Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Croatia

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How it works

Article 15 gives maternity leave from 28 days before the expected date of birth until the child is six months old, of which 98 days are compulsory: 28 before the birth and 70 after it. Article 16 gives the father a separate, non-transferable 20 working days of paternity leave — 30 where twins, triplets or several children are born at once — to be used by the child's sixth month; that was doubled from 10 days by the amendments in force from 1 March 2025. Article 18 sets parental leave at eight months for a first or second child and 30 months for twins or a third and further child, and reserves two months to each parent that cannot be transferred to the other. Article 32 pays maternity and paternity leave at 100% of the base with no ceiling, and parental leave at 100% of the base capped at 680% of the budget base a month, with the extended period for multiples and third children paid at a flat 182% of the budget base.

If you run a team in Croatia

The money comes from HZZO and the state budget, not from you, but the absences are long and the father's 20 working days are a firm, non-transferable right you cannot negotiate away. Fathers must give notice at least 15 days before the expected birth except where the birth is premature. Two months of the parental leave belong to each parent individually, so expect both parents in a couple to take time rather than one.

If you work in Croatia

The compulsory core is 98 days — 28 before the birth and 70 after — and maternity leave can run to the child's sixth month at full pay. Fathers get 20 working days of their own, 30 for multiples, at 100%, usable up to the child's sixth month; tell your employer at least 15 days before the due date. Parental leave then adds eight months for a first or second child, and two of those months are yours alone and are lost if you do not take them.

Parental leave and annual leave

Maternity, paternity and parental leave count as time in employment for annual leave, and leave that could not be used because of them carries over.

The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Croatia annual leave page — 20 working days minimum.

Keeping the record straight

Long leaves are where leave records go wrong quietly: holiday that kept accruing for months and was never credited, a return date nobody diarised, a reduced entitlement applied where the law forbids it. In Croatia the rules above decide what is owed on return, and the record has to show it. A tracker like Leavo keeps the leave, the accrual and the approvals in one place so the return is a date, not a dispute. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.

Source

Primary source: Zakon o rodiljnim i roditeljskim potporama, čl. 15, 16, 18 i 32. Benefit rates and ceilings change every year and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme — confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.