HR News: The top countries and brands for paternity leave
An extract from another interesting article from the team at "HR News" regarding paternity leave. Click on the link to find our more or register for their regular updates:
Research by Red Letter Days explores what each country has to offer new parents.
353,000 babies are born every day, worldwide – that’s 255 births each minute. After spending nine whole months in the womb – parents around the globe are excited to finally meet their and child, spending quality time with them as they settle in at home. However, some get more quality time with their new born that others, so how does this compare worldwide?
Data was collected data for every country across the globe to see how many actually offer leave specifically for dads (paternity leave), and how much time they get with their new-born child.
90 countries don’t offer paternity leave time at all – including the US
Out of the 169 countries researched, the UK ranks 13th on the list of best countries for paternity leave offering working dads two working weeks (10 days) with their new-born child. As soon as the two weeks are over, fathers are sent straight back to work.
This is considerably less than mums who receive 52 weeks maternity leave in the UK however there is a bigger issue worldwide. The study reveals that 90 countries don’t offer paternity leave time at all including Canada, China, Germany and the US. Many countries however do offer parental leave which can be shared between mum and dad, but research reveals that just 1% of dads take this up.
South Korea offers the most, at 52 weeks, and 8 out of the 12 countries that beat the UK on paternity leave schemes are within Europe.
Sweden offers the best paternity leave in Europe at 12 weeks and is known for its generous parental scheme too.
The three European countries that BEAT the UK for their maternity leave offering.
When looking into what each country has to offer for new mums, it was revealed that Estonia, Croatia, and Bulgaria all offer more maternity leave than the UK.
Women in the UK are currently entitled to 52 weeks of statutory leave, whereas Estonia offers 62 weeks and Croatia and Bulgaria both offer 58. The US remains at the bottom of the list for maternity leave benefits, with 0 weeks of guaranteed paid leave for new working mums.
Brands that offer generous time off for new dads in the US and UK:
O2 – O2 have recently extended their paternity leave to 14 weeks
Netflix – New parents at Netflix can take as much paid parental leave as they like for up to one year after the birth or adoption of a new child. They also have the option to return full-time or part-time, and take additional time off if needed.
Facebook – New parents at Facebook and Instagram can take 17 weeks of paid parental leave, which can be used all at once or spread throughout the course of a year.
Twitter – All new parents at Twitter are given 20 weeks paid leave.
Spotify – Spotify offers six months of fully-paid parental leave to all full-time employees globally. Parents can take the leave at one time, or spread it out as three segments over three years.
AXA – Four months paid leave for parents globally.
Alison Vickery, Marketing Director said “Many new parents consider their baby to be the greatest gift they have ever received. But not being able to spend quality time with them as they settle in their new homes can affect the bond they have with their child. We at Red Letter Days conducted research around becoming a new parent worldwide and compared each countries offering to see how they compared to the UK. ”
HR News: The top countries and brands for paternity leave.