Maternity (pregnancy and childbirth) benefit: who receives it, how is the length-of-service coefficient applied, and how is the benefit calculated if an employee becomes pregnant again while on childcare leave?

Gulrukh is a sewing technologist at "Yashnar Tikuv" LLC. After her first child was born, she went on childcare leave, then returned to work, and a few months later found out she was pregnant again. She came to the HR department with three questions: "Will I be given a certificate again? Will the benefit be paid a second time too? I have worked only a few months, so how will my average earnings be calculated?"

The answers are in two documents: the Regulation (Appendix 4) approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 796 of 17 December 2025, and the Instruction on the procedure for issuing sick leave certificates (reg. No. 2667). Below we rely only on the clauses of these documents; Gulrukh's wages are hypothetical and made up for the example.

When does the right to the benefit arise?

Clause 7 of the Regulation sets three conditions for assigning a state social insurance payment. They are checked together.

Condition "a": the period in which the right arose. The right to the payment must arise in one of the following periods (except for the case provided for in the eighth paragraph of the clause):

What is clause 23, mentioned in the first row, about? It lists five periods for which the temporary disability benefit is not paid:

If the incapacity for work began during one of these periods and continues afterwards, the benefit is granted from the day on which the employee was due to return to work (be reinstated in the position). Note: clause 23 concerns only the temporary disability benefit and does not mention the maternity benefit. The certificate for a repeat pregnancy of a woman on childcare leave is dealt with in clause 29 of Instruction No. 2667, and the repeat benefit in clause 28 of the Regulation (see below).

Condition "b": total insurance record. The maternity benefit requires an insurance record of at least ten months. For comparison: for the temporary disability benefit, at least six months is enough.

Condition "v": continuity. In the last six months before the month in which the insured event occurred, the insurance record must not have been interrupted. However, two kinds of months do not break this continuity:

1. Months in which the employment relationship with the employee did not end, but under labour law no income in the form of wages was paid to them.
2. A period of temporary disability.

So months in these two situations do not break the six-month chain.

A separate rule for spouses and founders. The last paragraph of clause 7 singles out two categories: non-working citizens whose contributions were paid by their spouse in accordance with the law, and citizens who receive income as a founder (participant) of a legal entity. Payments to them are assigned on the basis of the insurance record under subparagraphs "b" and "v" counted from 1 January 2026. Contributions paid in periods when they were not spouses or founders (participants) are not counted as insurance record. For example, a contribution paid by the spouse for months before the marriage does not count towards the record.

How is the length-of-service coefficient determined?

When calculating the amount of the benefit, a coefficient proportionate to the insurance record is applied to average monthly earnings (clause 24 of the Regulation):

It is no accident that the table starts at ten months: with a shorter record, condition "b" is not met. Watch the boundaries: 24 months still gives 75 percent, from the 25th month it is 85 percent; 60 months is still 85 percent, from the 61st month it is 100 percent. A difference of one month can change the coefficient, so the record must be counted month by month.

For what period is the benefit paid?

Under clause 25 of the Regulation (as amended by Resolution No. 239 of 12 May 2026), the benefit is calculated and paid for the entire period shown in the certificate, but the requirements of clause 17 of the Regulation are also taken into account.

Clause 17 reads as follows: Sundays and the public holidays designated as non-working by Article 208 of the Labour Code that fall within the certificate period are not taken into account when calculating the amount of the state social insurance payment. Which days are non-working public holidays is established by Article 208 of the Labour Code.

Which holidays are these? Article 208 lists nine days:

Seven of them are given in the article with a specific date, while the dates of the two Hayits are not specified in the article, so if a Hayit falls within the certificate period, check its exact date for that year separately.

Mini example (compiled by the author, hypothetical): a certificate is issued from 1 to 14 December 2026, i.e. for 14 calendar days. This period includes two Sundays (6 and 13 December) and one holiday (8 December, Constitution Day, which falls on a Tuesday):

Article 208 contains one more rule: if a holiday falls on a rest day, that rest day is moved to the next working day after the holiday (however, no such transfer is made for work that cannot be suspended on a holiday due to production, technical and organisational conditions; the article gives continuous production, daily services to the public and work on a duty basis as examples, leaving the list open); in addition, rest days may be moved to other days by Presidential Decree. Clause 17, however, mentions only Sundays and the holidays in Article 208; it says nothing about transferred rest days. If such a situation falls within the certificate period, clarify the calculation with the fund or the employer.

The same clause contains two more rules:

• the benefit of a person insured under state social insurance on a voluntary basis does not exceed five times the minimum wage in effect on the day the benefit is assigned. Take the minimum wage amount from the legal act in force on the date the benefit is assigned;
• if the mother and (or) child dies before the period shown in the certificate ends, the benefit already paid is not recovered.

Is a certificate issued for a repeat pregnancy during childcare leave?

Yes. The third paragraph of clause 29 of Instruction No. 2667 is clear: "A sick leave certificate for a repeat pregnancy of women who are on leave to care for a child until the child reaches the age of two and three years, or on additional leave without pay, is issued on general grounds". In other words, being on leave is no obstacle to getting a certificate.

