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Poland enacted a new statutory leave entitlement granting parents of premature babies and hospitalized newborns up to 8 or 15 weeks of additional maternity leave beyond standard entitlements, effective March 19, 2025. Eligibility depends on gestational age at birth, birth weight, and hospitalization duration. Parents receive one additional week of leave per week of hospitalization, up to the applicable maximum (15 weeks for babies born before 28 weeks or weighing ≤1,000g; 8 weeks for babies born 28–36 weeks with weight >1,000g or full-term babies requiring hospitalization). The allowance is paid at 100% of the calculation base. Parents must apply to ZUS before standard maternity leave ends, submitting a hospital certificate documenting hospitalization and gestational age.
Poland introduces additional maternity leave for parents of premature and hospitalized newborns, effective March 19, 2025
Poland enacted a new statutory leave entitlement on March 19, 2025, granting parents of premature babies and hospitalized newborns up to 8 or 15 weeks of additional maternity leave beyond standard entitlements. The law compensates parents for time their child spends hospitalized after birth, which previously counted against regular maternity leave periods.
Who is affected
The additional leave applies to mothers, fathers, legal guardians, foster parents, and adoptive parents of children born prematurely or requiring hospitalization immediately after birth. Employees already on maternity leave or entitled to maternity leave as of March 19, 2025, are covered under transitional provisions and may apply retroactively if their child meets eligibility criteria.
What's changing
Parents now receive one additional week of leave for each week their newborn spends hospitalized, up to a maximum determined by the child's gestational age and birth weight:
| Birth circumstances | Maximum additional leave |
|---|---|
| Born before 28 weeks of pregnancy OR birth weight ≤1,000g | 15 weeks |
| Born between 28–36 weeks of pregnancy AND birth weight >1,000g | 8 weeks |
| Born full-term (≥37 weeks) and hospitalized after birth | 8 weeks |
The allowance is paid at 100% of the calculation base throughout the additional leave period. Parents must apply to the Social Insurance Institution (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, ZUS) before their standard maternity leave ends, submitting a hospital certificate documenting the child's hospitalization duration and gestational age at birth. The additional leave is granted once and cannot be divided; parents decide whether to use the entitlement.
What NEO partners and clients should do
- By March 19, 2025: Update Polish leave policies and payroll systems to reflect the new additional maternity leave category and 100% payment rate.
- Immediately: Notify employees with children born prematurely or hospitalized after birth on or after March 19, 2025, of their eligibility and the requirement to apply to ZUS before standard maternity leave expires.
- Ongoing: Ensure HR teams can identify eligible cases based on gestational age, birth weight, and hospitalization records, and assist employees in obtaining required hospital certificates.
- Before Q2 2025: Train payroll and benefits administrators on processing ZUS applications and coordinating payment for the additional leave period.
