Maternity allowance and economic activity - changes

What changes were introduced in early 2015? How is the maternity allowance calculated? Will an enterprising mother be able to obtain additional maternity leave and parental leave after giving birth?

Maternity allowance for business owners in 2014

Until 2015, a woman who decided to set up a company at least one month before the planned date of childbirth, paying the compulsory social security contribution and voluntary sickness insurance, thus acquired the right to maternity benefit. The amount of the allowance was calculated on the basis of the declared by the woman, usually high, contribution calculation basis.

A woman is entitled to a maternity allowance without any waiting period. Moms who had been running a business for a certain, longer period of time, and had not previously been registered for voluntary sickness insurance, could have acted similarly.Moreover, if the entrepreneurial mother submitted an appropriate application, she could obtain additional maternity leave and then parental leave.

After the end of the maternity leave, the women quit their business or resigned from paying the high premium for sickness insurance. More and more often, there were inspections from the Social Insurance Institution, which checked the activities carried out and, if it was found that the company was a bogus company, ordered the return of the allowance paid or, in more severe cases, referred the case to the prosecutor's office.

Maternity allowance for enterprising mothers in 2015

In 2015, this legal gap is to be filled. Maternity Benefit will depend on the time and amount of contributions paid. Thus, you will get the maximum benefit only after you have paid the maximum contribution basis for at least one year.

However, if the insured person was subject to voluntary sickness insurance for less than 12 months and paid contributions in the amount declared, the basis for the maternity benefit will be the sum of: calendar months of insurance, the income from which is included in the allowance calculation basis (currently PLN 2,247.60) and the amount being the product of 1/12 of the average amount declared as the calculation basis for voluntary sickness insurance contributions, in the part exceeding the lowest calculation basis for sickness insurance contributions, after adding the amount corresponding to 13.71% of the calculation basis for sickness insurance contributions, for the full calendar months of insurance, the income from which is included in the allowance calculation basis, and the number of these months.

From the moment the new regulations enter into force, the maternity allowance of a woman paying the sickness insurance contribution for a period shorter than 12 months before giving birth will be correspondingly lower than for a woman paying the benefit in full for 12 calendar months. To a large extent, the new regulations will fill the gap in the law to determine the amount of maternity allowance.