In September, employees can again take advantage of the additional care allowance. Among the employees applying are also new parents returning from maternity or parental leaves.
 

Return to work after maternity / parental leave …
 

This group of employees very often applies for a holiday leave immediately after the end of leaves related to parenthood. The employer must agree and may not interfere with its duration or dates.
 

… without entitlement to the allowance
 

It turns out, however, that in this situation, ZUS refuses to pay the care allowance to employees, as the allowance is not paid when the employee is paid remuneration, which is the case with annual leave. Among the cases where the leave is interrupted by law, no additional care allowance is granted to the employee.
 

Shortening of holiday leave
 

Although the provisions of the labour law provide for the possibility of recalling an employee from a holiday leave, an employee can’t request the employer to shorten his leave (in order to, for example, get an allowance). Some employees ask their employers to do this, but the latter do not have to agree to it. Practice shows that employers approach such requests very differently.
 

Return after additional care allowance afetr parental leave is a continuation
 

After the leave related to parentage is over, the employer is obliged to allow the employee to work in the current position, and then a similar or other position corresponding to his professional qualifications.

It is not clear from the provisions whether the above obligation remains valid if immediately following the parental leave, the employee took advantage of an additional care allowance. In our opinion, yes, because the period of receiving a care allowance after parental leave (as opposed to an employee's sick leave) is, in a way, an extension of leave related to parentage.

Full article by Iwona Jaroszewska-Ignatowska and Zuzanna Rosner-Laskorzyńska appeared in Rzeczpospolita entitled “When a parent is not entitled to additional care allowance” (as of September 17, 2020).