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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
One in two self-employed female craftspeople work almost until the week before their baby is due, and one in two return to work within four weeks, working reduced hours. This is one of the findings of a survey of self-employed female craftspeople in North Rhine-Westphalia conducted by IfM Bonn on behalf of the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Economic Affairs and the West German Chamber of Crafts (WHKT).
For many self-employed craftswomen in North Rhine-Westphalia, pregnancy brings not only joyful anticipation but also significant physical and financial strain. This is the finding of a recent survey conducted by the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia and the West German Chambers of Crafts and Skilled Trades Council (WHKT). One in four self-employed craftswomen in North Rhine-Westphalia returns to full-time work just six weeks after giving birth often out of financial necessity, as statutory maternity benefits are currently not available to the self-employed.
"While employees are financially supported before and after childbirth through statutory maternity pay and employer top-ups, self-employed mothers have no legal entitlement to income replacement benefits", says study director Dr Rosemarie Kay.
"Although they can in principle offset their loss of earnings due to pregnancy and maternity through private sickness or daily sickness allowance insurance, many self-employed craftswomen are either unaware of this option or have consciously chosen not to take it up."
What the study shows:
• Most craftswomen stop working completely only a few days before giving birth.One in two self-employed craftswomen ceases work just one week or less before childbirth.
• Around one in two craftswomen surveyed returned to work within four weeks of giving birth, typically with reduced working hours.
• One in four self-employed craftswomen is back to work at the same level as before pregnancy just six weeks after giving birth.
• 89 percent of respondents regularly performed physically demanding tasks during pregnancy that would typically trigger protective measures or employment restrictions for salaried employees.
• Three out of four respondents reported experiencing increased psychological stress.
• During the maternity protection period, only 29 percent of respondents received sickness benefit or daily sickness allowance from their health insurance.
• More than 80 percent of respondents consider the introduction of a collectively funded maternity benefit to be sensible, while around 40 percent also view the introduction of temporary business assistance as a useful measure.
• The clear majority feel poorly informed about the existing protection options during pregnancy.
• While revenue for around half of those affected by losses recovers to previous levels at the earliest after one year, for more than a third this has still not happened even after three years.
A total of 950 self-employed craftswomen took part in the survey. It was conducted as part of the project "Feasibility Study: Ways to Support the Self-Employed in the Crafts Sector During Pregnancy and Maternity", which is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE) of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and carried out by the West German Chambers of Crafts and Skilled Trades Council (WHKT).
https://www.ifm-bonn.org/fileadmin/data/redaktion/publikationen/daten_und_fakten... (Only in German)
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