If your child becomes ill, you want to take care of your charge
Take care of him and assist him at home. With the BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER you are entitled to Children's sickness benefit, if your sick child needs care and attention and you are therefore unable to work. This closes the financial gap in case of loss of earnings.
Important benefits at a glance:
– Sick pay when your children are sick – In the Corona crisis, even for healthy children – Financial security during childcare – Quick application via app – Free children's sick pay calculator
Your entitlement to child sickness benefit
Whether it's a cold, flu, three-day fever, children's illness or coronavirus: If you can't work because your child is sick and needs care, BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER will support you with children's sick pay (also called children's care sick pay or children's care allowance). This colloquial term describes sick pay when your child is ill. It is used to financially compensate for the loss of income associated with reduced pay due to your days off work. Thanks to the child sickness benefit, you do not have to worry about your finances. Can take care of your offspring in peace instead. You have 10 days per calendar year. Parents entitled to sick pay when a child is ill. – If you are a single parent, you are entitled to 20 days of childcare per calendar year. – You are entitled to a maximum of 25 days per year (per parent) or 50 days (single parent) if, for example, there are more than two children in the household.
The requirements for your entitlement to children's sick pay:
– You are employed and have statutory health insurance and are entitled to sick pay. – Your child has statutory health insurance (such as family insurance) and has reached the age of 12. Not yet reached the age of 18. – No other person in the household can take over childcare during your absence. – Your absence from work causes loss of earnings.
Apply for children's health benefits – simple, fast& safely
You would like to apply for sickness benefit if your child falls ill? Then simply submit the form provided, which will be given to you by the pediatrician treating you:
– The "Medical certificate for the receipt of sick pay in case of illness of a child" is also commonly referred to as a children's sickness certificate. – On the front, the doctor will fill in all the necessary information. Below, indicate whether the illness requires care and supervision of the child. – Please fill out the reverse side of the two-page form (insured's application) completely.
Send us the completed sickness certificate with your signature by mail or conveniently by smartphone: Thanks to our free app BKK GS – Meine Krankenkasse, you can send us your documents such as the children's sickness certificate or a certificate of incapacity for work online – absolutely secure, fast and easy as pie!
Additional child sickness benefit during the Corona pandemic
Due to the Corona pandemic, many parents will have to care for their children at home when schools and daycare centers are closed for infection control purposes. The number of entitlement days has also been increased for 2022:
– Basically 30 working days per child (instead of 10 before the pandemic) – For single parents 60 working days per child (instead of 20 before the pandemic) – Entitlement in the calendar year 2022 is a maximum of 65 working days (per parent), for single parents a maximum of 130 working days.
Special rule: entitlement also exists for healthy children
The federal government has decided on this extension of the entitlement to children's sick pay vis-à-vis the health insurance companies in order to relieve parents and single parents during the Corona crisis. Prior to the pandemic, you could only claim child sick days if your offspring was actually sick and needed to be cared for at home. Due to the pandemic, you are now additionally entitled to sick pay for healthy children. The exception rule applies in the following cases:
– If the daycare center or school is closed due to corona. – In case of restrictions of the care facility. – In the event of suspension of attendance training (compulsory attendance). – If there is an official recommendation to forgo child care services. – If work cannot be done in the home office due to childcare at home.
Applying for pandemic-related children's sick pay – it's that easy!
So that we can transfer the children's sick pay to you as quickly as possible, send us the
Application for child sickness benefit Please fill out and sign this form and return it to us. Either by mail or quickly and conveniently via our free app BKK GS – My health insurance company.
Together with the application for children's sick days, please send us the Certificate from the care facility of your child. This form confirms that the child is not attending daycare or school and supplements the formal application for pandemic-related child sick pay.
Children's sick pay calculator: Calculate children's sick pay now!
You can determine the amount of your expected children's sick pay quickly and free of charge using the BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER children's sick pay calculator:
– Simply enter your gross and net monthly salary into the calculator. – The receipt of one-time payments (z. B. Vacation or Christmas bonuses) in the last twelve months as well as the payment of a contribution surcharge for long-term care insurance, confirm with one click if required. – With the button "Calculate" you start the calculation.
Our children's sick pay calculator informs you about your daily gross children's sick pay, the social security contributions as well as the expected net children's sick pay.
Please note, that this calculation of children's sick pay cannot take into account all the special features of each individual case. Because the actual amount paid out depends on several factors, deviations from our result are possible. We will be happy to advise you on the binding calculation.
Children's bonus program
you regularly go with your offspring to preventive care, pay attention to their dental care or promote sports activity? With our bonus program for children, we reward health-conscious behavior with a bonus for the piggy bank or bonuses for the health account. Inform now. Collect points as a family!
FAQ – frequently asked questions about children's sick pay
How much children's sick pay is paid per working day depends on your income. As a rule, you will receive 90 percent of the lost pay (net) from BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER. The calculation is based on your net salary, which you are missing due to the time off from work. If your employer has paid you one-time payments that are subject to contributions, such as Christmas or vacation bonuses, in the twelve months prior to the children's sick days, the children's sick pay increases to 100 percent of your net pay. The amount of the one-time payments is not relevant – BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER completely closes your income gap.