Much confusion comes from the first two paragraphs of this clause. The 56 calendar days in them (70 days when two or more children are born or adopted) apply not to a repeat pregnancy but to two completely different situations:

Gulrukh's situation falls into neither of these. If she is on leave, the certificate is issued on general grounds under the third paragraph of clause 29. Clause 29 does not separately regulate a pregnancy that begins after returning to work: for that case, check the full text of the Instruction.

How are average earnings determined for a repeat benefit?

The main rule here is clause 28 of the Regulation (first paragraph as amended by Resolution No. 440 of 13 August 2026, second paragraph as amended by Resolution No. 239 of 12 May 2026). It covers three situations in which a repeat benefit is needed: the employee has returned from maternity leave, has returned from childcare leave, or is still on childcare leave.

1. The six-month continuous insurance record requirement of subparagraph "v" of clause 7 does not apply.
2. For average earnings, "the last twelve months for which monthly wages were accrued before the month in which the repeat benefit is assigned" are taken.
3. The total wages for these twelve months are divided by twelve.
4. If the months in which wages were accrued or a voluntary contribution was paid during the leave or after returning from it are fewer than 3, a coefficient of 0.5 is applied to average earnings.
5. If there are from 3 to 6 such months, a coefficient of 0.75 is applied.
6. If the average monthly earnings taken into account for the repeat benefit come out lower than the minimum consumer expenditure amount, they are raised to that amount. Take this amount from a current official source as well.

Note: in clause 28 the divisor is 12. Even if few months were worked after the leave, the twelve-month total taken into account is divided by 12.

Three scenarios using Gulrukh as an example

Hypothetical data (compiled by the author): before her first leave, Gulrukh was accrued wages of 6,000,000 soums a month. After returning to work, her salary is 7,000,000 soums. Let us assume that no wages were accrued to Gulrukh in the months of leave, while before the leave wages were accrued every month. Under the first paragraph of clause 28, the last 12 months for which wages were accrued are taken, so the months of leave are not part of these twelve months: they consist of the months after the leave for which wages were accrued, and the rest are the last months before the leave.

Calculation steps: in scenario A, 4 × 7,000,000 + 8 × 6,000,000 = 76,000,000; 76,000,000 : 12 = 6,333,333.33; × 0.75 = 4,750,000. In scenario B2, 2 × 7,000,000 + 10 × 6,000,000 = 74,000,000. In scenario C there are 7 months after the leave for which wages were accrued: clause 28 sets the 0.5 coefficient for the case of fewer than 3 months and 0.75 for the case of 3 to 6 months, while 7 months falls into neither group. The table does not compare the figures with the minimum consumer expenditure amount, because that amount is not given in the clauses reviewed.

Now the most delicate question: how does the 0.5 or 0.75 coefficient of clause 28 work together with the length-of-service coefficient of clause 24 (75, 85 or 100 percent)? This does not clearly follow from the text of the clauses we have, so we did not multiply them one on top of the other to arrive at a final benefit amount. The last column of the table is not the benefit itself, only the average earnings taken into account under clause 28. Clarify the final calculation procedure with the fund or the employer.

What documents are drawn up?

The benefit is calculated for the period shown in the sick leave certificate (clause 25 of the Regulation). The certificate is issued under the procedure of Instruction No. 2667; for a repeat pregnancy of a woman on childcare leave or on additional leave without pay, as noted above, on general grounds (clause 29, third paragraph). Where the mother has died or the child has been adopted, the certificate is issued by the territorial outpatient clinic (clause 29, first and second paragraphs). A list of other applications, orders or statements is not given in these clauses, so we do not list them here: ask your employer or the fund for the list.

Practical tips

• Record the insurance record month by month in a table. The 24th, 25th, 60th and 61st months are the coefficient boundaries. A one-month difference can move you from 75 to 85 percent or from 85 to 100 percent.
• Do not forget the two exceptions when checking continuity. Months in which wages were not paid while the employment relationship was kept, and a period of temporary disability, do not break the six-month chain (clause 7, "v").
• Do not apply the 6-month requirement in a repeat case. An employee who has come back from maternity leave or childcare leave, or who is still on childcare leave, is not required to have six months of continuous record (clause 28).
• Count the months after the leave precisely. Fewer than 3 months gives 0.5; from 3 to 6 gives 0.75. Clarify with the fund in advance which group a case of exactly 6 months worked falls into.
• Voluntary contributions count too. Along with months in which wages were accrued, clause 28 also counts months in which a voluntary insurance contribution was paid.
• Compare the average with the minimum consumer expenditure. If the average monthly earnings taken into account for the repeat benefit are lower than this amount, they are raised to it (clause 28).
• Mark Sundays and public holidays in the certificate period. Before calculating, mark Sundays and the non-working public holidays under Article 208 of the Labour Code on the calendar of the certificate period: they are not taken into account when calculating the amount of the payment (clause 17, clause 25).
• Track the versions of the clauses. Clause 25 and the second paragraph of clause 28 are as amended by Resolution No. 239 of 12 May 2026, and the first paragraph of clause 28 is as amended by Resolution No. 440 of 13 August 2026. Before calculating, open the current text on lex.uz.