Leave and benefits related to maternity and parenthood

Maternity leave

Duration of maternity leave and leave on the terms of maternity leave

As an employer, you must grant maternity leave to:

• the mother
• the father, to the extent to which the mother has not used the leave.

In specific circumstances, another immediate family member may also apply for maternity leave. This may happen if:

• the mother has died (the part of maternity leave remaining after the date of the mother’s death may be applied for)
• the mother has abandoned the child
• the mother is an employee certified of inability for independent existence
• the mother who is an employee is in hospital or in another medical centre providing round-the-clock inpatient medical services and cannot take personal care of the child for health reasons.

Another immediate family member – there is no legal definition of an immediate family member but, in practice, immediate family members include in particular the parents and siblings of the child’s mother and father.

Regardless of who uses maternity leave, its duration depends on the number of children born at one time and is as follows:

• 20 weeks – if one child is born
• 31 weeks – if two children are born
• 33 weeks – if three children are born
• 35 weeks – if four children are born
• 37 weeks – if five children or more are born.

If a female or male employee has taken a child in to be raised and has applied to the guardianship court to initiate adoption proceedings, the employee is entitled to leave on the terms of maternity leave until the child turns 14.

If a male or female employee has taken a child in to be raised in a foster family (except for a professional foster family) or has taken a child in and has lodged an application for adoption to a guardianship court, that employee is entitled to leave on the terms of maternity leave.

The duration of the leave depends on the number of children taken in:

• 20 weeks – if one child is taken in
• 31 weeks – if two children are taken in at one time
• 33 weeks – if three children are taken in at one time
• 35 weeks – if four children are taken in at one time
• 37 weeks – if five children or more are taken in at one time.

In such a situation, the leave cannot last longer than until the child reaches the age of 7, or the age of 10 if the child may begin compulsory education at a later date. If the child has not reached the age of 7 (or 10 if the child may begin compulsory education at a later date) when it is taken in, the employee is always entitled to the minimum leave on the terms of maternity leave of 9 weeks.

An employee who has taken in a child up to the age of 14 to be raised and has applied to the guardianship court for adoption of the child also has the right to 9 weeks of leave on the terms of maternity leave.

The employee is entitled to a maternity allowance for the period of the maternity leave.

How leave is used

A pregnant employee may, at her request, use up to 6 weeks of maternity leave before the estimated date of childbirth. After giving birth, she is entitled to the part of the leave that has not been used previously.

A female employee who gave birth during unpaid leave cannot use part of maternity leave before giving birth. If a female employee did not use maternity leave during pregnancy, the first day of maternity leave is the day of childbirth.

While a female employee cannot waive the right to maternity leave, she may decide not to use part of the leave after having used 14 weeks and return to work, provided that:

• she has used 14 weeks of the leave after giving birth (it is irrelevant whether she used the maternity leave during pregnancy and what part of it she used)
• the remaining part of the maternity leave is transferred to the father of the child
• she submits a written application for cancelling part of the maternity leave at least 7 days before returning to work, indicating the date of return
• she encloses a copy of an application by the father who is an employee, to whom the remaining part of the leave will be transferred, or a declaration of the father who is covered by a social security scheme on the cessation of gainful activities for the duration of the remaining part of the maternity leave.

The application by the father, submitted no later than 14 days before the beginning of the leave, should contain:

• the full name of the father
• the full name and date of birth of the child
• a declaration of the employee stating what part of the maternity leave was used before the childbirth and for how long a maternity allowance was received before the childbirth
• information about the length of the period for which the maternity leave is to be granted to the father.

The application should be accompanied by the following documents:

• a copy of the child’s birth certificate
• a declaration of the mother stating that she intends to cancel part of the leave or that she has ceased to receive a maternity allowance, if the mother is employed under a civil law contract or is self-employed.

Please note! A female employee certified of inability for independent existence may decide to cancel maternity leave already 8 weeks after giving birth, upon submitting a written application and an annex confirming that the remaining part of the leave will be used by the child’s father or another immediate family member.

As an employer, you must grant to an employee maternity leave equal to the part of the leave that has not been used by the mother. The date on which the employee begins the maternity leave should be the day after the mother cancels part of the leave.

