Poland: Employment law changes in force

Several new items of employment legislation came into force in January 2009, covering matters such as working parents’ rights.

Under the “pro-family” Act of 6 December 2008:

• maternity leave has been extended from 18 weeks to 20 weeks for the first child, increasing with subsequent births and for multiple births to a maximum of 37 weeks;
• paternity leave of two weeks in the year after a child’s birth will be introduced from 2010;
• the social insurance contribution made on behalf of employees on unpaid parental leave, which may be taken for up to three years in the period up until the child’s fourth birthday, has increased from PLN82 (€19) per month in 2008 to PLN249 (€58) in 2009 and may be increased further in 2010, based on rises in the national minimum wage.