POLAND CURRENT REGULATION Maternity leave 20 weeks 14

POLAND: CURRENT REGULATION Maternity leave: 20 weeks, 14 compulsory weeks. Payment depends on family decision on parental leave. 1

POLAND: CURRENT REGULATION Paternity leave: 2 weeks, non-transferable, 100% paid. The Paternity leave can be taken during the first 24 months after birth; and it can be taken in two parts. Childcare leave: 36 months can be taken after Maternity leave. Parents can use the leave until the child turns six years old. Out of this, 34 months are a family entitlement, with one month as an individual entitlement for the mother and another month for the father. A parental allowance of € 179 per month is paid for 24 months to parents taking leave as a supplement to family benefit, if monthly household income per capita does not exceed € 158 500+ Programme, „SOCIAL REVOLUTION”: support for all families with more than one child (regardless of income). Family gets € 125 a month for every child. Low income families with one child also get the benefit. 2

PRACTICE • • No longer than 21 days after birth, the mother-employee may declare if she wants to take the 80 per cent option, i. e. an option of combined Maternity and Parental leave, for the total of 52 weeks of leave Less than 1% of fathers take parental leave (in 2017: 2 out of 231 tousands) Mothers on the leave for one year Attendance rates at formal ECEC services – 0 -2 years: 11% 3 -5 years: 74% 3

RECOMMENDATIONS CHALLENGES: • • • Cultural norms Rejection of „imposed” EU policies („against” Polish culture; calls for graduał change) Low position of workers at the labour market WE NEED COMPLEX APPROACH: - Institutional care for children Inner-Poland campaigns on value of fatherhood and paternal leaves Work-life balance not gender equailty Gradual non-transferable aiming at equal in… Other solutions on healthcare, stabilization of employment, tax system etc. 4