In all the partner countries, the academic staff is entitled to maternity and parental leave. Denmark, Estonia and Finland also offer the opportunity to take paternity leave, which is a leave just for the father; it lasts 10 week days in Denmark and in Estonia, and 18 week days in Finland.
In Estonia and Poland and Finland either of the parents are entitled to take up to 3 years of parental leave, which is the longest parental leave offered among the five partner countries.
On a formal level Finland offer the most beneficiary conditions in connection with the duration of the paid leaves.
In Italy and in Poland the maternity leave is compulsory. In Denmark only the two weeks after the birth are compulsory. In Finland two weeks preceding and two weeks after the birth. At present, the maternity leave isn´t compulsory in Estonia.
The conditions of and lenght of the different types of leave vary considerably across the countries.

To have more detailed information please click: Denmark  Estonia  Finland  Italy  Poland

To compare the leaves given in the five partner countries we can take into consideration the following:

Denmark
Maternity leave = 90 days. Parental leave = 160 days. Paternity leave = 10 days. 260 days in total with pay.

Estonia
Maternity leave = 140 days. Parental leave = up till 3 years without pay. Paternity leave =  14 days.  455 days in total with pay.

Finland
Maternity leave = 105 days. Parental leave = 158 days. Paternity leave = 18 days. After the parental leave paid (not full pay) child care leave with full job security (for either parent) until the youngest child is 3 years old. 281 days in total with pay and during the 3 years it is provided a flat rate allowance.

Italy
Maternity leave  = 150 days. Parental leave = 300 days. No paternity leave. 450 days in total with pay.

Poland
Maternity leave = 90 days for the 1st child/ 100 days for the 2nd child. Parental leave = 3 years without pay. No paternity leave. 126 days in total with pay for the first child.

In Denmark, Finland and Poland days are meant to be week days, which means working days without including Saturdays and Sundays.

For statistical data look at EU Report: Reconciliation of work and family life and collective bargaining in the European Union  at http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/other_reports/work_family_life.pdf 

Head editor: Giulia Calafiore. Co-authors: Denmark: Stine Trentemøller; Estonia: Katrin Velbaum, Marilis Kadak; Finland: Jenny Vainio; Italy: Cristina Belardi; Poland: Anna Diekmann

Denmark

Maternity leave

Pregnant women in private corporations may as a minimum take 4 weeks leave prior to giving birth. State employees may take leave 6 weeks prior to giving birth. The day of the birth is included in the 4 or 6 weeks. If the mother gives birth prematurely, the pre-maternity leave is reduced. In the case of delayed birth, the pre-maternity leave is prolonged.
Women are obliged to take the first 2 weeks off after giving birth. Moreover they are entitled to 12 weeks maternity leave.
The father is entitled to 2 successive weeks of paternity leave during the first 14 weeks after the birth of his child.

Parental leave

In addition to the 18 weeks paid maternity leave to mother and the 2 weeks paternity leave to the father, the parents are entitled to 32 weeks paid parental leave which they can divide between them. Thus in sum, all parents have the right to a total of 52 weeks leave with pay.

If the mother takes all 32 weeks of paid parental leave, she can prolong the period of leave with another unpaid 14 weeks, i.e. 46 weeks of parental leave altogether (in addition to her maternity leave).
In this situation, the father can also take 32 weeks of parental leave but this will be with out pay. If he chooses, he is entitled to prolong the unpaid parental leave with up till 14 weeks which will also be without pay.

If the father decides to take the 32 weeks of paid parental leave, the mother can take 32 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Moreover, these 32 weeks of unpaid parental leave may be prolonged with up till 14 weeks of unpaid leave.

In other words, parents are entitled to 52 weeks of paid leave (maternity leave + paternity leave + parental leave). In total the parent can get up till 112 weeks of leave. Of these 112 weeks, the mother can maximum get 64 weeks and the father can maximum get 48 weeks.

