver leave), Familienpflegezeit (family caregiver leave).

Your HR officers and Maria Stöckle from the Family Service are happy to provide advice.
If you worry that it might be too hard or impossible to find a substitute solution that works, please talk to your supervisor. The University’s management supports the endeavour of finding ways to reconcile work and family. A sustainable solution takes both your interests and the frame conditions of your work area into consideration.

I welcome the development over the past few years with more and more fathers playing a more active role in the family and scheduling more time for their families. This strengthens not only the relationship between father and child, but often also makes it easier for the mother to find her way back into work life. Our family-oriented offers are therefore generally attractive for both parents. It is important to us to implement a long-ranging staff policy that helps retain qualified staff.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Weber, President Ulm University

Request special leave with HR Services:

1 day paid leave (day of the birth or very few days after) when the
- wife (living together without a marriage certificate is not sufficient!) or
- life partner as defined by the Civil Union Act (Lebenspartnerschaftsgesetz) goes into labour

The special leave for non-civil servant employees is regulated in § 29 TV-L and for civil servants in § 29 AzUVO.

Application for Elternzeit (parental leave)              Application for Elternzeit to be submitted to HR Services (Abteilung Personalservice)

Application deadlines for fathers: 7 or 13 weeks
Elternzeit between ...

•        the birth and the 3rd birthday of the child: 7 weeks before the beginning of the Elternzeit (if beginning with the birth: estimated date of birth); a shorter deadline is possible in a few exemptions (e.g. at the beginning of adoptive care if it could not be planned ahead, or with preterm births).

•        the 3rd and 8th birthday of the child: 13 weeks before the beginning of the Elternzeit

Information on Elternzeit provided by HR Services

Application for Elterngeld (parental allowance/ benefit) bzw. ElterngeldPlus with the responsible parental benefit authority Elterngeldstelle Residence in Baden-Württemberg (L-Bank Karlsruhe), Residence in Bavaria

It is generally possible to take Elternzeit independent from Elterngeld. Elterngeld is granted for months of the child's life. The month of life begins with the day of birth and ends the day before the birthday in the following month. This needs to be considered in the application for Elternzeit, as the claim of Elterngeld is usually linked to the claim of Elternzeit.

ElterngeldPlus is particularly attractive if father or mother do not take a complete time out but want to reduce their work hours and receive parental benefit for longer.

If you plan Elternzeit from the birth on, you should exclude the special leave (see above) from the Elternzeit. The entire income is taken into the calculation of Elterngeld after the birth of your child, this includes any special leave and other paid leave.

Parental Allowance (Elterngeld), Parental Allowance Plus (ElterngeldPlus) and Parental Leave (Elternzeit) - brochure from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs (This brochure explains the legal situation for births from 1 September 2021 to 31 March 2024.

Parental allowance - New rules for parental allowance for births from April 2024
The income limits above which parents are no longer entitled to parental allowance have been lowered: from April 2024 200,000 euros, from April 2025 175,000 euros. In addition, the possibility for parents to receive basic parental allowance at the same time has been reorganised:
In future, simultaneous receipt of basic parental allowance will generally only be possible for a maximum of one month and only within the first twelve months of the child's life. The new regulation only affects the simultaneous receipt of Basic Parental Allowance. As soon as one of the parents receives Parental Allowance Plus, the other parent can also receive Basic Parental Allowance or Parental Allowance Plus for more than one month at the same time.
Parents of multiples, premature babies (at least six weeks before the expected date of delivery) and, presumably in the near future, parents of newborn children with a disability and siblings with a disability can continue to receive parental allowance at the same time as required due to their particularly stressful situation.

Advice centre for pregnancy and family planning

Further and continuing education programme at Ulm University (last titled 'man@work' 19 July 2016)

Familienbildungsstätte Ulm e. V., e.g.: Vater werden – Check-In or Vater werden – vom Duo zum Trio (free); other interesting course offers: e.g. Väter-PEKiP, Erlebniswelt Essen Papa-Kind, Mit deinem Kind in einem Boot

Course offers for prospective mothers and fathers: Gynaecological Clinic Ulm