Employment & labor law /

The Poznań authorities recommend that directors close nurseries, kindergartens and schools for two weeks. Coronavirus and employers responsibilities

The need to take personal care of a child is a legitimate reason for absence from work.

As a rule, if a crèche, kindergarten or school is closed unexpectedly, an employee who is a parent or guardian of a child under 8 years of age is entitled to a care allowance. An additional condition is that the child cannot be looked after by another family member. Under typical circumstances, the care allowance is limited and amounts to a maximum of 60 days per calendar year, regardless of the number of children.

The care allowance amounts to 80 per cent of the basis for the allowance and its amount is calculated by ZUS or the contributor. Importantly, if parents or guardians wish to receive carer’s allowance, the contributor must submit a statement from the contributor about the unforeseen closure of the nursery, kindergarten or school (print ZAS-36) and an application for the allowance (print Z-15A).

Parents and guardians of children older than 8 years of age can take two days or 16 hours leave per child in the event of school closure. An employee who takes advantage of child labour exemption retains the right to remuneration. The regulations do not specify how much prior notification of the employer’s willingness to take time off is required

However, due to the exceptional situation related to the spread of coronavirus, the Act of 2 March 2020 on special arrangements for preventing, preventing and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them has come into force, which modifies the above described rules and grants new rights to employers and employees:

1) In order to prevent the coronavirus, the employer may instruct the employee to perform, for a fixed period of time, the work specified in the employment contract, outside the place of its permanent performance (remote work),

2) In case of closure of a crèche, children’s club, kindergarten or school attended by a child, due to coronavirus, an employee dismissed from work due to the necessity to take care of the child personally is entitled to an additional care allowance for a period not longer than 14 days.

3) Additional care allowance shall not be included in the 60-day limit of care allowance granted on general terms.

4) The right to care allowance due to the need to take care of a child is also granted if the school has not been closed, but the district sanitary inspector or the state border sanitary inspector has issued a decision on the need to isolate or quarantine a particular child. The need for isolation or quarantine is treated in the same way as a child’s illness, because it means that one of the child’s parents is unable to work due to the need for care. This is also based on Z-15A printing.

Author team leader DKP Legal Alicja Myśluk-Landowska
Contact our expert
Write an inquiry: [email protected]
check full info of team member: Alicja Myśluk-Landowska

Contact us

Flaga Polski.POZNANPOLAND
Młyńska 16
61-730 Poznań
+48 61 853 56 48[email protected]
Flaga Polski.WARSAWPOLAND
Rondo ONZ 1
00-124 Warsaw
+48 22 300 16 74[email protected]
Flaga Polski.WROCLAWPOLAND
Swobodna 1
50-088 Wrocław
+48 61 853 56 48[email protected]
Flaga Polski.KRAKOWPOLAND
Opolska 110
31-355 Kraków
+48 61 853 56 48[email protected]
Flaga Polski.ZIELONA GÓRAPOLAND
Jana Sobieskiego 2/3
65-071 Zielona Góra
+48 61 853 56 48[email protected]