• From January 1^st 2012 on the duration of the Maternity Leave shall be increased. It is divided into two parts – the Ordinary Maternity Leave and the Additional Maternity Leave. The Ordinary Maternity Leave shall have the same duration as in the previous years and depends on the amount of the newborn children. The Additional Maternity Leave shall be increased by two weeks in the forthcoming year. The rules are as follows:

*at present amounts to 2 & 3 weeks.

The employee must remember to submit to the employer a written request for the Additional Maternity Leave, indicating that one wants to use it directly after the Ordinary Maternity Leave. The respective request must be submitted no later than seven days prior to the commencement day of the Additional part of the leave at the latest. Otherwise this right expires.

The employer is obliged to comply with the employee’s request.

Parents who will begin the Additional part of the leave before January 1^st 2012 and will continue it after that date, will have the opportunity to use the Maternity Leave in the increased duration. The aforementioned rules are applicable until the end of the year 2013. Since January 1^st 2014 onwards the duration of the Additional part of the leave shall be respectively up to 6 weeks – in case of giving birth to one child, and up to 8 weeks – in case of giving birth to more than one child – at one childbirth.

Furthermore the duration of the Paternity Leave shall also be increased – since January 1^st 2012 it shall last for up to 2 weeks (at present 1 week). Please mind that this type of the leave is given under solely until the child is up most 12 months old or until the lapse of 12 months after a decision of a custody court adjudicating the adoption is final. The Paternity Leave is granted on the basis of a written request of a father-employee rising a child, submitted no later than 7 days prior to the commencement of the leave. Also in this case the employer is obliged to comply with the employee’s request.

• A longer period for exercising overdue Paid Annual Leave by the employees is another important change awaiting us in the next year.

Pursuant to the recent amendment act to the Labor Code the overdue Paid Annual Leave must be granted to the employee up most until the September 30^th of the following calendar year; this rule does not apply to a so called leave on demand.

This solution is favorable from the employer’s point of view – it allows for a more flexible management of the leaves schedules. The employers shall no longer be limited to the first quarter of a forthcoming year as it is at present. Frequently this period has fallen on a time of spring illnesses and therefore increased the employees absence. Now the employer has more freedom in that matter.

As a matter of fact it is a solution equally favorable from the employee’s point of view. In case of the overdue holiday leave with more days left to use, the employee can decide to use it together with one’s Paid Annual Leave in particular calendar year.

Opracował Sebastian Pikor