Female Employment and Parental Leave: The Case of Poland

With the use of the Polish Social Security's administrative data for the period 1999-2011, nonparametric and Cox models, the author assesses the role of the means-tested child-raising allowance in shaping an effective period for parental leave and the impact of parental leave duration on the subsequent (continued) job tenure.

The results suggest low income level (an eligibility criterion for child-raising allowance) loses any significant negative effect on the intensity of returning to a job as soon as the eligibility period for the allowance expires. Long periods of parental leave increase the intensity of transition to unemployment soon after the return to the interrupted job but they have only a minor impact on the intensity of transition to other jobs. The intensity of transition from the continued job to unemployment is also related to employment in the private/public sector, unemployment history and length of service.