On October 16, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland hosted a conference organized by the I’m on the way Foundation. The rights of pregnant women at work, at the doctor’s office and in public space were discussed by specialists, officials, MPs, as well as future and present mothers. Did any of these debates arise?
When it comes to mum’s rights at work, one conclusion can be drawn: the legal system in Poland protects young mums well and comprehensively, but only until they return to work. That is why it is so? Let’s take a look at the privileges of pregnant and new moms.
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A pregnant woman cannot be dismissed
A woman working under a contract of employment cannot be dismissed, even if her contract expires before the date of giving birth. In this case, the contract is automatically extended until the day of delivery.
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After giving birth to a child, all women receive cash benefit, i.e. maternity and parental benefit.
The form of employment does not affect the decision on granting the allowance, but it does affect the amount and the need to meet certain conditions.
Women employed full-time are in the safest situation as they have a 100% guarantee of receiving the benefit even if their contract ends before the day of giving birth (because it is automatically extended).
Women working on a mandate contract also receive an allowance, but must pay sickness contribution during employment (it is voluntary) and have a valid contract of mandate on the day of childbirth. Then, the allowance is granted in the same way as in the case of an employment contract (for a year, calculated on the basis of the average amount of sickness contribution). It does not matter how long the contract lasted before the birth, or how long it will last after the birth.
For women running a business it looks very much the same. The amount of the allowance depends on the amount of sickness contribution (the contribution is voluntary, as is its amount). In order to receive 100% of the allowance, contributions must be paid for at least 12 months before childbirth. For a shorter contribution period, the allowance is proportionally less.
Women unemployed, contract work and students are entitled to an annual allowance of 10. kosiniakowe, i.e. an allowance granted regardless of the amount and stability of income, in the amount of PLN 1,000 per child, also for 12 months.
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A woman on maternity or parental leave cannot be dismissed from work
That’s right. While on maternity leave, parental leave or parental leave, a woman (but also a man) is protected by law and cannot be dismissed.
The exception is when the workplace is closed, it is subject to bankruptcy. And such a violation of labor rules that leads to the disciplinary dismissal of the employee. And here we come to the next privilege:
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While on maternity leave, you can work for your employer
However, only on parental leave (i.e. after using 20 weeks of maternity leave) and for no more than 1/2 full-time job. It is worth noting that in such a situation the parental benefit is proportionally reduced.
With such an arrangement, a situation may arise where, while working part-time, during maternity leave, an employee may breach applicable regulations in such a way that he will be threatened with disciplinary dismissal.
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While on maternity and parental leave, you can work for another employer.
No restrictions related to the working time, form of employment (type of contract) and no limitation of the amount of the allowance.
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Parents can take unpaid childcare leave, which may not exceed 3 years
The leave can be used by both employed and self-employed people. During this time, the parent has social security contributions paid by the state. The leave can be taken in a maximum of 4 parts until the child reaches the age of 6. The leave can be freely shared between mum and dad.
Back to work and what next?
It turns out that when they return to work, the protection of young parents ends. A parent returning from maternity, parental or childcare leave is treated in the same way as another employee and may be terminated in accordance with applicable law. It also often happens that a mother returning to work is dismissed under the pretext of liquidation Workplace. However, there is a solution that protects against dismissal for a period of 12 months, namely reduced working hours. It can be used by a parent returning from maternity and upbringing – provided that it has not been used in full.
What solutions?
At the conference, MP Joanna Fabisiak made a proposal to relieve the social security of entrepreneurs to whom parents return after a leave related to raising a child. Such a partial dismissal (e.g. 30%) would discourage employers from dismissing their parents and convince them that maintaining the position of a parent returning from leave simply pays off. However, for a year, the rest of the contributions from such an employee would have to be covered by the state budget.
What do you think about such an idea? Will it convince entrepreneurs to keep jobs coming back after their mothers leave?