‘Family-friendly policies matter because they help children get a better start in life and help parents find the right balance between their commitments at work and at home. Leave reserved for fathers, if taken, can promote a more equitable distribution of care in the home and help fathers to bond with their children,’ according to a 2019 Unicef report.

At the end of July this year, Spain became a shining example of the above after it officially approved reforms to its parental leave policies. Each parent used to be entitled to 16 weeks of paid leave after the birth, adoption or fostering of a child. The changes, which were approved in the Council of Ministers and announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, extend parental leave to 17 weeks of non-transferable paid birth leave per parent during the child’s first year. Six of the weeks must be full time and taken immediately after birth or adoption, with the remaining weeks being distributed within the first year. Two extra flexible weeks of leave have also been created, which can be taken before the child turns eight, giving each parent a total of 19 weeks’ leave. Paid leave for single-parent households has been doubled from a total of 16 to 32 weeks, with four of those weeks being taken before the child is eight years old.

Spain’s labour ministry regards these reforms as a step towards men and women sharing parenting duties, with family support and gender equality being enhanced. ‘Spain is moving towards feminism and equality. There will be no turning back,’ Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz told a news conference after the measure was approved. She also confirmed that the additional paid leave will apply to ‘public sector workers, salaried employees and the self-employed’, with social security covering the payments.

 The standout feature is that employees will be paid in full while they are on leave, which is somewhat unprecedented, and the reforms make Spain one of the most progressive countries in Europe in terms of equal paid birth leave for mothers and fathers.

Scandinavian countries have been at the forefront of generous, well-balanced paternity leave laws, with wide-ranging benefits for families. Fathers in Norway can take either 15 weeks at 100% pay or 19 weeks at 80% pay through social security, while Sweden offers parents 480 days’ leave with partial pay (flexible tiers starting at 80% of their salary), plus 300 more days, both of which they can divide between themselves.

This progressiveness isn’t restricted to governments and regulations, though, with Swedish company Spotify also influencing thinking and behaviour internationally. In 2015, it introduced six months’ fully paid parental leave to all full-time staff in all its locations, including Europe, the US and the Middle East. Plus, staff can enjoy a one-month ‘welcome back!’ programme where they are able to ease back into their jobs by working from home, on a part-time schedule and with flexible hours.

Spotify’s former chief HR officer, Katarina Berg, said employees found the policy life changing. ‘We strongly believe in the connection between employee well-being and the development of the company. A healthy balance between work and family enables our workers to grow and accomplish great things both at work and at home,’ she told the Nordic Gender Effect at Work, a project by Nordic prime ministers to promote gender equity.

While developing countries may be unable to match the benefits in European Union member states, which are required to offer two weeks’ paid paternity leave, two of the world’s wealthiest nations – the UK and the US – fall short in the progressive fatherhood stakes, with the US barely getting out of the starting blocks. In fact, the 2019 Unicef report says the US is ‘the only OECD country without nationwide, statutory, paid maternity leave, paternity leave or parental leave’.

At a federal level, the Family and Medical Leave Act allows for 12 weeks of unpaid and job-protection leave for qualifying fathers (and mothers) after the birth of a child. The Federal Employees Paid Leave Act offers 12 weeks of paid leave to qualifying federal employees. Only Washington DC and 11 states, including California and New York, offer paid paternity leave, leaving it up to corporates to offer this benefit.

A recent article in the America magazine on the Vatican’s extension of paid paternity leave from three to five days for new fathers notes that it was ‘five days more than US dads’. ‘Many businesses and corporations in the US private sector – attentive to competition for job candidates seeking family-friendly benefits – have voluntarily established paid family leave and paternity and maternity leave policies,’ the article reports.

In the UK, fathers or partners are entitled to up to two weeks of leave either immediately after the child’s birth or within 56 days, which must be taken in one go, at the statutory rate of £184.03 per week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Parents are able to take shared parental leave (up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them) if they fulfil certain criteria, but it entails the mother transferring part of her leave allocation to the father or partner.

It may take a while for SA to reach the levels of EU member states, but change is on the horizon. In a 2023 landmark judgement, the High Court ruled that ‘all parents, irrespective of gender, should be entitled to four months of parental leave’. In early October, the Constitutional Court confirmed the High Court’s finding of constitutional invalidity in respect of maternity and parental leave provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which allows eligible employees only 10 consecutive days of paternity leave, which is unpaid so fathers can claim UIF benefits, capped at R14 872. The court suspended the invalidity for 36 months to allow Parliament to enact legislation, but it ordered several changes with immediate effect, including that all parents are collectively entitled to four months and 10 days, to be shared as they choose.

Plentify, a provider of smart energy solutions, offers paid paternity leave as part of its employee benefits package – two months’ paid leave, which can be taken at any time within the first year of the child’s birth. Adoption and surrogacy leave is for the same period, as is stillbirth or miscarriage leave. In a recent Bizcommunity article, Plentify’s director of product growth, Tamsyn Lunt, elaborated on some of the reasons for this generous leave policy. ‘We believe that giving parents the opportunity to fully embrace time with their newborns leads to more fulfilled individuals who can bring their best selves to work. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s also beneficial for our people and for Plentify as a whole,’ she said.

‘Firstly, when people are given the space to invest in their families, they return to work more engaged and energised. There’s a natural sense of reciprocity when employees truly feel cared for – every parent who has returned has done so with enthusiasm and excitement to contribute again.

‘Secondly, this policy has had a profound impact on our company culture. […] It strengthens our sense of community and reinforces that we’re more than just a workplace – we’re a team that cares for each other,’ said Lunt.

She emphasised that a company’s values should lead the way in establishing policy.

‘When policies are aligned with what your business truly believes in, they gain buy-in from leadership, parents and the wider team.

‘That said, it’s also important to consider the business case. Generous parental leave helps attract high-performing candidates and serves as a strong retention strategy. Ultimately, it’s an investment in your people that pays off in engagement and loyalty.’

By Philippa Byron
Image: Gallo/Getty Images