An employee may submit written or electronic applications in the following matters:

• cancelling part of the maternity leave by the female employee
• granting part of the maternity leave to the employee being a father or employee being other member of the immediate family
• granting parental leave
• leave on the terms of maternity leave and leave from work for employees raising a child under 14.

Interruption of maternity leave

A female employee may interrupt maternity leave if she is admitted to hospital or another medical centre during the leave and cannot take personal care of the child for health reasons, provided that:

• she has previously used at least 8 weeks of the maternity leave from the date of childbirth
• part of the leave is to be transferred to the child’s father or another family member or the child’s father or that person is to take personal care of the child.

An application for maternity leave submitted by the child’s father or another family member when the mother is undergoing treatment should contain:

• the full name of the father / immediate family member
• the date from which part of the maternity leave is to be granted (corresponding to the date on which the mother interrupted the leave)
• a declaration stating what part of the maternity leave was used by the child’s mother before giving birth
• an undertaking by the father / another immediate family member to notify the employer of the date on which the mother leaves the hospital or the medical centre.

A declaration by the mother stating the date on which the maternity leave was interrupted due to admission to the hospital or another medical centre, a certificate of admission of the mother who is an employee to the hospital or the medical centre and a copy of the child’s birth certificate should be enclosed with the application.

The father who is an employee or another family member begins the maternity leave on the date indicated in the application, which should fall on a day when the mother is already in hospital or is to begin hospital treatment.

As an employer, you may request that the employee to whom the leave is transferred notify you as soon as possible of when the mother’s treatment is expected to end. The father / another family member may report to work without prior notice after the end of the maternity leave.

If a mother abandons a child while being on maternity leave or receiving a maternity allowance, the father who is an employee or another immediate family member may use the part of the leave remaining after the date on which the child is abandoned. However, this may happen only after the female employee uses at least 8 weeks of maternity leave after giving birth or after she receives a maternity allowance for 8 weeks while being covered by insurance.

Please note! The mother does not need to be employed under an employment contract in order for the father who is an employee or another immediate family member to be able to use the maternity leave. She may be covered by a social security scheme, for example by virtue of being employed under a civil law contract or being self-employed.

Leave in the case of hospitalisation of a newborn child

If a child requires hospital treatment for a longer period of time immediately after birth, the female employee uses maternity leave during the first 8 weeks after giving birth. Subsequently, she may submit an application for interruption of the maternity leave to the employer. She will be able to use the remaining part of the leave after the child leaves the hospital.

The same rules apply when a child is hospitalised while the parent or another immediate family member is on parental leave or paternity leave. There is no limit on the number of such periods of interruption. Maternity leave, parental leave or paternity leave is extended by each period of interruption during which the child of an employee is hospitalised.

If an employee has submitted an application for interruption of leave, you must, as an employer:

• allow that person to immediately return to work
• grant leave again after the child leaves hospital.

Important! While a child is being hospitalised, the parent may take days off work due to an illness of a child under the age of 14.

Shortened maternity leave

The shortened maternity leave is intended to give the woman time to recuperate. She is entitled to it if:

• she gives birth to a stillborn child (also if she miscarries)
• the child dies before the lapse of the eighth week of life.

Shortened maternity leave is paid at 100%, and the female employee is entitled to 8 weeks and no less than 7 days of the leave. For example, if the child died two weeks after birth, the woman – the child’s mother – is entitled to 6 weeks of shortened maternity leave.

Important! A female employee who has given birth to more than one child in a single birth is entitled to maternity leave at a rate appropriate to the number of living children.

On the other hand, if the child dies after the eighth week of life, the female employee is entitled to maternity leave only for a period of 7 days from the date of the child’s death.

A female employee who wishes to take a shortened maternity leave submits a relevant application to her employer. In the application, she indicates:

• date and town/city
• given name, surname, address and PESEL number of the employee
• name and address of the employer
• the period for which the female employee wishes to obtain the shortened maternity leave.

The signed application must be accompanied by a birth certificate with the annotation of stillbirth. On this basis, the employer is obliged to grant the shortened maternity leave.

If the pregnancy has ended with the child’s death, the hospital is required to issue a stillbirth certificate indicating the child’s sex. DNA testing may be needed for this (when the miscarriage occurs early in the pregnancy).

