According to R. Joskaudienė, yes, the right can belong to both parents, but legally it is not entirely accurate to say that both are automatically granted the “September 1st parental day off”.
On September 1st, an employee can use one of two different guarantees:
- a parental day off belonging to them, which they request specifically for September 1st;
- a special paid half-day off if they do not have the right to a parental day off.
According to the lawyer, this is not one common day off for the whole family. In the Labor Code, this right is linked to each employee individually. “Therefore, one parent’s use of a parental day off or half-day off does not automatically cancel the other parent’s right. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour also states that additional days off belong separately to each parent raising a child,” emphasized R. Joskaudienė.
What if the parents are divorced?
According to R. Joskaudienė, the fact that the marriage is dissolved or the child’s residence is determined by court decision with one of the parents does not automatically deprive the other parent of the right to use these labor law guarantees.
“However, it is important that the parent living separately not only pays child support but also actively participates in raising the child: maintains constant contact, cares for upbringing, health, education, allows spending time with the child, and otherwise actively participates in their life.
The State Labor Inspectorate, based on the explanations provided in the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court ruling of March 30, 2010, in administrative case No. A143-531/2010, notes that raising a child is associated with constant psychological and social contact with the child. Therefore, the fact that the child is registered or lives with the other parent is not the only and decisive criterion,” said R. Joskaudienė.
First example: child is 8 years old
According to the lawyer, the parents are divorced, the child’s residence is with the mother, but the father regularly communicates with the child, participates in their upbringing, picks up the child at the appointed time, and actually contributes to raising them.
“If both parents work under employment contracts and both actually raise the child, each of them individually is entitled to a parental day off – raising one child up to 12 years old, one additional day off every three months.
Both parents can submit requests to their employers to use this additional day off on September 1st if the rest period for the relevant period has not yet been used. However, the additional paid half-day off does not apply to them anymore because they already have the right to a parental day off,” she explained.
Second example: child is 13 years old
If both divorced parents actually raise a 13-year-old child who studies according to the basic education program, under the rules valid in 2026, they are not yet entitled to a parental day off because of this child.
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“In such a case, each parent may have the right at their workplace to paid time off not shorter than half of their working day on the first day of the school year if they do not have the right to a parental day off due to other children they raise or a child with a disability.
This means that both parents can use a half-day – the law does not stipulate that divorced parents must choose only one of them. Each employee’s right is assessed separately,” indicated R. Joskaudienė.
By the way, “half-day” does not always mean four hours. According to the lawyer, if the employee’s shift lasts 12 hours, they must be granted at least 6 hours of free time.
Is it enough just that the person is the child’s father or mother?
Not in all cases.
According to R. Joskaudienė, the mere fact of biological fatherhood or motherhood does not answer the question of whether the employee actually raises the child. In case of doubt, the following may be assessed:
- whether the father or mother regularly communicates with the child;
- whether the court-established or parent-agreed communication arrangements are followed;
- whether they participate in decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, health, and daily care;
- whether there is constant, not just episodic, contact with the child.
“Therefore, a parent living separately who actively and constantly participates in the child’s life can be considered an employee raising the child. However, merely transferring child support without real contact and participation in the child’s life does not automatically create the right,” emphasized R. Joskaudienė.
Answer to the reader
Yes, both a divorced mother and a divorced father can have the right not to work the whole day or part of the working day on September 1st.
However:
- both must individually meet the conditions of the Labor Code;
- both must actually raise the child;
- one may be entitled to a parental day off, the other to a half-day off if their family circumstances differ;
- one parent’s use of the guarantee does not cancel the other’s right;
- an additional half-day is not granted to an employee who already has the right to a parental day off.
“Divorce does not cancel parenthood. However, the labor law guarantee is linked not only to the entry in the child’s birth document but to real and constant participation in the child’s life,” said R. Joskaudienė.
Information prepared according to the legal regulation applicable on September 1, 2026. From January 1, 2027, the age limit for parental days off will be extended to 14 years, and the separate paid half-day guarantee for September 1st will no longer exist.
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