The International Labour Organization (ILO) calls for 14 weeks (98 days) paid maternity leave for mothers, including a “cash benefit” that should be no less than two-thirds of their previous earnings or a comparable amount.
The Philippines, currently with 60-day maternity leave period for vaginal delivery and 78 days for cesarean delivery, appears to be the lowest compared to other countries. For instance, in Australia, there is a legal requirement to provide 12 months’ maternity leave. New mothers can also ask for an extra 12 months, for a range of factors, including complications with health or family.
Ghana plans to extend maternity leave from 12 to 16 weeks. In India, mothers get 26 weeks leave. In Singapore, mothers get 16 weeks’ leave. Childcare leave in Japan runs until the child reaches the age of one. In the Netherlands, there’s a minimum of 16 weeks’ leave. Every mother in Italy gets at least five months maternity leave. In France, mothers get 16 weeks’ leave. In the United Kingdom, mothers can take up to nine months of paid maternity leave.
Surprisingly, the US does not have a law that specifically covers parental leave but the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks parental leave and require the employer to maintain employees’ health benefits, but it is unpaid and comes with restriction on who is eligible. Notably, it is applicable to both men and women.
Some countries really prioritize the well-being of new parents—both straight and same sex—granting them more than a year of leave at full pay. The following 10 countries out of 196 countries in the world, (listed at businessinsider.com) have the best leave policies in the world:
Finland—Seven weeks before estimated due date; 16 additional weeks of paid leave through a maternity grant, regardless of whether the mother is a student, unemployed or self-employed. The father also gets eight weeks of paternity leave. After a child turns three, parents can also take partial care leave, in which they split time between home and work, until the child starts second grade.
Denmark—18 weeks of maternity leave (four weeks before birth and 14 weeks after) at full pay. During the 14 week period, the father can also take two consecutive weeks off. Then, parents can split 32 additional weeks of leave however they see fit, extendible for another 14 weeks if the child or parent get sick. By law, the government covers 52 weeks of pay, though not always at the full salary.
Sweden—New parents are entitled to 480 days of leave at 80 percent of normal pay, on top of 18 weeks reserved just for mothers, after which the parents can split up the time however they choose. Sweden is unique in that fathers also get paternity days reserved just for them to promote bonding between father and child during a time when mons are getting most of the attention.
Belgium—Mothers can take up to 15 weeks for maternity leave—for the first 30 days after the child is born, they get 80 percent of their salary, and 75 percent for the rest of the time. Fathers are given 10 days. Moms have the option to take eight months of part-time leave instead of 15 full weeks.
Iceland—Parents can split their nine month of post-childbirth leave straight down the middle. New moms get three months, new dads get three months and then both decide how to split the remaining three months. Neither parent can transfer any portion of their three-month chunk to ensure that both parents can work and kids get to spend time with both. Each parent receives 80 percent of their salary while on leave.
Serbia—20 weeks of fully paid leave after giving birth. After that, they additionally get a full year of leave but with compensation that diminished over time. Fathers’ get one week of fully paid leave.
Norway—Their system is flexible and generous. Mothers can take 35 weeks at full pay or 45 weeks at 80 percent pay and fathers can take between zero to 10 weeks depending on their wives income. Together, parents can receive an additional 46 weeks of full pay or 56 weeks at 80 percent of their income.
Hungary—Moms get 24 weeks of paid leave at 70 percent of their salary, after which parents can take another 156 weeks, split between them. The time off is paid at 70 percent of their salary for 104 weeks and a flat rate covers the rest.
Estonia—Mothers are given 140 days of fully paid pregnancy and maternity leave, fathers are given two weeks of paid time off. After maternity leave ends, parents get an additional 435 days off to share, with compensation calculated at the average of their two earnings.
Lithuania—Beats all the Nordic countries for their generous leave policies. New moms get 18 weeks fully paid leave, new fathers’ get four weeks and together the parents get an additional 156 weeks to share. For the shared portions, the parents can decide whether to have it paid out at 100 percent for the first 52 weeks (until the child turns one) or 70 percent for the first 104 weeks (until the child is two years old). The remaining weeks are unpaid.
As shown above, on average across Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development countries (which can easily afford paid leaves) mothers are entitled to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave around childbirth. Almost all OECD countries offer paid maternity leaves that last at least three months—which is not surprising given that both the ILO Convention and the current EU directives on maternity leave that mothers should have access to at least 14 weeks of leave around childbirth—with the United States the only country to offer no statutory entitlement to paid leave on a national basis. (https://www.oecd.org)
Women “require protection to ensure that they will not lose their jobs simply because of pregnancy or maternity leave,” says the ILO. Our Congress’ Bicameral Conference Committee recently approved for President Duterte’s signature the “Expanded Maternity Bill” which provides a total of 105 days paid maternity leave period for public and private-sector workers, with an option to extend for an additional 30 unpaid days; additional 15 maternity leave days for solo parents; and coverage of every instance of pregnancy. It also allows for an additional seven days leave for fathers, increasing paternity leave for 14 days. Authors of the bill and women advocacy group laud its passage as “a very positive start of our #Pink October campaigns that seeks to highlight women’s health.” But, already employers who are suffering from the exhorbitant costs of doing business in this country have started to grumble and might simply resolve not to hire women in their reproductive years. Will the Social Security System be able to cover the additional maternity benefits for female employees in the private sector without increasing the SSS contributions? Will there be another round of TRAIN to cover this expanded maternity benefits—what about the promised benefits to senior citizens, teachers, military, government employees, police, etc?
We might not have a #Pink October should the government fail to fulfill this long-awaited benefit for women (crumbs compared to other countries). Another failed promise might just fan the dying flames of a “Red October” scenario.
Indeed, the government must learn to stop making promises it can hardly keep!