This is important news for thousands of families in Poland. In Poland, approximately 20 thousand babies a year are born prematurely or, despite being born on time, have to be hospitalised after birth due to their health condition. Until now, the long weeks spent by parents behind a cold window in hospital have not been compensated in any way. This will change, however.

A law introducing additional leave for parents of premature babies and babies hospitalised after birth, a draft of which was developed at the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, was signed by the President on 12 December.

Up to 15 weeks of additional leave

The Act introduces additional maternity leave of up to 8 weeks or up to 15 weeks – depending on the period of hospitalisation and the week of pregnancy in which the baby is born, as well as the birth weight.

• The parents of children born before the end of the 28th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight of no more than 1,000 g will be eligible for an additional maternity leave of up to 15 weeks after the birth. The number will depend on the length of the child's hospitalisation – one week of additional maternity leave for each week of the child's hospitalisation.
• For parents of a baby born after the 28th and before the 36th week of pregnancy and with a birth weight of more than 1,000g, the additional leave will amount to up to 8 weeks. The principle of one week's leave for one week of hospitalisation will apply here too.
• On the other hand, the parents whose baby was born after the 37th week of pregnancy and will require hospitalisation from the 5th day until the 8th week after the birth, will be eligible for the leave of up to 8 weeks. The requirement here is that after the birth, the baby has to stay in hospital for at least 2 consecutive days between the 5th and 28th day after the birth.

Important! The allowance for the period of additional maternity leave will be 100 per cent of the allowance base.

How do you get additional leave?

An application for additional maternity leave may be submitted to the employer together with a medical certificate with information on the week of pregnancy in which the child was born, the child's birth weight and information on the duration of the child's hospitalisation. The leave will not only be granted to mothers or fathers, but also to legal guardians and foster or adoptive parents.

The law is expected to enter into force three months after its promulgation. This is the minimum period needed for the Social Insurance Institution to implement the changes.