Good to know: The legislator has set a maximum limit for children's sick pay. It is 70 percent of the contribution assessment ceiling. The maximum daily rate for 2022 is therefore 112.88 euros.
We will calculate your children's sick pay individually with the help of your salary statement. Many employers automatically transfer the data on your pay as part of the monthly payroll run. As soon as we have the data, we will calculate your children's sick pay and arrange for it to be paid out to the account of your choice.
If your child falls ill between the end of the month and the beginning of the month, the second transfer will follow for the days in the following month, if we have received both remuneration certificates.
Social security contributions are deducted from the children's sick pay (gross) at the standard employee contribution rate, so that you are not disadvantaged in terms of pension, nursing care and unemployment insurance. We do this for you before we credit the children's sick pay (net) to your account. You do not have to worry about anything. We will pay the remaining social security contributions for you.
Health insurance contributions are not deducted from the children's sick pay – while you are receiving sick pay, you are insured with us free of charge.
You do not have to pay income tax on children's sick pay – it is tax-free. However, as this is a wage replacement benefit, the amounts must be declared in your tax return. The tax office takes this into account in the so-called tax progression. Due to the progression proviso, the children's sick pay can increase the taxable income and thus the tax rate. BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER will transfer the amount. Automatically report the duration of the children's sick pay to the relevant tax office. You will receive a certificate from us for your tax return, which you can use to prove that you have received the benefit.
Children's sick pay is paid out if employees are not entitled to continued payment of wages or paid time off from their employer. If continued payment in the event that your child falls ill is not excluded in the employment contract or collective agreement, you are entitled to up to five paid days off (special leave) according to the German Civil Code (BGB):
– If your child falls ill, you will be released from work and your employer will continue to pay you your usual salary. – Neither overtime nor vacation days may be deducted for child care at home. – There is no entitlement to children's sick pay during the paid leave period.
If your child is sick beyond the period of continued payment of your salary and must be cared for by you, or if you must forego paid time off due to a contractual exclusion clause, BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER will support you financially as a family-friendly health insurance fund with children's sick pay.
You can apply for children's sick pay for every child with statutory health insurance who is under twelve years of age. This age limit eligibility requirement also applies to pandemic-related child health benefits. If your child has a disability and needs assistance, age is generally irrelevant. My child is ill – how do I go about taking time off?. Apply for children's sick pay from the health insurance fund correctly beforehand?
Inform your employer and let them know that your offspring is dependent on your support. Working parents and single parents are generally entitled to time off from work if a sick child has to be cared for at home. Whether this time off is paid or unpaid depends on your employment contract. However, the exemption claim itself cannot be excluded or limited. The days off to care for sick children are colloquially known as children's sick days.
Get a doctor's certificate confirming that you have to take over your child's care and supervision due to illness and therefore cannot appear at work. Make a copy of this certificate and send it to your employer – the copied front page with the medical information is sufficient. To receive sick pay when your child is ill, submit the original of this certificate to your BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER.
If care is necessary due to restrictions caused by the Corona pandemic and not due to illness, we do not require a doctor's certificate, but the completed application for child sickness benefit in the case of pandemic-related care of the child as well as the certificate from the daycare center or school stating that the child is not entitled to such care.
Under certain conditions, it is possible to transfer entitlement days from one parent to the other. For example, if you have already used up your entitlement and the other parent cannot take over childcare themselves for work reasons, it is possible to transfer it – provided your employer agrees to the continued leave of absence. For the transfer, both parents must have statutory health insurance and be entitled to sick pay.
If you and your child are privately insured, you are not entitled to child sick pay. If only the child and one parent have statutory health insurance, only the employee with statutory health insurance (GKV) can claim children's sickness benefit.
Yes, employed privately insured persons can receive compensation under the German Infection Protection Act for loss of earnings related to the supervision, care and nursing of their children. The same applies to parents entitled to benefits.
Good to know: Some states have extended pandemic-related entitlements to voluntarily and privately insured individuals. Details can be found on the official websites of the German federal states.
Sick pay calculator: Calculate sick pay now! You are ill yourself. Are unable to work because of this? You can use the free sick pay calculator from BKK GILDEMEISTER SEIDENSTICKER to conveniently calculate your sick pay. You can find the calculator in our sickness benefit section. A comprehensible step-by-step guide to starting the calculation process.
Tip: Discover more benefits and deadlines calculators such as our maternity leave calculator or salary calculator!
We support you with household help
Good to know! If you are ill and can no longer look after your household and/or childcare independently, we will relieve you with a household help. We subsidize you individually – even beyond the statutory benefits. This applies if your children are under twelve years old and no other person living in the house can continue to run the household. Before you claim household help, we will be happy to advise you in detail.