Minister marks Mother’s Day, highlights govt’s pro-family measures

Katalin Novak said in a statement that the government was working to offer more opportunities for women, to ensure that “they have real freedom of choice and that mothers could be active in all walks of life”.

Novak said that since 2016 young mothers in Hungary have the opportunity to return to their full-time jobs after their child is 6 months old and still enjoy continued maternity allowances from the central budget. She added that the government had increased the capacity of creches, offering 50 percent more places now than in 2010 and provided an allowance for grandparents who would look after small children while the parents were working.

Women can choose early retirement after 40 years in employment, Novak said, adding that the measure allowed grandmothers to “take a more active role in raising grandchildren, thus helping young mothers return to work”. She added that the period when they were not working as a result of child birth also counts in the 40 years of employment. So far, over 304,000 women have used the early retirement option, she said.

Since january last year, women with four or more children have been exempted from paying personal income tax, Novak said, adding that the benefit was unique in Europe. She also noted that so far 46,400 women have been exempted.

In the first six months after giving birth, mothers are granted their full gross salary, Novak said, adding that from next year all people under 25 would be exempt from paying personal income tax.