Poland Parenting leave policy

Satya Mandavalli

Sep 18, 20242 min read

Updated: Jan 20

I would greatly appreciate that you rate this page. It would mean a lot to me if you could rate and encourage me if you found the material on this page helpful.

## Maternity Leave

- Maternity leave is granted to employees who have given birth to a child, regardless of the type of employment contract, seniority, or working time[1].

- The length of maternity leave depends on the number of children born at one birth:

- 20 weeks for a single birth

- 31-37 weeks for multiple births[1][4]

- After exercising the right to at least 14 weeks of maternity leave, the employee can waive the rest of the leave and return to work[1].

## Paternity Leave

- The employee-father who brings up a child is entitled to 2 weeks of paternity leave[1][4].

- Paternity leave can be used by the father at any time, also during the mother's maternity leave, but before the child turns 24 months old[1].

## Parental Leave

- Parental leave is granted to employees-parents of a child to care for the child[3].

- The length of parental leave is 41 weeks for a single birth or 43 weeks for multiple births[2][4].

- Parents of a child with a severe disability or life-threatening disease are entitled to 65 or 67 weeks of parental leave[4].

- Parental leave can be granted in up to 5 parts and can be combined with part-time work[2][4].

- Each parent has an exclusive right to 9 weeks of parental leave that cannot be transferred to the other parent[2][7].

## Childcare Leave

- Childcare leave may last up to 36 months[4].

- An employee may work during childcare leave as long as it does not interfere with caring for the child[4].

## Maternity Allowance

- During maternity, paternity, and parental leave, employees receive a maternity allowance of 100% of the basis of assessment[1][6].

- If the mother submits a written request within 21 days of giving birth, she can receive the maternity allowance at 81.5% of the basis for the entire period of maternity and parental leave[2].

In summary, the Polish government has implemented the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, significantly increasing parental leave entitlements and introducing non-transferable portions for each parent to encourage fathers to take a more active role in childcare[5].

Summary of Leave Types

Parental Leave Duration: Up to 41 weeks for a single child, with an additional 9 weeks reserved exclusively for each parent that cannot be transferred.
Childcare Leave: Parents can take up to 36 months of unpaid childcare leave for healthy children, which must be used before the child turns 6 years old, or up to 72 months for children with disabilities, until they turn 18.