On July 12, 2022, amendments to the Act on Maternity and Parental Support were adopted. There have been very positive changes and additions, the most important of which relates to paid paternity leave.
Paternity leave
Important changes and amendments to the Act on Maternity and Parental Support affected fathers. Namely, from August 1, 2022, fathers will be entitled to 10 working days of paternity leave if it is the case of one child, and in the case of twins or more children, the leave is increased to 15 days. This is the minimum number of days prescribed by the EU Directive on the balance between work and private life of parents and caregivers.
Fathers should use this leave no later than when the child is six months old. Also, they can use the leave regardless of the mother’s employment legal status, which means that they can use the leave in parallel with the mother’s maternity leave.
This right is not mandatory, but we emphasize that employers must respect this right if the father decides to use it. Leave is granted regardless of the marital or family status of the father.
What are the amounts?
The anticipated salary compensation for paternity leave amounts to 100% of the salary compensation base determined according to the regulations on mandatory health insurance. The entire compensation is paid from the state budget.
The purpose of paternity leave
The main goal of this leave is to enable parents and people who take care of others to coordinate business and private obligations more easily and concretely. The purpose is to strengthen the standard related to parental leave, but also to introduce the standard related to paternity leave.
Croatia introduced paternity leave at the very end of the term and for the minimum duration prescribed by the EU Directive on the balance between the work and private life of parents and caregivers.
You can find all the details about paternity leave and other things in the Act on Amendments to the Act on Maternity and Parental Support.
