The amendment to the Polish Labor Code, adopted by the Sejm on November 27, 2024, introduces changes regarding maternity leave for mothers of prematurely born children or infants hospitalized after birth. The aim of these changes is to support mothers who need to care for prematurely born children or those requiring long-term hospitalization by introducing supplementary maternity leave of up to 8 weeks or 15 weeks.
Key changes include:
- Extension of Maternity Leave: The amendment introduces a provision that extends maternity leave by the duration of the child’s hospitalization if the child was born prematurely (before the 37th week of pregnancy) or requires long-term hospitalization after birth. This means that in such cases, maternity leave can be extended in one part immediately after the basic maternity leave by the period during which the child is in the hospital. Leave will be granted upon request.
- Extension of Maternity Leave for Child’s Treatment: If the child is in the hospital after birth and the basic maternity leave has been used by the mother, it is possible to apply for an extension of the leave by the duration of the child’s hospitalization. The employee will be entitled to supplementary maternity leave if the infant is hospitalized for at least 2 consecutive days between the 5th and 28th day after birth.
- Allowance for Supplementary Maternity Leave: The allowance for the period of supplementary maternity leave will be 100% of the benefit base.
- Employer’s Obligations: Employers are required to take this situation into account when planning leave and ensure that mothers have access to additional leave, depending on the child’s health condition.
Eligible for Additional Maternity Leave:
- Working parents of children born before the 28th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight not exceeding 1000g – up to 15 weeks.
- Working parents of children born after the 28th week of pregnancy but before the 36th week of pregnancy and with a birth weight greater than 1000g – up to 8 weeks.
- Working parents of children born after the 36th week of pregnancy, whose child required hospitalization from the 5th day to the end of the 8th week after birth – one week of additional maternity leave for each week the child is in the hospital, provided the child’s hospital stay is at least 2 consecutive days within the specified period.
When determining the duration of additional maternity leave, periods of the child’s hospital stay up to the 8th week or 15th week after birth will be summed up. An incomplete week will be rounded up to a full week. This provision takes into account breaks between successive hospitalizations of the child.
The leave will be available to mothers or fathers, as well as legal guardians, foster parents, or adoptive parents. The law is set to come into effect three months after its publication in the Journal of Laws. It was signed by the President on December 12, 2024.
