ZUS data shows that in 2024, 41.9 thousand took parental leave. fathers – more than twice as many as in 2023 and eleven times as many as in 2022. According to the latest data, from January to August 2025, 35.1 thousand people took parental leave. men. Importantly, it is not the same as paternity leave, but more on that later in the text.
ZUS data show that the average number of days of parental leave used by fathers is decreasing.
“IN In 2025 it was only 40 days, in 2024 – 47 days, and in 2023 – 49 days. Therefore, fathers use on average less than five weeks, even though, in accordance with the amendment to the Labor Code, they have nine weeks of non-transferable parental leave at their disposal,” said Mariusz Jedynak, member of the ZUS management board.
In practice, men can draw from an even larger pool. The total duration of parental leave is 41 weeks, of which nine weeks are available to each parent independently.
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However, the difference in the amount of benefits paid to women and men during parental leave is reduced. From January to August 2025 The average daily amount of the father's benefit was PLN 173, and the mother's – PLN 140. This means – as reported by ZUS – that mother's benefit accounted for 81%. dad's allowance.
For comparison, in 2024 the average daily amount of the father's benefit was PLN 167 and the mother's – PLN 124, which meant a share of 74%. In 2023 it was 70 percent.
“The upward trend in the share of a woman's average daily allowance for parental leave in the amount of the average daily maternity allowance has been maintained for several years. In 2022, this share was 61.7%, in 2023 – 70.1%, in 2024 – 74.6%, and from January to August 2025 – 81.3%.” – noticed Jedynak.
See also: We were fathers on parental leave. “There were moments that I regretted”
Parental leave and paternity leave. It's not the same
In turn, member of the board of the Share the Care Foundation, Karolina Andrian, pointed out that a disturbing trend is the decrease in the number of fathers taking paternity leave, which may indicate a misunderstanding of the functions of individual benefits.
ZUS data shows that in 2023, 182,000 took paternity leave. men, in 2024 – 162 thousand, and from January to August 2025 – 91.6 thousand.
Paternity leave is two weeks 100%. paid time off, which must be used before the child's first year of life. Its primary function is to care for the baby and mother during the postpartum recovery period.
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In turn, parental leave, which in Poland is 41 weeks (for the birth of one child) and can be shared by parents, is paid at 70%. benefit. It can be used until the end of the year in which the child turns six. This leave gives the father and child a chance to build relationships, and the mother to return to her professional activity more calmly.
Polish law allows fathers to take advantage both from paternity leave and parental leave.
“It is clear that fathers are increasingly choosing parental leave right after the birth of the child, even though it is lower paid and shorter. As a result, the child loses out because he could spend more time with his father later,” said Andrian.