According to the position of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy on maternity leave for women who have miscarried, “the obligation of a physician or midwife to report the birth of a child (alive or stillborn) for the purpose of drawing up a birth certificate exists in any case of death, regardless of the duration of pregnancy,” and “when the written report of a stillbirth contains all the data about the child, especially its sex, the head of the Registry Office (USC) is obliged to draw up a birth certificate, with the annotation of stillbirth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy”.

On this basis, the Registry Office issues the child’s birth certificate which includes the annotation of death. This document is necessary to obtain a shortened maternity leave.

A stillborn child’s certificate can be handed over to the Registry Office by both the hospital and the child’s parents. They have 3 days from its drawing up to do so. In the case of miscarriage, the deadline begins from the date of delivery of the DNA test results.

Notably, not every woman needs to take a shortened maternity leave.

If she does not want to, she does not have to do the DNA testing to determine the sex of the child in a situation where the miscarriage occurred early in the pregnancy. The hospital will issue a stillbirth certificate in such a situation, and burial can be arranged on this basis. If the woman is unable to return to work for health reasons, the physician may also issue a sick leave.

Parental leave

A mother who is an employee or a father who is an employee has the right to parental leave. The parental leave should be used until the end of the calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 6. The leave is granted to both parents and its duration depends on the number of children born at one time.

The duration is as follows:

• up to 41 weeks if one child is born or taken in
• up to 43 weeks if two children are bor nor taken in.

Parents of a child certified as having a severe and irreversible disability or an incurable life-threatening disease, which arose during the prenatal period of the child’s development or during childbirth, are entitled to parental leave to care for that child in the amount of:

• 65 weeks – if one child is born in a single birth;
• 67 weeks – for multiple births.

An employee who has taken a child in to be raised and has applied to the guardianship court to initiate adoption proceedings is entitled to parental leave, after the use of leave on the terms of maternity leave or maternity allowance for the period corresponding to the period of leave on the terms of maternity leave, in the amount of up to:

• 32 weeks – if one child has been taken in,
• 34 weeks – if more than one child has been taken in;
• however, no longer than until the child reaches the age of 14.

Parental leave is granted either at one time or in no more than 4 parts.Other immediate family members may also use parental leave if:

• the mother of the child has died
• the mother has abandoned the child
• the mother is an employee certified of inability for independent existence
• the mother who is an employee is in hospital or in another medical centre providing round-the-clock inpatient medical services.

If a male or female employee who took a child in to be raised has used leave on the terms of maternity leave or has received a maternity allowance for a period corresponding to the period of leave on the terms of maternity leave, that person may use parental leave granted after leave on the terms of maternity leave has been used or a maternity allowance for this period has been received. The duration of parental leave depends on the number of children taken in:

• 41 weeks – if one child has been taken in
• 43 weeks – if two children or more have been taken in
• 38 weeks –
• if the employee has taken in a child up to the age of 7, and in the case of a child for whom a decision has been made to postpone compulsory schooling – up to the age of 10, and an employee who has taken in a child up to the age of 14.

The parents of a child may use parental leave at the same time. Parental leave can be used either at one time or in no more than 5 parts, no later than the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 6.

Each employee – parent of a child can exercise the exclusive right to 9 weeks of parental leave. Neither parent can waive this right or transfer it to the child’s other parent (it is a non-transferable part of the leave).

Example

The female employee has given birth to one child, so, with the child’s father, she is jointly entitled to parental leave of 41 weeks.

The female employee has exercised her right to 32 weeks of parental leave, and the child’s father is therefore entitled to 9 weeks of leave and cannot transfer this right to the child’s mother.

When determining the number of parts of parental leave, you must take into account the number of applications for parental leave or maternity allowance for a period corresponding to the period of parental leave submitted by the mother and father of a child (or another immediate family member).

Employees – parents of a child, no less than 21 days before the start of the leave, may submit a written application in paper or in electronic form for full or partial parental leave.

Such an application includes:

• name and surname of the employee
• the period of parental leave used so far or maternity allowance for the period corresponding to the period of parental leave and the number of parts of parental leave used or the number of applications for maternity allowance for the period corresponding to the part of parental leave

the period for which parental leave or its part is to be granted. The application must be accompanied by:

• a copy of the child’s birth certificate
• a statement by the employee that the other parent of the child does not intend to use parental leave or maternity allowance for the period corresponding to the period of parental leave for the period indicated in the application, or that the other parent of the child intends to use parental leave or allowance for the period corresponding to the period of parental leave during the period covered by the application.

