Suspension for the birth of a child

Suspension period

The suspension for the birth of a child and the periods of suspension related to parental leave follow current Italian maternity and paternity regulations.

For pregnant PhD students, there is a mandatory suspension period from the PhD of at least five months, which can be distributed as follows:

• 2 months before the expected date of delivery and 3 months after delivery;
• 1 month before the expected date of delivery and 4 months after;
• 5 months from the actual date of delivery.

N.B. To take advantage of the second or third option, you must provide a certificate attesting that the activities related to the PhD programme, even during the eighth or ninth month of pregnancy, do not pose any potential risks to the pregnant woman and her unborn child. The certificate must be issued by the competent doctor of the local health authority and sent to the offices together with the other required documentation no later than 2 months before the expected date of delivery.

What to do prior to giving birth

No later than 2 months before the expected date of delivery, the PhD student must send the following documents to aform.udottricerca@unibo.it:

• special compulsory suspension request form for the birth of a child [.pdf 135 KB] completed and signed;
• certificate from her gynaecologist confirming the expected date of birth or, otherwise, certificate confirming the absence of potential risks for the mother and child issued by the competent ASL doctors (if compulsory suspension starts 1 month prior to the birth of from the date of the birth).

In the event of a premature birth, the days not taken prior to the birth are added to the post-birth compulsory suspension period. If, on the other hand, the birth occurs later than the due date, the law provides for the suspension period to be extended at the same time.

The career suspension will be recorded only after verification and positive response from the offices.

What to do after giving birth

Within 30 days of the birth, the PhD student must send the birth certificate or completed declaration in place of birth certificate to aform.udottricerca@unibo.it .

What to do after the compulsory suspension period

If the PhD Student does not want to benefit from an optional further period of suspension, after the compulsory suspension period, she must write to aform.udottricerca@unibo.it in order to complete enrolment for the current academic year and reactivate her position. In this case, it is advisable to contact the office in advance so that the PhD student scholarship, if any, can also be reactivated.

Compulsory suspension of PhD Students who are fathers

PhD Students may benefit from a post-birth mandatory suspension for three months after the birth of their child in the event of the death or serious infirmity of the mother, or abandonment by the mother, or if the child is entrusted solely to the father.

Parental leave

At the end of the five-month compulsory suspension period, PhD students may request an extension of the parental leave suspension period. PhD Students who are fathers are also entitled to the periods of parental leave guaranteed by law.

In this case, PhD students are requested to follow the ordinary suspension request procedure described above by sending a new suspension request form (in Italian) [.pdf 119 KB] to aform.udottricerca@unibo.it, with copies (cc) to the PhD Programme Director and their supervisors.