At the second meeting of the team for the development of parental entitlements for parents of prematurely born and hospitalised children, concrete legislative solutions were presented in response to the demands made by the social side regarding the introduction of additional maternity leave.

We have agreed that this additional leave for parents of premature and hospitalised children should be paid at 100%. Of course, it should be an optional, non-compulsory leave, granted at the request of the parents of children hospitalised after birth and those born prematurely. This leave would not only be reserved for mothers, but also for fathers, legal guardians i.e. families, adoptive parents or foster parents, said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

The main points of the solutions adopted today are:

• introducing additional maternity leave for either mum or dad,
• paid at 100% of the benefit base,
• optional, granted on request,
• to which parents of hospitalised premature babies and parents of hospitalised newborn babies born on time are entitled,
• to which adoptive parents and foster families are also entitled;

• the length of the leave will be increased on a week-by-week basis, i.e. one week of a child's hospitalisation means one additional week of maternity leave, with a maximum of this additional leave being introduced;
• for extremely preterm babies, i.e. those born before the 28th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight of less than or equal to 1,000 g, the additional maternity leave will be extended even further,
• insured persons who are not employees will be entitled to maternity allowance for the period corresponding to the additional maternity leave;
• parental benefit will be correspondingly prolonged by a period equivalent to the additional maternity leave.

We at the Ministry of Family Affairs, Labour and Social Policy are aiming for the draft act to see the light of day in May, before Mother's Day. I would like for it to be a gift for mothers, fathers, parents and, above all, for all babies who are born too early or who have to struggle and face health challenges during their first days and weeks after birth, announces the Minister of Family.

The final solutions will be subject to working arrangements with the ministries responsible for the individual service pragmatics and the draft law will be presented at the next meeting of the Team.