Parental leave should be granted as multiples of a week.

An employee may cancel parental leave at any time with your consent and return to work.

Work during parental leave

During parental leave, a male or female employee cannot work for his or her employer on more than a half-time basis. In such a case, that person receives parental leave for the remaining period of time..

If an employee – parent of a child combines the use of parental leave with work for their employer, the length of parental leave will be extended, but no longer than:

• 82 weeks ‒ if one child is born in a single birth
• 86 weeks ‒ for multiple births.

In the case of an employee – parent of a child certified as having a severe and irreversible disability or an incurable life-threatening disease which arose during the prenatal period of the child’s development or during childbirth, the use of parental leave is extended, but no longer than:

• 130 weeks – if one child is born in a single birth
• 134 weeks – for multiple births.

In order to work during parental leave, a male or female employee submits a written or electronic application to the employer at least 21 days in advance. The application must contain the following information:

• the full name, the number of working hours the employee wishes to work (on a part-time basis)
• the period during which the employee wishes to combine parental leave with work
• a declaration stating that the employee intends to combine a part of the proportionally extended parental leave with further work on a part-time basis or a declaration stating that the employee does not intend to do so.

As an employer, you should accept such an application. However, you are not required to do so if it is impossible because of the organisation of work at the company or the type of work performed. You must give reasons for the refusal in writing witnin the timelimit of 7 days.

Please note! A male or female employee may decide not to use parental leave at any time and, with your consent, return to work. If the other parent does not take over the leave or takes it over and also decides not to use it, a part of the leave will be forfeited.

Employment after returning from parenthood-related leave

At the end of the maternity leave, leave on the terms of maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave and unpaid extended post-maternity leave you are obliged to allow the female or male employee to work in their current position.

If you cannot do so due to organisational changes, changes in the company structure or the abolition of the position, you must allow the employee to return to work:

• in a position equivalent to the one held before the leave, and, if this is not possible, in a position equivalent to that occupied prior to the start of the leave on terms no less favourable than those that would have applied if the employee had not taken the leave. Salaries must take into account increases that employees would have received if they had not taken parental leave.

Please note! In accordance with the case-law, you actions as an employer will be contrary to applicable laws if, on the one hand, you offer the guaranteed pay levels but, on the other hand, you refer a male or female employee returning from maternity leave to an equivalent position or another position which matches that employee’s professional qualifications while the previously held position has not been abolished and you have offered it to another person.

Example

Anna notifies the employer that she is returning to work from parental leave. Before the parenthood-related leave began, Anna was employed as an assistant to the marketing director. Grzegorz is currently employed in this position while Anna is absent from work. As Anna has declared her intention to return to work, the employer must offer her the previous position of an assistant to the marketing director, unless the female employee expresses a wish to be employed in another position.

Please note! If a mother, father or another immediate family member who has used maternity leave or parental leave applies for annual leave immediately after the previous leave, that leave must be granted.

See the rules for granting annual leave.

Childcare leave

Childcare leave may last up to 36 months in total and is, as a rule, unpaid. During childcare leave, any benefits, such as a childcare allowance, are granted to low-income employees alone.

Childcare leave is granted to employees who have been employed for at least 6 months, a period which also includes a period of time during which unemployment benefit is received. They may use this leave until the end of the calendar year in which their child reaches the age of 6.

A male or female employee who wishes to take childcare leave must submit a written or electronic application at least 21 days before the planned beginning of the leave. As an employer, you must accept the application. The male or female employee may withdraw the application no later than 7 days before the beginning of the leave by submitting a written declaration. During the childcare leave, the male or female employee may decide to cancel the leave at any time, subject to your consent. Without your consent, the employee may return to work 30 days after notifying you of the cancellation of the childcare leave.

Leave may be used by both parents at the same time and split into up to five parts, which are determined on the basis of the number of applications for leave. Each parent has the exclusive right to use 1 month. This right cannot be transferred to the other parent.

A parent or a guardian is entitled to full 36 months if:

• the child’s other parent is deceased
• the child’s other parent has been deprived of parental responsibility, or that parent’s parental responsibility has been limited or suspended
• the child has one guardian.

The applicant must enclose a document confirming that one of these conditions is fulfilled with the application for such a period of leave.

