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“Paid family leave is an opportunity no one should miss”

Getinge’s introduction of paid family leave gives employees the opportunity to bond with a new child or to care for a family member. Dawid Flieger, who recently spent time at home with his baby boy, believes that the initiative will improve the quality of life for colleagues all over the world.

“The first year has a major impact on your child’s life. Enabling new parents to be part of this precious time is such a great initiative. For me, those months at home with my son was a truly special time,” says Dawid, Medical Device Complaint Investigation and Trending Specialist at Getinge's Designated Complaint Unit (DCU) in Poland.

When the Flieger family’s daughter was born eight years ago, Dawid’s wife used most of the state-funded parental leave enabled by the government in Poland.

“So, when our son arrived a couple of years ago, it was my turn,” Dawid says. “I didn’t have to think twice about taking time off. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

He continues: “Some people here in Poland still think that a man staying at home is something special, but the traditional view is slowly changing for the better. When I went to a swimming pool activity with my son, we were actually ten fathers and only one mother.”

Returning to work after time at home became another adventure for Dawid.

“The team had grown from 20 people when I left to over 60 when I came back. It was like starting a new job, with many more nice colleagues around me,” he says.

Dawid hopes that Getinge’s introduction of a minimum standard offer for paid family leave across all countries will inspire more fathers to follow in his footsteps.

“Being there for your child’s first months is an opportunity no one should miss. My advice to colleagues on family leave is to devote one hundred per cent of your time to your child,” Dawid says.

He continues: “Even if the baby sleeps a lot, forget about using the time for self-realization and career and take a nap instead. You pay much better attention to your child being when you are well rested. Remember that this opportunity to bond with your baby flies fast anyway and it won’t come back.”

About the Getinge initiative

Since the beginning of 2023, all Getinge entities offer a minimum of 16 weeks paid parental leave applicable to birth, adoption and surrogacy, and 4 weeks paid caregiver leave to care for a close family member.  Implementation of the new guideline is on a country basis and subject to local regulations. If existing local standards are more generous than the global guideline, the local standards will continue to apply.

Learn more about the initiative >>