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Maternity Benefit: New Rules and Important Details
Following amendments to the “Rules on the Appointment, Calculation and Payment of Benefits under Compulsory State Social Insurance, as well as Benefits Paid from the Insurer’s Funds to Insured Persons Temporarily Unable to Work”, new requirements have been introduced regarding the calculation and payment of maternity benefits.
AZE Finance reports that economist and expert Anar Bayramov has commented on the key aspects of the changes.
According to Article 3.1 of the Rules, maternity benefits are granted to insured persons based on information obtained from the “Labor and Employment” subsystem (ƏMAS) of the Centralized Electronic Information System (MEİS) after the employer enters the maternity leave order into the system.
This means that the first requirement for granting the benefit is for the employer to enter the relevant leave order into the ƏMAS system. The benefit is then calculated based on the information available in the system.
Under Part 1-1 of Article 85 of the Labor Code, the registration of employment contracts concluded electronically, amendments made to those contracts, orders and decisions issued in connection with them, as well as other relevant documents, is carried out through the electronic information system.
The ƏMAS subsystem has a dedicated section for registering social leave. However, in some cases, leave orders were previously prepared on paper and submitted to government authorities. Under the new requirements, the leave order must first be registered in the ƏMAS system. The benefits commission protocol previously used is no longer required.
Article 3.2 of the Rules also clarifies situations where maternity leave overlaps with other types of leave. If maternity leave coincides with basic or additional annual leave, partially paid social leave, or unpaid leave, the benefit is paid for all calendar days falling within the maternity leave period.
In other words, the overlap of maternity leave with other types of leave does not eliminate the insured person’s right to receive the benefit for the relevant period.
At the same time, a different approach applies to temporary incapacity for work. If an employee becomes temporarily unable to work while on unpaid leave, educational leave, creative leave or partially paid social leave, the benefit is not calculated in certain cases.
According to Article 3.3 of the Rules, the monthly amount of maternity benefit is calculated in accordance with the established calculation rules. However, it may not exceed 25 times the minimum labor pension in accordance with Article 6-1 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Labor Pensions”.
Therefore, maternity benefit is calculated according to the general formula, but a maximum monthly limit applies.
It should be noted that under Article 6-1 of the Law “On Labor Pensions”, the minimum labor pension has been set at AZN 320 since February 1, 2025. Accordingly, the maximum monthly maternity benefit amounts to AZN 8,000.
According to Article 3.4 of the Rules, maternity benefit is calculated taking into account the relevant provisions and is paid at 100% of the calculated amount.
The main provisions can be summarized as follows:
The benefit is calculated based on the mechanism applied to temporary incapacity for work.
If there was no employment activity during the previous four consecutive quarters, the calculation is made based on the minimum wage.
If an employee gives birth to another child while on partially paid social leave and was on partially paid social leave during the four consecutive quarters preceding the date of the insured event, the benefit is calculated based on the minimum wage.
In addition:
The relevant rules apply to both primary and additional workplaces;
Requirements concerning excluded days are taken into account when calculating the benefit;
In certain cases, a recalculation mechanism may be applied within 180 days.
Article 3.5 of the Rules establishes specific requirements for insured persons who do not employ hired workers, particularly individual entrepreneurs.
Under this provision, insured persons who do not employ hired workers and meet the requirements established by law are granted and paid maternity benefits after the reporting period covering the period of temporary incapacity for work has ended, based on an application submitted in the prescribed form.
There are additional conditions for individual entrepreneurs to become eligible for the benefit. In particular, compulsory state social insurance contributions must have been paid in the legally established amount for at least six months of the last four quarters preceding the month in which the insured event occurred.
In addition, there must be no outstanding debt on compulsory state social insurance contributions as of the date of the insured event. The individual entrepreneur’s business activity must also be temporarily suspended.
This rule applies to individual entrepreneurs who do not employ hired workers and establishes additional conditions for eligibility for maternity benefits.
For individual entrepreneurs, the benefit is not granted proactively. The entrepreneur must submit an application in accordance with Annex No. 1 to the Rules. The application can only be approved if the conditions set out in Article 3.5 have been met.
In addition, if a female individual entrepreneur is granted maternity benefits, she may not engage in entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial activities during the relevant period. Therefore, the activities of the respective taxpayer must be temporarily suspended.
In conclusion, the new rules provide for the use of electronic data in the process of granting maternity benefits, the proper registration of the leave order in the ƏMAS system, and compliance with the established requirements when calculating the benefit. For individual entrepreneurs, additional requirements apply, including the payment of social insurance contributions, the absence of outstanding debt and the temporary suspension of business activity.