Please note! If a child is certified as having a disability, the period of childcare leave is extended by an additional 36 months and lasts 72 months in total. The additional 36 months may be used until the child reaches the age of 18.

Work during childcare leave

The purpose of childcare leave is to allow a parent or a guardian to take personal care of a child. However, such a person may work during leave as long as this does not interfere with the care for the child.

During childcare leave, an employee may work at your company or at another company, study, participate in training courses or engage in other activities, such as business activity, as long as they remain able to take personal care of the child. In practice, employees usually work on a part-time basis during childcare leave.

Important! If, as an employer, you find that a parent has permanently ceased to take care of a child, you may instruct that person to report back to work not earlier than 3 days after the date of notification and not later than 30 days after the date on which you become aware of this fact. This may happen if, for example, the parent has gone abroad and the child has remained in Poland and is being taken care of by another person.

Paternity leave

Paternity leave may be used only by a father who is an employee until the child reaches 12 months. Paternity leave lasts 2 weeks and may be split into two parts lasting 1 week or used at one time.

An employee who has adopted a child may use paternity leave within 12 months from the date on which the decision on the adoption of the child becomes final and until the child reaches the age of 14.

In order to be granted leave, an employee must submit a written or electronic application no later than 7 calendar days before the beginning of the leave.

The application should contain:

• the full name of the employee
• the date of the paternity leave applied for or of its part.

The employee should enclose a copy of the child’s birth certificate and a declaration stating that paternity leave has been used with the application. An employee who has adopted a child should also enclose a copy of the final court decision on the adoption of the child. As an employer, you must accept the employee’s application. The employee is entitled to a maternity allowance for the period of the leave.

Flexible working time schedule

An employee raising a child up to the age of 8 will be able to apply for flexible work arrangements.

The application must be submitted no less than 21 days before the planned start of flexible work arrangements.

Flexible work arrangements include, for example, part-time work, remote working or a weekend work scheme.

In the application for flexible work arrangements the employee must indicate:

• given name, surname and date of birth of the child
• the reason for the need to use flexible work arrangements
• the start and end date of flexible work arrangements
• the type of flexible work arrangements that the employee plans to use.

When considering the employee’s application for flexible work arrangements, you must take into account the employee’s needs, including the timing and reason for the need for flexible work arrangements, as well as your needs and capabilities, including the need to ensure the normal course of work, the organization of work or the type of work performed by the employee.

An employee applying for flexible work arrangements will be able to apply for restoring the previous work arrangements at any time.

Important! You may not terminate with or without notice an employment contract with an employee who has applied for flexible work arrangements.

Protection of employment relationships

An employer cannot terminate an employment contract and cannot prepare to dismiss the employee:

• during pregnancy
• during maternity leave,
• from the date of the employee’s application for the following to the date of termination of the following:
• maternity leave or its part
• leave on the terms of maternity leave or its part, paternity leave or its part
• parental leave or its part.

The ban takes effect:

• 14 days prior to the start of part of the maternity leave and part of the leave on the terms of maternity leave
• 21 days before the start of parental leave or its part
• 7 days before the start of paternity leave or its part.

Termination of an employment contract with notice during pregnancy, maternity leave, leave on the terms of maternity leave, paternity leave or parental leave may occur only if the employer is declared bankrupt or goes into liquidation.

This also applies to fathers who are employees raising a child or to other immediate family members who are employees during the period of maternity leave, leave on the terms of maternity leave and parental leave.

In the case of a fixed-term employment contract or an employment contract for a probationary period of more than 1 month, which would be terminated after the third month of pregnancy, the contract is extended until the date of childbirth. However, a fixed-term employment contract concluded for the purpose of replacing an employee during that person’s justified absence from work cannot be extended in this manner.

Protection of employees using childcare leave

An employer cannot terminate an employment contract from the date on which an employee entitled to childcare leave submits an application for:

• childcare leave – until the end of this leave
• reduction of working time – until the date on which non-reduced working time applies again, but for no longer than 12 months in total.

The contract may be terminated by the employer only if that employer is declared bankrupt or goes into liquidation and if there are reasons justifying the termination of the employment contract without notice due to the fault of the employee.

After the employee returns from the childcare leave, the employer must allow that person to return to work in the previous position.

