Parental allowance

Many fathers want to spend time with their child right from the start and play an active role in their child's care. This is also reflected in parental allowance. In 2025, the proportion of fathers among all parental allowance recipients in North Rhine-Westphalia was around 25 percent. This means that the proportion of fathers remained almost stable compared to previous years. Nationwide, the proportion of fathers was slightly higher at 26.1%.

Taking parental leave may still not be a matter of course for fathers, but the trend is continuing. So if you are also thinking about taking time for your family and your child, you are in good company.

In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, around 93,000 men received parental allowance in 2025. Many fathers not only take parental leave for two months, but also want to take advantage of the opportunity to build a close bond with their child and experience unique moments together for a longer period of time. On average, men in North Rhine-Westphalia planned to take parental allowance for four months in 2025.

Although more and more fathers are opting to claim parental allowance, there are still clear differences between mothers and fathers, especially with regard to the duration of parental allowance: on average, men planned to claim parental allowance for 4 months, while women planned to claim it for 15.1 months.

Source: These figures on parental allowance are based on the evaluation by IT.NRW of the parental allowance statistics of the Federal Statistical Office destatis. The data used here includes both Basic Parental Allowance and Parental Allowance Plus.

Parental allowance supports mothers and fathers who want to temporarily work less or not at all to care for their child after the birth. Parents have various options: They can use Basic Parental Allowance or Parental Allowance Plus with or without a partnership bonus or a combination of these entitlements.

With Parental Allowance Plus, one month of Basic Parental Allowance is converted into two months of Parental Allowance Plus. This allows the period of parental allowance entitlement to be extended, albeit with a reduced benefit entitlement.

Parental Allowance Plus offers financial benefits, particularly for parents who wish to work part-time after the birth: The earnings from part-time employment are deducted less from the parental allowance than with basic parental allowance.

In 2025, around 41% of all parental allowance recipients chose the Parental Allowance Plus option. According to the Federal Statistical Office Destatis, the proportion in NRW rose to 27% for fathers and around 45% for mothers.

If you are planning parental leave, good preparation and consultation will help. These topics are particularly important:

• Find out about your parental leave entitlement, duration and registration at an early stage. You can find detailed information in the article "Parental leave".
• If you want to share family duties and childcare with your partner, it is important to discuss your wishes and ideas with each other. In the article "Dividing up family work: How do couples achieve a fair division?"" you will find tips and food for thought on how to conduct the conversation.
• Not all employers are happy when fathers want to take a longer break from work. You should therefore talk to your line manager as early as possible. You can find tips on this in the article "Parental leave for fathers: I'll be out for a while. How do I tell my boss?".
• If you would like to have more time for your family and children and are thinking about part-time work, we recommend the article "Part-time: work less - spend more time with your child."