Most Germans receive health care coverage through the state health insurance plans, which are funded from contributions. If employed with earnings below a set income limit, you pay half the insurance contributions as an employee, and your employer pays the other half. People making between 400 and 800 euros per month are required to pay less towards their insurance.

Sources

1. http://www.nchc.org/facts/Germany.pdf

Maternity allowance and parental leave

Maternity Allowance: If you are having a baby in Germany, you may qualify for Maternity Allowance (Mutterschaftsgeld). Mutterschaftsgeld is a financial service paid by the German State Health Insurance. It is financial support provided to pregnant women, 6 weeks prior and 8 weeks following delivery.

The amount varies from case to case and depends on the expectant mother’s salary. The calculation is based on an average net amount of the applicant's last three, complete, monthly paychecks or the last 13 weeks of pay before the Maternity Protection Period started and divided by total days for period being measured.

Parental leave: New parents also have a right to demand a time-out of their employment. Parents may demand a parental leave up to three years after the birth of the child. This means that an employee may return to work after three years at the same conditions but won’t get a wage during the leave. A mother or a father intending to stay away from work after the birth has to however inform the employer at least seven weeks before the start of the leave.

Source

1. http://www.howtogermany.com/
2. http://www.janvonbroeckel.de/

Annual paid leave

Paid annual leave in Germany varies between 20 – 30 days depending on your employment contract with your company.