Paternity leave

Explanatory note

Alongside maternity protection, one of the primary measures used to overcome discrimination against women in the economic sphere is to implement regulations that ensure men are involved in family responsibilities. Legislation on maternity protection must be accompanied by legislation that regulates men's leave, guaranteeing the principle of co-parenting in care-related provisions and therefore preventing the burden of care from falling unilaterally on women by extending the application of paternity leave.

Binding ILO Convention

C156 – Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156)

Legislation: Which are the main legislative sources analysed?

Constitution: general principles and sections relating to work and/or employment.

Labour laws (General Labour Laws, Labour Codes, Labour Relations Laws, etc.)

Equality laws: sections relating to the workplace and/or employment.

Family protection laws (Family Codes, care systems) and specific laws on maternity and paternity protection.

Social Security System Laws.

Sub-areas and criteria: What do we analyse in this area?

Sub-area	Criteria
Right to paternity leave for employees	Whether the duration of statutory paternity leave for employees is similar to that of maternity leave, or if it respects the minimum requirement of 10 days.
Social security funding of paternity leave for employees	The percentage of prior income covered by paternity leave (%). The source of funding for paternity leave (through social security, the employer or a mixed system).

Sub-area

Criteria

Right to paternity leave for employees

Whether the duration of statutory paternity leave for employees is similar to that of maternity leave, or if it respects the minimum requirement of 10 days.

Social security funding of paternity leave for employees

The percentage of prior income covered by paternity leave (%).

The source of funding for paternity leave (through social security, the employer or a mixed system).

Provisions: What information is included in the comments?

Sub-area	Provision
Right to paternity leave for employees	Duration of the paternity leave (preferably in days).
Social security funding of paternity leave for employees	The percentage of prior income covered by paternity leave. Whether the cost of paternity leave is funded by Social Security, by the employer, or through a mixed funding arrangement (provided by both Social Security and the employer).

Sub-area

Provision

Right to paternity leave for employees

Duration of the paternity leave (preferably in days).

Social security funding of paternity leave for employees

The percentage of prior income covered by paternity leave.

Whether the cost of paternity leave is funded by Social Security, by the employer, or through a mixed funding arrangement (provided by both Social Security and the employer).

Recommendations: What criteria are used for the recommendation?

Right to paternity leave for employees

Criterion	Definition	Binding recommendation
Preserve	Where statutory paternity leave is similar to maternity leave.	No further regulatory action is required. No recommendation is therefore made.
Expand	Where the right to a minimum of 10 days’ paternity leave is recognised.	Extension of paternity leave to bring it into line with maternity leave.
Reform	Where the right to paternity leave is recognised, but it does not meet the 10-day minimum.	Extension of paternity leave to a minimum of 10 days or regulation of paternity leave.
Eliminate	Where paternity leave is not provided for by law.	Address the lack of paternity leave by providing for it in the law.

Social security funding of paternity leave for employees

Criterion	Definition	Binding recommendation
Preserve	Where the cost of paternity leave is covered in full by the Social Security system.	No further regulatory action is required. No recommendation is therefore made.
Expand	Where the cost of paternity leave is not covered in full by the Social Security system.	Full assumption of paternity leave costs by the Social Security system, so there is no cost to the company.
Reform	Where the cost of paternity leave is not covered in full by the Social Security system.	Full assumption of paternity leave costs by the Social Security system, so there is no cost to the company.
Eliminate	Where paternity leave is not funded by the Social Security system, with the full cost falling on the employer or with no defined coverage.	Address the absence of funding by the Social Security system through the establishment of a public funding scheme for paternity leave.