The government has adopted a draft amendment to the Labour Code concerning the work-life balance of parents and guardians. “The changes are for beneficial for Polish families and the labour market”, said Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office. She added that they are intended to offer the possibility of flexible working hours, which will make it easier to reconcile professional and family roles.
The amended legislation implements two European Union directives on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU and the so-called Parental Directive. One of the introduced objectives of the changes is to encourage the equal sharing of caring responsibilities between men and women.
According to the government, the proposed changes are intended to provide parents of young children with greater professional stabilisation. The new solutions envisage changes in parental leave, paternity leave, the introduction of the so-called unpaid care leave and greater flexibility in work organisation.
Parental leave will be longer. Today it is 32 weeks in the case of the birth of one child and 34 weeks in the case of a multiple pregnancy. After the changes, it will be 41 and 43 weeks respectively. Each parent will also be guaranteed 9 weeks of leave, which will not be transferable to the other parent. Another change is the increase in maternity pay for the entire period of parental leave.
Carer’s leave will also be changed. This is five days per calendar year of unpaid leave granted at the request of an employee who needs to provide personal care for a child, or another family member.
On the occasion of the implementation of the directives, the government also addressed the amendment of the rules on fixed-term contracts, which are not in line with EU law. After the changes, the termination of a fixed-term contract will have to contain a justification and will be subject to union consultation. An employee who has been terminated from a fixed-term contract will be able to apply for reinstatement.
Adrian Andrzejewski