Is Paternity Leave in India really the need of hour?
Is Paternity Leave in India really the need of hour?
- Kajal Kundalia
“Child care is the joint responsibility of both the parents. They must devote time to the new born to ensure it’s proper well-being.”
-Rajiv Satav, Member of Parliament, Maharashtra
The above quotation stands absolutely true and justified in the present day world when both the parents are working. Before we move into the details of paternity leave in India it’s pertinent to know what actually paternity leave is?Paternity Leave is a period of absence from work granted to a father after or shortly before the birth of his baby. It’s actually a period of time during which a father is legally permitted to be away from his work and spend the much-needed time with his family, especially with his new born.The days are gone when only men would work and earn for the whole family and the woman would sit back at home and take care of the family and look upon their husbands as the sole bread-winners. In the present day, even women are working, they are equally independent, educated and responsible. It’s undoubtedly true that it’s only a woman who is blessed to bear her baby in the womb for 9 months and gives birth to it. This is the law of nature which cannot be altered. Therefore, being a mother she has to present 24×7 for her baby. And this is the reason that we have the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which grants a woman leave from her employment for 6 months immediately preceding her delivery or miscarriage.
While this Act is really important, however, the role of a father in the family should also be equally valued by providing him paternity leave.Paternity Leave keeps profound importance because of the following benefits-
It paves the way towards family stability- Men who go ahead for opting for paternity leave have found to have more stable and stronger relationship with their better-halves in the long run. This leads the way for both the partners towards exploring a new world with their new born. Sharing parental responsibilities together during this time ensures a good marital bond between the couple.
Beneficial for the kids for their life-Starting from holding the delicate new ones to changing their diapers and the like physical interactions make the dad-child bond stronger which creates a positive implication on a kid\'s development.
Builds a man\'s trust upon himself to be a good father- spending a great chunk of time with a new born builds the dad\'s confidence in parenting.
Dads taking paternity leave have proved to be more jolly at their work-Many men believe that asking for leave will be in conflict with their job. However, in a 2k19 research analyzing the impact of corporate paternity leave, Harrington suggests “men who participate in family caregiving, which includes taking paternity leave show better and greater levels of satisfaction with their jobs.”The Research also states that 3 quarters of employees are more likely to stay with their current Boss just because of the paternity leave policy.
Paternity Leave- an important tool for Gender-Equality –It’s the mother who delivers a baby but the baby doesn’t only belong to her, hence the responsibility of caregiving also extends to the father. Therefore, paternity leave should be equally supported as the Maternity Leave.
International Instruments on Paternity Leave
1. There isn’t any specific right CEDAW for granting paternity leave, however, U/A 5 and 16 which provide for marriage, family life, common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of children, such leave can be claimed.
2. Article 2 of UDHR states the principle of Equality and Non-discrimination.
3. Article 23 and 26 of ICCPR states that the state parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage.
4. Article 3 and 18state that the state parties shall ensure that both parents share the responsibility in the upbringing of their children and shall assist them in this.
5. The ILO Convention on Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and women workers recognizes the responsibility of men and women in childcaring.
UNICEF and Paternity Leave:
UNICEF stands as the first UN Agency to extend 16 weeks of paid paternity leave to it’s employees. This remarkable approach is worth appreciation.
India and Paternity Leave:
Laws, Legislations, schemes and policies that ensure that dads have the support to prioritize their family roles and responsibilities in tandem to meeting their job demands can substantially enhance the personal and economic well being of their families.
Despite these merits of paid paternity leave, men still face economic and social hurdles like insufficient access to paid leave, orthodoxical norms,beliefs about Male breadwinners that do not permit them from availing paternity leaves.
We all know that we belong to a Country which had more of joint families in the past. Therefore, historicallythe novel fathers did not have to take much responsibility about nurturing their new borns. However, with the passage of time and demand of the situation, we started living in nuclear families. Here, crops up the need of paternity Leave.Unfortunately, till now taking time off after the birth of a baby is treated as a “new mom thing” only! That has been the norm always. However, a social shift has to take place as it is said “change is the rule of life”!
Another side of the picture of Paternity Leave in India is that some people aren’t even aware about the provision of paternity leave. For instance, Mr. Deepak Sharma, a Noida Resident who is father to a 2-months old baby says “I wasn’t aware that such an option of paternity leave was even there.!
• Paternity Leave in the Government sector:
The Central Government in 1999 made provisions for paternity leave by issuing a notification under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rule 551 (A) for a male Central Government employee with less than 2 surviving children for a period of 15 days to take care of his wife and new born child.
• Paternity Leave in the Private sector:
Where, on one hand, paternity leave is legally granted for Government employees while on the other hand, there is no such mandatory provision for the employees of private sector. Therefore, the grant of Paternity Leave is dependent upon the interpretation and implementation of the Private Companies.
Adam Grant, Professor of Management, Wharton School rightly says, “ You need male senior executives taking paternity leave. Only then will employees see that valuing family is not a sign of weakness.”
• Case law regarding paternity leave in private school:
In 2009, in the case of Chander Mohan Jain v. N.K.Bagrodia Public School, Mr. Chander Jain, a Private School Teacher challenged the rejection of his paid paternity leave application before the Delhi High Court, wherein, the Court held that all male employees of unaided recognized private schools were entitled to paternity leave. The judgment of the Court despite any paternity leave legislation reflects the modern approach and hence this case deserves special mention.
• Proposition of Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017
In 2017, Rajiv Satav, a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra proposed a new bill on Paternity Benefit which states that all workers, both in unorganized and private sectors should be benefitted with paternity leave for at least 15 days which may further be extended to 3 months. Unfortunately, this Bill just remained a bill!
• Instances of paternity leave in private companies
Policybazaar.com – 15 days
IKEA India- 6 months
PepsiCo India- 12 weeks
Mircosoft India- 12 weeks
Lastly, it has to be kept in mind by all that we live in a country which gives utmost importance to family. And we must not forget that a man and a woman together makes a family….a father and a mother together makes a family. Therefore both of them are equally responsible towards it. Not granting leave to male employees during the birth of their babies may keep them from their economic development as well as strong family bond. This leaves a poor message in the society which undervalues the role of fathers in the family.
References
Articles
1. Anubhav Pandey, paternity Leave policies in India, (2018)
Websites
2. Maternity Leave & Paternity Leave Benefits in India, <www.helpline.com>accessed April 4, 2020
Newspaper article
3. Ipsita Bhattacharya, Is India ready for Paternity Leave? TimesOfIndia (16 June, 2019) 4
