Latvia's Saeima Amends Maternity and Sickness Insurance Law

The Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, has adopted amendments to the Law “On Maternity and Sickness Insurance,” published in the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis No. 162 of 25 August 2026. The amendments revise the calculation and payment conditions of maternity and sickness benefits, affecting all employees and new mothers in the country.

The law is listed in the gazette’s section on constitutional institutions, under the acts of the Saeima, confirming its status as a parliamentary statute rather than a government regulation. As a legislative amendment to the core social-insurance framework, it touches the benefits that workers draw during pregnancy, childbirth and illness, which are administered through Latvia’s state social insurance system.

What the amendments change

The amendments to the Law “On Maternitātes un slimības apdrošināšanu” (On Maternity and Sickness Insurance) adjust the conditions under which maternity and sickness benefits are calculated and paid out. Because the law sits at the centre of Latvia’s social protection system, the changes carry direct consequences for the income security of working parents and of employees who fall ill.

• The calculation basis for maternity and sickness benefits is revised.
• The payment conditions for these benefits are updated.
• The changes apply to all employees covered by state social insurance.
• New mothers are among the groups most directly affected.

Scope and coverage

The law governs the two main short-term social insurance benefits in Latvia: the maternity benefit, paid around childbirth, and the sickness benefit, paid during incapacity for work. Any change to the statute therefore ripples through the everyday finances of households and employers alike, from the amount a new mother receives during parental leave to the compensation a worker gets while off sick.

The amendments were adopted as a single statute and published in the gazette’s issue of 25 August 2026, alongside other parliamentary acts including amendments to the Immigration Law and the Food Circulation Supervision Law. The publication in Latvijas Vēstnesis gives the changes their official legal effect and makes them binding on the institutions that administer the benefits.

Why it matters

For readers, the practical impact is direct: the rules that determine how much maternity and sickness insurance pays out, and under what conditions, are being rewritten. Anyone who is employed, expecting a child, or likely to take sick leave in the coming months should be aware that the benefit they receive may be calculated and paid under the new conditions set out in this amendment.

The publication in the official gazette marks the point at which the amended law enters the legal order, giving employers, the state social insurance administration and citizens a clear, authoritative text to apply. As with all amendments to social insurance law, the changes reflect a deliberate policy choice by the Saeima about how Latvia supports its workforce through the most vulnerable moments of working life.

Source: Latvijas Vēstnesis, No. 162, 25 August 2026, Section I (Saeima), p. 1 (official reference: Grozījumi likumā “Par maternitātes un slimības apdrošināšanu”).