Polish government drafts plan for two paid days off for parents of teenagers — RMF24

In Poland, the government has prepared a draft amendment under which parents will be able to take two paid days per year to care for a child until they reach the age of 17. Currently, this right applies only to parents of children under the age of 14.

The draft has already been published on the Government Legislation Centre’s website and sent for consultation, RMF24 reports. The changes were proposed by Poland’s Ministry of Family.

How the care days are proposed to be used

The two days could be divided between the mother and father or used entirely by one guardian. Eligibility would not depend on length of service or the size of the employment rate. For part-time employees, the number of hours of such leave from work would be determined proportionally to their working time.

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Unused days would not be carried over to the following year, and no compensation would be paid for them. If an employee has several jobs, entitlement to child-care days would arise separately at each of them.

Arguments for the changes

According to RMF24, the proposal resulted from an appeal by Poland’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights and the Bar Council. They pointed out that older children may also need care in unforeseen situations.

At the same time, Łukasz Kozłowski, the chief economist of the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs, noted that teenagers’ care needs differ from those of younger children.