Paternity leave is mandatory in the public sector, ruled Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court on Friday afternoon.
The Court, also known commonly as the Sala IV, said that all public officials are entitled to a paternity leave of eight days with pay, without discriminating if the child was born within or outside marriage.
That was thew word of the judges, after resolving an appeal presented a employee of the Área de Conservación La Amistad Pacífico del Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación del MINAE, who had not been given the benefit.
Judge Fernando Cruz, the Court’s objective was to reassert parental rights and strengthen the concept of family.
Paternity Leave Around the World
In a perfect world, every country would provide significant employment benefits to new parents who want to bond with their child. Unfortunately, although some countries really step up and embrace how important it is to the child, parent and workplace to allow this time, other countries simply miss the mark.
It is important to note that the below figures are paternity leave only, not maternity leave. Some countries are generous with maternity leave benefits but drop the ball completely when it comes paternity leave.
Argentina – Two days
Australia – 18 weeks at federal minimum wage (around $606/week), while Partner receives 2 weeks at federal minimum wage. – Only if mother is not already taking the leave otherwise see unpaid leave (3 weeks).
Austria – between 1 and 3 years depending on chosen payment (percentage of last income for one year; ca. €436/month for three years)
Canada – 35 weeks 55% up to $485/week parental leave (shared with mother)Quebec: 5 weeks paid leave at a rate of up to 70% of their income or 3 weeks paid leave at a rate of 75% of their income.
Colombia – Law 755 (2002) appended a paragraph to Article 236 of the Labor Code to indicate that fathers have a leave of 4–8 days. (edward gonzalez-acosta, The New School)
France – 3 days + 11 consecutive days
Italy – 13 weeks (3 months) (80%)
Nicaragua – none
Spain – 15 days: the day of birth and the next day. The rest, 13 days: anytime during the maternity leave of the mother. Up to 15 days of the mother’s leave can be taken by the father (if the father takes all 15 days, the mother only has 97 days to take off instead of the full 4 months (112 days)
Switzerland – 1 day
United States – It takes a degree to figure out paternity leave in this country. There is no cut and dry answer. It depends on the length of employment, company size and number of employees. It also varies from one state to another.: 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week possibly starting 10/2015
Source: Wikipedia (Full Parental Leave list)
