On 23^rd of March President of Poland signed the bill implementing the work-life balance directive in Poland. On 26^th of April the new regulation came into force.

Starting point…

Parental leave in Poland is very generous if you compare it to most EU member states (excluding Scandinavian ones). However, there is a problem in that it is mainly focused on the mother’s right. The father’s right to parental leave is dependent on the mother’s leave and her willingness to share it.

People who became parents so far could use the following leaves (before the implementation of work-life balance directive):

• 20 weeks of maternity leave, 100% paid (14 weeks are obligatory for the mother and the remaining 6 weeks can be transferred to the father)
• 32 weeks of parental leave: 6 weeks paid at 100% and 26 weeks paid at 60% (parents can freely share this leave between themselves)
• 2 weeks of paternity leave, paid at 100%
• 36 months of childcare leave, unpaid (one month is non-transferable, reserved for the father, the rest may be shared by parents as they wish).

Parental leave is mostly taken by mothers (99%), only 1% of fathers use their right to parental leave. In 2022 this was only 3,700 fathers. Fathers do not have an individual right to parental leave. Their right is dependent on the mother’s status of employment. The uptake of paternity leave is 56%.

Changes after the implementation of the work-life balance directive in Poland

The following changes regarding fathers will come into force:

• Fathers will gain an individual right to the entire length of parental leave, regardless of the mother’s employment status (as it is currently). This is an important step towards recognising fathers as equal carers.
• The length of parental leave will increase from 32 to 41 weeks in the case of a single pregnancy, of which 9 weeks are reserved for the second parent. In Polish reality, the second parent is the child’s father. 9 weeks are non-transferable.
• The time period within which one must take paternity leave will be shortened from two years to one.

At the Share the Care Foundation we believe that the non-transferability of leave is crucial for fathers. It makes it easier for fathers to discuss this matter with their partners (the mother does not have to give up her part of the leave, as has been the case so far) and with the employer. The question that so far has been asked in the workplace „why do you want to go on parental leave if your wife can” will no longer be possible and will lose any of the questionable justification it had.

In the light of the new regulations, the amount of pay parents receive during parental leave will change. The legislator has planned to increase the level from the current 60 percent to 70 percent of base salary. This means that fathers taking 9 weeks of non-transferable parental leave will receive 70% of their salary. Mothers who in the vast majority of cases combine maternity leave (20 weeks) and parental leave (32 weeks – 9 weeks reserved for mothers and 23 weeks of shared leave) will be able to apply to the employer for an averaging of the allowance to 81.5%.

It is worth noting that the parent is protected against dismissal at the time of submitting the application for parental leave (21 days before the start of the leave).

The variant of adding 9 weeks for the second parent to the current 32 weeks of parental leave was postulated by the Share the Care Foundation. It is based on the experience of other countries, such as Iceland, which have many years of experience in building a social policy involving both parents in childcare. The Foundation also called for the amount of pay to be at least 81.5% of the base salary  (as average pay for mothers), but this was not approved by the ruling party.

The extension of the parental leave period is the best option for both parents – for mums who lose nothing and dads who gain 9 weeks of precious time with their child. This new solution gives Polish children the opportunity to spend more time with their parents, before the child is enrolled in a nursery. This seems to be an important argument for parents.

In addition, parents should consider the financial benefits of this solution: – 2 months additional time in which the father takes care of the child and receives 70% of his salary also means savings on nursery fees. It is worth noting that public or subsidized nurseries do not cover the demand. Only 19% of children in Poland have guaranteed places in a nursery. Still, two thirds of Polish municipalities do not have even one nursery.

As the work-life balance directive was due to have been implemented on 2^nd of August 2022, Polish government has accepted the postulates of the parents who were treated unfairly as a result of the delay in the implementation (they would fail to benefit from the 9 weeks of extra parental leave). Therefore, the changes will apply not only to those who are on parental leave from the day the act comes into force but also retrospectively back to parents who were on parental leave on 2^nd of August 2022.