If this is not possible, the employer must allow the employee to work in a position equivalent to the one held prior to the commencement of the leave on terms no less favourable than those that would have applied if the employee had not taken the leave, against remuneration for work that the employee would have received if the employee had not taken the leave, and must guarantee the employee returning from leave the right to any improvement in working conditions to which the employee would have been entitled had they not taken such leave.

Benefits related to giving birth to and raising children

Maternity allowance

A maternity allowance is a benefit paid under a social security scheme to employees who are on maternity leave, leave on the terms of maternity leave, parental leave and paternity leave.

The allowance is payable to employees and other insured persons covered by sickness insurance under a social security scheme, for example contractors or self-employed persons.

The amount of the maternity allowance depends on declarations submitted by an employee about how and for how long they intend to exercise parenthood-related rights. Maternity allowance for the period of parental leave is 70% of the allowance base.

The employee has the opportunity to choose the amount of maternity allowance to be collected during parental leave:

• 100% of the allowance for the entire period of maternity leave – in this case, for the period of parental leave, both parents are entitled to 70% of the allowance
• 81.5% of the maternity allowance for the period of maternity leave and parental leave if you submit an application to your employer or the Social Insurance Institution within 21 days,

however, for the period of the 9-week non-transferable portion of this leave for the child’s father there is a maternity allowance amounting to 70% of the allowance base.

The employee – mother of the child can share the allowance of 81.5% with the father. The child’s father will receive the allowance in the amount of 70% only for the first 9 weeks of the period in which the allowance is used.

Please note! If you employ more than 20 insured persons (employees and contractors under a contract of mandate) whom you register for a social security scheme, then it is you who must physically pay maternity allowances to the employees, and the Social Insurance Institution (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych – ZUS) must refund the amounts you have paid.

If you employ fewer insured persons, allowances will be paid by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) – you must enclose your contribution payer’s certificate with the employees’ applications. For employees, you must submit a Z-3 certificate. For persons employed under a contract of mandate, you must submit a Z-3a certificate.

Care allowance

A care allowance is payable to only one parent or guardian and only if no other family member is able to take care of a sick child.

An employee will be exempt from the obligation to perform work if he or she is taking care of another family member: a spouse, a parent, the other parent of his or her child, a stepfather, a stepmother, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and children who have reached the age of 14, provided that they live in the same household while being taken care of.

Please note! An employee’s children will also include the spouse’s biological children, adopted children and children taken in to be raised.

A care allowance is a cash benefit payable to an employee who is exempt from the obligation to perform work because he or she is taking personal care of:

• a sick child under the age of 14 (up to 60 days in a calendar year),
• a sick child under the age of 18 certified as having a severe disability (up to 30 days in a calendar year),
• a sick child under the age of 18 certified as having a disability and needing permanent care of another person and that person’s assistance in treatment, rehabilitation or education (up to 30 days in a calendar year),
• a sick child under the age of 18 certified as having a severe disability or needing permanent care of another person and that person’s assistance in treatment, rehabilitation or education – if the employee’s spouse or the child’s parent who takes permanent care of the child cannot do so due to an illness or childbirth or is in hospital or a round-the-clock medical centre (up to 30 days in a calendar year),
• another sick family member (up to 14 days in a calendar year),
• a child under the age of 8 due to the closure of crèches, children’s clubs, nursery schools or schools (up to 60 days in a calendar year),
• a child under the age of 8 due to an illness of a nanny with whom the employee has concluded a formal nanny agreement or of a day carer who takes care of the employee’s child (up to 60 days in a calendar year),
• a child under the age of 8 if the employee’s spouse or the child’s parent who takes permanent care of the child cannot do so due to an illness or childbirth or is in hospital or a round-the-clock medical centre (up to 60 days in a calendar year).

The care allowance is paid at the rate of 80% of the assessment basis (i.e., as a rule, the employee’s remuneration calculated in the same way as a sickness benefit). The employee receives the allowance for every day, including non-working days.

Please note! If you employ more than 20 insured persons (employees and contractors under a contract of mandate) whom you register for a social security scheme, then it is you who must pay the care allowance to the employees, for which you will be refunded by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). If you employ fewer persons, ZUS (the Social Insurance Institution) must pay the allowance on the basis of the following applications:

• Z-15A application for payment of care allowance, submitted by employees taking care of a child
• Z-15B application for payment of care allowance, submitted by employees taking care of a sick family member.