Following amendments to the “Rules on the Appointment, Calculation and Payment of Benefits under Compulsory State Social Insurance, as well as Benefits Paid from the Insurer’s Funds to Insured Persons Temporarily Unable to Work”, new requirements have been introduced regarding the calculation and payment of maternity benefits.
AZE Finance reports that economist and expert Anar Bayramov has commented on the key aspects of the changes.
According to Article 3.1 of the Rules, maternity benefits are granted to insured persons based on information obtained from the “Labor and Employment” subsystem (ƏMAS) of the Centralized Electronic Information System (MEİS) after the employer enters the maternity leave order into the system.
This means that the first requirement for granting the benefit is for the employer to enter the relevant leave order into the ƏMAS system. The benefit is then calculated based on the information available in the system.
Under Part 1-1 of Article 85 of the Labor Code, the registration of employment contracts concluded electronically, amendments made to those contracts, orders and decisions issued in connection with them, as well as other relevant documents, is carried out through the electronic information system.
The ƏMAS subsystem has a dedicated section for registering social leave. However, in some cases, leave orders were previously prepared on paper and submitted to government authorities. Under the new requirements, the leave order must first be registered in the ƏMAS system. The benefits commission protocol previously used is no longer required.
Article 3.2 of the Rules also clarifies situations where maternity leave overlaps with other types of leave. If maternity leave coincides with basic or additional annual leave, partially paid social leave, or unpaid leave, the benefit is paid for all calendar days falling within the maternity leave period.
In other words, the overlap of maternity leave with other types of leave does not eliminate the insured person’s right to receive the benefit for the relevant period.
At the same time, a different approach applies to temporary incapacity for work. If an employee becomes temporarily unable to work while on unpaid leave, educational leave, creative leave or partially paid social leave, the benefit is not calculated in certain cases.
According to Article 3.3 of the Rules, the monthly amount of maternity benefit is calculated in accordance with the established calculation rules. However, it may not exceed 25 times the minimum labor pension in accordance with Article 6-1 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Labor Pensions”.
Therefore, maternity benefit is calculated according to the general formula, but a maximum monthly limit applies.
It should be noted that under Article 6-1 of the Law “On Labor Pensions”, the minimum labor pension has been set at AZN 320 since February 1, 2025. Accordingly, the maximum monthly maternity benefit amounts to AZN 8,000.
According to Article 3.4 of the Rules, maternity benefit is calculated taking into account the relevant provisions and is paid at 100% of the calculated amount.
The main provisions can be summarized as follows:
The benefit is calculated based on the mechanism applied to temporary incapacity for work.
If there was no employment activity during the previous four consecutive quarters, the calculation is made based on the minimum wage.
If an employee gives birth to another child while on partially paid social leave and was on partially paid social leave during the four consecutive quarters preceding the date of the insured event, the benefit is calculated based on the minimum wage.
In addition:
The relevant rules apply to both primary and additional workplaces;
Requirements concerning excluded days are taken into account when calculating the benefit;
In certain cases, a recalculation mechanism may be applied within 180 days.
Article 3.5 of the Rules establishes specific requirements for insured persons who do not employ hired workers, particularly individual entrepreneurs.
Under this provision, insured persons who do not employ hired workers and meet the requirements established by law are granted and paid maternity benefits after the reporting period covering the period of temporary incapacity for work has ended, based on an application submitted in the prescribed form.
There are additional conditions for individual entrepreneurs to become eligible for the benefit. In particular, compulsory state social insurance contributions must have been paid in the legally established amount for at least six months of the last four quarters preceding the month in which the insured event occurred.
In addition, there must be no outstanding debt on compulsory state social insurance contributions as of the date of the insured event. The individual entrepreneur’s business activity must also be temporarily suspended.
This rule applies to individual entrepreneurs who do not employ hired workers and establishes additional conditions for eligibility for maternity benefits.
For individual entrepreneurs, the benefit is not granted proactively. The entrepreneur must submit an application in accordance with Annex No. 1 to the Rules. The application can only be approved if the conditions set out in Article 3.5 have been met.
In addition, if a female individual entrepreneur is granted maternity benefits, she may not engage in entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial activities during the relevant period. Therefore, the activities of the respective taxpayer must be temporarily suspended.
In conclusion, the new rules provide for the use of electronic data in the process of granting maternity benefits, the proper registration of the leave order in the ƏMAS system, and compliance with the established requirements when calculating the benefit. For individual entrepreneurs, additional requirements apply, including the payment of social insurance contributions, the absence of outstanding debt and the temporary suspension of business activity.