Appendix 1. Bonuses to incentivise fathers to use parental leave
Source: Individual Country Reports in Koslowski, A., Blum, S., Dobrotić, I., Kaufman, G. & Moss, P. (2022). International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2022.
| Nation | Bonus type |
|---|---|
| Germany | Germany extends paid leave by two months if fathers take at least two months of leave. ‘Partnermonths’ (Partnermonate): two bonus months are paid on top of the 12 months if both parents take at least two months of leave or for single parents. |
| Japan | Japan provides an extra two months of leave if both parents use some of their leave entitlement. The maximum period of well-paid, post-natal leave is 14 months (including two months of bonus leave if parents share the leave period), which is nearly eight months for mothers and six months for fathers. If fathers do not use their leave entitlement, the maximum period of well-paid leave is just under eight months. |
| Canada | In 2019 Canada introduced five or eight extra weeks of paid leave reserved for fathers/second parents, if parental leave is shared between couples. The number of weeks available depends on whether parents choose the standard option(12 months of leave at 55% of income) or the extended option (18 months of leave at 33% of income). The standard option provides couples with a collective 40 weeks of parental leave (an additional 5 weeks). The extended option provides couples with a collective 69 weeks of parental leave (an additional 8 weeks). [1] |
| Portugal | Portugal offers a bonus to families where the father shares part of the initial parental leave (formerly maternity leave). An extra 30 days (‘sharing bonus’) is available if parents share the leave. The leave is thenextended to 150 days or 180 days. Initial Parental leave: 120 days at 100 per cent of earnings or 150 days at 80% of earnings, with no upper limit on payments. A sharing bonus is allocated if each parent takes at least 30 consecutive days of leave or two periods of 15 consecutive days once the other parent returns to work: 150 days are paid at 100% of earnings or 180 days at 83% of earnings, with no upper limit on payments. The sharing bonus applies only if both parents work or are eligible for other reasons (e.g.,low family income, receiving unemployment benefits). Since it came into effect in May 2009, data on the sharing bonus showed a strong initial increase in uptake in 2009 and 2010 (from 596 fathers who shared Maternity Leave in 2008 to 17,066 fathers sharing Initial Parental Leave in 2010), followed by a slow but steady increase until 2020 when 31,588 fathers took leave. |
| Austria | In Austria, there is a paid ‘family time’ where fathers receive a ‘family time bonus’ of €700. If parents share their childcare benefit at a minimum ratio of 40:60, then each parent is entitled to a ‘partnership bonus’ payment of €500. Thus, together they receive a total of €1,000. Payments are not taxed. In approximately 8% of all births, fathers receive the ‘family time bonus’ during their paternity leave. [2] |
| Croatia | Higher payment for additional 2 months if both parents use. |
| Nation | Bonus type |
|---|---|
| France | Longer period of financial payments if both parents take some leave. |
| Italy | The maximum total length of leave per family is ten months unless the father takes at least three months of leave; in which case the total length of leave can be extended to 11 months and the father can extend his leave to seven months. During this period, parents receive pension credits so they do not suffer a reduced pension because of taking leave. |
| Korea | If parents take Parental leave simultaneously or sequentially for a child under 12 months of age (including leave during the pregnancy), then each parent’s Parental leave benefit is increased for the first three months from 80% of ordinary earnings to 100%, with escalating ceilings for each additional month on leave. |
| Romania | If the father has gained a certificate of completion for a childcare course, demonstrating basic care knowledge, the length of the Paternity leave is increased by ten days to a total of 15 days of Paternity leave – the father can benefit from this increase only once. The course and certificate are prepared by the family doctor, in maternity wards, by other health state services, or private consultancies which are recognised by the state. The usual practice is for couples to take these courses together, even if men’s participation is increasing, especially in urban areas. |
[1] Source: https://nelliganlaw.ca/blog/canadas-new-parental-sharing-benefit-how-does-it-work/
[2] Lorenz, T. & Wernhart G. (2022). Evaluierung des neuen Kinderbetreuungsgeldkontos und der Familienzeit. Quantitativer Teilbericht, from https://services.phaidra.univie.ac.at/api/object/o:1429695/diss/Content/download.