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Paid Maternity leave Facts
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
In most western countries parental leave is available for those who have worked for their current employer for a certain period of time.[1] Sweden is one country which provides generous parental leave: all working parents are entitled to 16 months paid leave per child, the cost being shared between employer and State. To encourage greater paternal involvement in child-rearing, a minimum of 2 months out of the 16 is required to be used by the "minority" parent, in practice usually the father, and some Swedish political parties on the Left argue for legislation to oblige families to divide the 16 months equally between both parents. Norway also has similarly generous leave. In Estonia mothers are entitled to 18 months of paid leave, starting up to 70 days before due date. Fathers are entitled to paid leave starting from the third month after birth (paid leave is however available to only one parent at a time). The amount paid depends on wages earned during previous calendar year - most will receive 100% or full wage but there is an upper limit of three times national average.
The maternal-leave only system in Bulgaria is even more generous, providing mothers with 45 days 100% paid sick leave prior the due date, 2 years paid leave, and 1 additional year of unpaid leave. The employer is obliged to restore the mother to the same position upon return to work. In addition, pregnant women and single mothers cannot be fired.
The most generous maternal/paternal leave system is in Lithuania, where mothers are provided 8 weeks of 100% paid leave before the due date, 100% pay in the first year, 85% in the second year and additional (third) year of unpaid leave. Either mother or father can take the leave, or they can swap in shifts. Additionally father is provided one month of paternal leaver immediately after child's birth.
In 2000, parental leave was greatly expanded in Canada from 10 weeks to 35 weeks divided as desired between two parents. This is in addition to 15 weeks maternity leave, giving a total possible period of 50 weeks paid leave for a mother. There is still no paid leave for new fathers, however. In Canada maternity and parental leave is paid for by the Employment Insurance system.
In the UK, all female employees are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, 39 weeks of which is paid, with the first six weeks paid at 90% of full pay and the remainder at a fixed rate.
Australia will be introducing an 18 week paid maternity leave scheme starting in 2011, once approved by parliament. It is to be publicly funded, and to provide the federal minimum wage (currently AUS $543.78 a week) rather than a percentage of the primary caregiver's salary. It will not be available to families wherein the primary caregiver has an annual salary above $150,000.[2]
There is currently a push to expand paid maternity leave in the United States. One organization supporting paid maternity leave in the United States is Moms Rising[3] and the National Partnership for Women & Families is also an organization that strongly supports paid family & medical leave [4]. Additional information about family leave policies and movements within the United States is available at PaidFamilyLeave.org. It is doing so by appealing to each state legislature individually to obtain maternity leave in that state. The Center for Law and Social Policy is also a leader in the campaign for national paid leave policy and publishes often on the subject.
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
In most western countries parental leave is available for those who have worked for their current employer for a certain period of time.[1] Sweden is one country which provides generous parental leave: all working parents are entitled to 16 months paid leave per child, the cost being shared between employer and State. To encourage greater paternal involvement in child-rearing, a minimum of 2 months out of the 16 is required to be used by the "minority" parent, in practice usually the father, and some Swedish political parties on the Left argue for legislation to oblige families to divide the 16 months equally between both parents. Norway also has similarly generous leave. In Estonia mothers are entitled to 18 months of paid leave, starting up to 70 days before due date. Fathers are entitled to paid leave starting from the third month after birth (paid leave is however available to only one parent at a time). The amount paid depends on wages earned during previous calendar year - most will receive 100% or full wage but there is an upper limit of three times national average.
The maternal-leave only system in Bulgaria is even more generous, providing mothers with 45 days 100% paid sick leave prior the due date, 2 years paid leave, and 1 additional year of unpaid leave. The employer is obliged to restore the mother to the same position upon return to work. In addition, pregnant women and single mothers cannot be fired.
The most generous maternal/paternal leave system is in Lithuania, where mothers are provided 8 weeks of 100% paid leave before the due date, 100% pay in the first year, 85% in the second year and additional (third) year of unpaid leave. Either mother or father can take the leave, or they can swap in shifts. Additionally father is provided one month of paternal leaver immediately after child's birth.
In 2000, parental leave was greatly expanded in Canada from 10 weeks to 35 weeks divided as desired between two parents. This is in addition to 15 weeks maternity leave, giving a total possible period of 50 weeks paid leave for a mother. There is still no paid leave for new fathers, however. In Canada maternity and parental leave is paid for by the Employment Insurance system.
In the UK, all female employees are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, 39 weeks of which is paid, with the first six weeks paid at 90% of full pay and the remainder at a fixed rate.
Australia will be introducing an 18 week paid maternity leave scheme starting in 2011, once approved by parliament. It is to be publicly funded, and to provide the federal minimum wage (currently AUS $543.78 a week) rather than a percentage of the primary caregiver's salary. It will not be available to families wherein the primary caregiver has an annual salary above $150,000.[2]
There is currently a push to expand paid maternity leave in the United States. One organization supporting paid maternity leave in the United States is Moms Rising[3] and the National Partnership for Women & Families is also an organization that strongly supports paid family & medical leave [4]. Additional information about family leave policies and movements within the United States is available at PaidFamilyLeave.org. It is doing so by appealing to each state legislature individually to obtain maternity leave in that state. The Center for Law and Social Policy is also a leader in the campaign for national paid leave policy and publishes often on the subject.