The six month paternity leave finds more difficulties than expected to be applied among companies, both because of its economic cost and because of the cultural and personal implications that exist. Studies on paternity leave are still partial but they recognize that only if it is mandatory could it be implemented in a general way. While future parents sigh at the possibility of enjoying their new children intensively for six months, companies tend to warn that without clear compensatory measures by the Administration, their application could directly affect the income statement.
Xavier Blascodirector of employment firm Adecco Group Institute, believes that the application of paternity leave depends largely on the cultural situation and on aspects that go beyond the regulations. From his point of view, “if the regulation interferes too much, it can become counterproductive with the objectives of advancing in measures to support work-life balance and co-responsibility at work and in the family.” In his opinion, the most common situation is that the Personnel management in the company it is done “à la carte”, with adaptation to the personal and family needs of the staff. He rules out that companies take into account possible paternity leave in their personnel selection processes and affirms that the possible reluctance to fully use the leave is based more on deep conceptions more related to social uses and the fear that a prolonged period of absence from the company is a burden on professional projection.
On the possibility that the paternity leave could extend up to six months, Blasco acknowledges that “companies have to carry out their income statement” and that the Administration has not clarified how companies could be compensated for the absence of their professionals.
Another question is whether employees involved with your company will be willing to be “off the grid” for six months. The pandemic showed that even in a period of confinement, women maintained their traditional roles, so the extension of paternity leave to six months only seems possible if it is mandatory.
Related news
The results of government study that analyzed the effects of the application of paternity leave in Spain were initially clear. The rates of use by men of the transferable part of maternity leave, nursing leave, leave to care for family members and reduced working hours to care for family members were very low. In contrast, in the case of the only leave to which one was individually entitled, paternity leave, the rate of use exceeded 60% (with respect to births). “It seems that Spanish men respond in a majority way to the joint fact of having well-paid and non-transferable permits (if they do not use it, they lose it). To a large extent, this result is also observed in the rest of the countries”, concludes the report.
The paternity leave application It has been a success from the point of view of work and family reconciliation. Spanish parents began to make a majority use of it from the beginning. As a result, the father’s relative involvement in childcare is considerably higher among those who used paternity leave than for the group who did not. Two simultaneous situations were perceived. Some fathers, using their paternity leave days, “have a new experience that leads them to become more involved in the care of their young children later.” Others who already had more egalitarian gender attitudes and a predisposition to be actively involved in the care of their children, were already highly inclined to use paternity leave, once it was approved. “The data allow us to affirm that there is a positive association between the fact of using paternity leave and a greater involvement of fathers in child care,” the report concluded.