Income during maternity or parental leave

Parents must have had 120 hours of employment within the 13 weeks immediately prior to birth of their child to be entitled to leave subsistence allowance. The allowance is calculated on basis of the hourly wages of the preceding employment. Salaried employees are entitled up to 50% of their normal wages from four weeks prior to giving birth and up to 14 weeks after, if not covered by a contract with better terms. Official contracts or employment agreements may give the person on leave a right to partial or full salary during some or all of the maternity/paternity leave.
Female state employees, including all university employees, are entitle 50% of their normal salary during the 6 weeks leave prior to giving birth. Successive to giving birth the mother is entitled 14 weeks of full salary and the father is entitled to full salary during his 2 weeks of leave. After the first 14 weeks, the parents have 10 weeks leave with full salary which they can freely divide between them.

Adoption

Adoptive parents are covered by the same rules as biological parents. The only difference is that the adoption authority determines that one of the parents must be at home for at period of time. 

Protection against dismissal

An employer may not dismiss an employee because of pregnancy, maternity/paternity leave or adoption, nor because of wish for general leave of absence in this connection.
Parents enjoy particular protection against dismissal in connection with pregnancy and leave.
If:
- A woman is dismissed while she is pregnant
- One of the parents are dismissed during their leave
- One of the parents are dismissed after giving notice concerning maternity/paternity leave
it is the duty of the employee to prove that the dismissal is not due to the pregnancy or    leave.  If the employee is dismissed because of pregnancy or maternity/paternity leave, the  employer must pay compensation of maximum 78 weeks full salary.

Estonia

Maternity leave

The redaction of the Holidays Act (passed with the law on April 4, 2001, entered into force on January 1, 2002 and amended January 1, 2004) ensures pregnancy and maternity leave for 140 calendar days. In case of the birth of multiples or complications in childbirth, 156 calendar days are ensured of which the mother is entitled to at least 70 calendar days before the expected date of childbirth. 

Parental leave

If the parents are interested one of them is, according to the Holidays Act, entitled to parental leave until the child turns 3 years. This can be taken all at once or in parts until the child gets 3 years old. The possibility of parental leave ends the day after the child turns 3. During this period the employment contract or service relation is terminated and the employee will receive benefit according to Parental Benefit Act or child allowance according to the State Family Benefits Act. Before 2003 there was no parental benefit.

Income during maternity or parental leave

According to the Health Insurance Act, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund pays the benefit for temporary incapacity for work to the insured person during the pregnancy and maternity leave ? 100% of the average income per one calendar day of a person for one calendar day. Subsection 2 of section 51 of the Health Insurance Act establishes that the insured event in respect of which maternity benefit is paid to an insured person is the pregnancy and maternity leave of the insured person.

Subsection 1 of section 1 of the Parental Benefit Act, passed on December 10, 2003, and entered into force on January 1, 2004, establishes that the purpose of this Act is to compensate for the loss of income arising from the raising of a child and to support the combination of work and family life. On the basis of the act, a parent on parental leave will receive benefit each month in the amount that equals 100% of his/her average income, subject to social tax, in the calendar year prior to the date on which the right to receive benefit arises. Parental benefit will be paid to the parent (who has been working) 455 days from the beginning of the pregnancy and maternity leave. To a parent (who has not been working) the parental benefit will be paid until the child is 14 months old.

Adoption

As of the date of adoption, a parental leave of 70 calendar days will be granted when adopting a child under 10 years of age. This rule does not apply to persons adopting their step-children. Benefit shall be paid for the period of 70 calendar days pursuant to the Health Insurance Act.

Protection against dismissal

Termination of an employment contract is prohibited on the initiative of an employer, while the employee is on a holiday, including parental leave and holidays without pay.
It is prohibited for an employer to terminate an employment contract with a pregnant woman or a person raising a child under three years of age, except on the bases prescribed in clauses 86, which comprise the bases for termination of employment contract on initiative of employer.

References

Finland

Maternity leave

At present, the duration of paid maternity leave is 105 weekdays (ca. 18 weeks).

Parental leave

Parental leave is 158 weekdays (ca. 26 weeks) which either parent is entitled to. In case of multiple births, the duration of parental leave is lengthened with 60 weekdays (10 weeks). In addition to the opportunity to take up parental leave, fathers are entitled to paid paternal leave of 18 week-days that can be extended by 1-12 weekdays if the father takes up the last 1-12 days of parental leave.
After parental leave either parent is entitled to a child care leave with full job security until the youngest child is 3 three years old. Parents of children of 0 to second year in primary school (age 8-9) are also entitled to work reduced hours, provided that they have full-time contract. In addition to part-time leave, parents of children under the age of 10 are entitled to temporary leave up to 4 days in the case of the child?s illness.

