Insured mothers are entitled to maternity benefit when they give birth to a child. Men are also increasingly willing to care for their children. Every father can use part of the maternity leave and the entire parental leave. Year by year, fathers take advantage of this option more and more often.

In 2019, ZUS in Lower Silesia paid maternity benefits to nearly 40,000 mothers. Last year, 9,000 women covered by the Legnica ZUS branch welcomed a new family member, as did 9,900 mothers from the area of the Wałbrzych branch and 19,600 women to whom the Wrocław ZUS branch paid maternity benefit last year.

“The first 14 weeks of maternity leave are reserved exclusively for the mother. Only in exceptional circumstances can the father take over care of the baby during this time. The father can take over care when the child’s mother dies or abandons the child, as regulations currently allow this,” informs Iwona Kowalska-Matis, regional press spokesperson for ZUS in Lower Silesia.

The spokesperson warns:

Entitlement to the benefit is conditional on stopping employment or other gainful activity in order to personally care for the child. New parents can count on 52 weeks away from work, consisting of maternity leave and parental leave. This period may be extended if more than one child is born in a single delivery. However, the first weeks of maternity leave are reserved exclusively for the child’s mother.

“If, after 14 weeks of maternity leave, the child’s mother wants to return to work, the father can care for the baby,” explains I. Kowalska-Matis.

Maternity benefit is granted for the birth of a child, as well as for accepting a child under the age of 7 for upbringing (or under the age of 10 if the child has received a decision postponing compulsory schooling). People covered by social insurance, including sickness insurance, are entitled to maternity benefit. The spokesperson says:

I remind you that sickness insurance is compulsory for people employed under an employment contract, while for contractors and self-employed people it is voluntary. Being covered by sickness insurance provides not only the possibility of receiving maternity benefit, but also other benefits, such as sickness benefit or rehabilitation benefit in the event of one’s own illness, as well as care benefit.

When is maternity benefit paid for longer?

Maternity benefit is paid for the duration of maternity leave or leave under the conditions of maternity leave and parental leave. A woman who gives birth to one child in a single delivery or accepts one child under the age of 7 for upbringing (or under the age of 10 if the child has received a decision postponing compulsory schooling) will receive the benefit for 52 weeks.

If the mother gives birth to twins or triplets, the period of receiving maternity benefit is extended by several weeks. In the case of twins, the period of receiving maternity benefit is up to 65 weeks; with triplets, it is 67 weeks.

With a greater number of children, the benefit period is extended and may last up to 71 weeks.

Importantly, regulations allow part of the benefit—up to 16 weeks—to be deferred and used by the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 6. Parents may divide this part into a maximum of two periods, for example, two periods of 8 weeks.

The pay, the benefit

The amount of the benefit depends on the assessment base on which contributions are paid, most often the salary received. The higher the salary, the higher the contributions paid and, consequently, the higher the benefit for the parents of young children.

The amount of the benefit received is affected by our average remuneration from the last 12 months. For women running their own business and covered by voluntary sickness insurance, the amount of the benefit is determined on the basis of monthly income for the 12 calendar months preceding the birth. This contribution is voluntary. However, regulations set a limit in this case: the maximum contribution assessment base for voluntary sickness insurance is 250% of the projected average monthly remuneration.

100% or 60%?

The rule is as follows: for the 20-week maternity leave period (when one child is born in a single delivery) and 6 weeks of parental leave (when one child is born in a single delivery), maternity benefit amounts to 100% of the assessment base. For the remaining 26 weeks of parental leave, it amounts to 60% of the assessment base.

However, parents may decide that they want to receive maternity benefit at the same rate for the period corresponding to maternity leave (leave under the conditions of maternity leave) and parental leave. It will then amount to 80% of the assessment base, that is, the average remuneration or income from the last 12 months. They only need to submit an application for maternity benefit for the entire period of maternity leave (leave under the conditions of maternity leave) and parental leave within 21 days of the birth or accepting the child for upbringing.

For fathers only

An insured father raising a child is entitled to maternity benefit for the period established as paternity leave, up to 2 weeks, but no longer than until the child reaches 24 months of age. Paternity leave and maternity benefit for this period may be used at once or in no more than 2 parts, with the subsequent part not having to fall immediately after the preceding part of paternity leave. Neither part of paternity leave may be shorter than one week.