Income during maternity or parental leave

Expectant mothers having undergone a medical examination at a maternal welfare clinic before the end of the fourth month of pregnancy are entitled to maternity grant. Maternity grant can be received in a form of a package of child care items or cash benefit. From the child?s birth on, a monthly family allowance is paid to the family until the child is 17 years old. The amount of the allowance depends on the number of eligible children in the household as well as the marital status of the parent, so that single parents get a supplement for each child. A special child disability allowance is paid for chronically ill or disabled children under the age of 16.
Both maternal and paternal leaves are paid on income-tested basis, as is the parental leave allowance. From year 2007 on, fathers who take up paternal leave are entitled to increased allowance. Parents who take up home care leave are entitled to allowance that is paid as a flat rate with supplements that are bound to family?s incomes. Also the part-time child care leave is financially supported by the state, provided that the parent?s working hours are reduced maximum to 30 hours per week.

Adoption

In case of adoption, the length of paid parental leave is maximum 200 weekdays.

Protection against dismissal

Dismissal because of pregnancy and during employee?s maternal/parental leave is legally prohibited in Finland.

Italy

Maternity leave

During pregnancy, women have the right to a period of leave lasting two months prior to and three months following the expected date of childbirth (the date indicated on the medical certificate is taken as the date of reference). Italian Law No 53/2000, which regulates paid leave and benefits for working parents, modified the manner in which expectant mothers may make use of the period of compulsory leave. The law introduces a degree of flexibility in the manner in which the employee conforms to the ruling on compulsory maternity leave. Instead of an absence of two months before and three months after childbirth, mothers may now decide to take maternity leave one month before and four months following childbirth. The necessary condition in the latter case is the presentation of a medical certificate which states that both the mother and child are in good health.

Parental leave

After a period of compulsory maternity leave, Italian law establishes that parents have the right to be absent from work (also simultaneously) until their child reaches eight years of age, and for an overall period of ten months. If a father is absent from work for a continuous period or for a number of separate periods totalling not less than three months, the six-month limit is raised to seven months and the maximum limit of time-sharing between the two parents becomes eleven months (seven for the father and four for the mother).

Income during maternity or parental leave

During the period of compulsory absence, working mothers receive 80 percent of their normal salaries. For a period of three months only, the husband of a working mother may take leave and receive 80 percent of his average overall daily pay. In the case of an employee in the private sector, the 80 percent is paid by the employer, who in turn is reimbursed by the INPS through a compensation mechanism for the payment of national security contributions. During the parental leave, the compensation, for a overall period of six months, is the 30 percent of their normal salaries, until the third age of the child.

Adoption

Compulsory leave is contemplated also in cases where male or female workers have adopted a child or have been entrusted with the care of a child under six years of age within the first three months of the child having entered the household or its having been taken into the care of a family. In the case of an international adoption or pre-adoptive assignment of children, leave may also be taken if the minor is over six years of age and is contemplated until the age of eighteen.

Protection against dismissal

A prohibition against dismissal work from the beginning of the pregnancy until the first age of the child.
With the new regulations, the protection against dismissal is valid also for the father, in the case that he uses the compulsory leave and this protection covers the same time as for the mother.

Poland

Maternity leave

According to a new law that was introduced in December 2006, maternity leave in case of the first child lasts 18 weeks, second child ? 20 weeks, and in case of a multiple pregnancy 26 weeks.
The last two weeks of a maternity leave can be used by the father of the child.
Moreover, women with children up to 14 years of age are entitled to two additional fully paid days of annual leave.

Parental leave

Maternity leave can be followed by parental leave and it can last up to 3 years - (either parent is entitled to take it).

Income during maternity or parental leave

The person exercising the right to maternity leave is entitled to maternity allowance equal to average remuneration from the last six months of work preceding the child?s birth.
Parental leave is unpaid unless the income in the family is very low, that is around 120 euros gross per month per head. In that case, the family is subsidized by the local government.

Adoption

A woman who has adopted or fostered a child less than four months of age is entitled to up to 18 weeks of maternity leave and up to four weeks for a child under the age of one year.

Protection against dismissal

During maternity and parental leave the employer is not allowed to make the employee redundant.