Paternity Leave For Private Sector On Cards?

Male central government employees are entitled to 15 days under service rules and provisions in the private sector depends on the company's policy.

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) recommended that the labour ministry introduce phased reforms in parental leave policies, noting that its framework remains minimal and fragmented, with no statutory mandate for such leave in the private sector.

The paper titled Re-imagining the Care Economy: From Private Burden to Social and Economic Infrastructure outlined a phased approach to parental leave reforms, recommending that the first step should be extending statutory paternity leave to private sector employees.

Under the Maternity Benefit Act, women in the public sector are currently entitled to up to 26 weeks (six-and-a-half months) of paid leave for the first two children in establishments with 10 or more employees, with costs borne entirely by the employer.

Male central government employees are entitled to 15 days under service rules and provisions in the private sector depends on the company's policy.

'In the second phase, MoLE may revisit the length of these leave entitlements from a gender-neutral lens and consider mandating a more gender balanced combination of maternity, paternity and gender-neutral parental leaves,' added the paper.

The paper drew on the ministry of labour and employment (MoLE)'s 2024 advisory, which urged employers to adopt family-friendly measures such as paternity leave, parental leave, and flexible working arrangements to balance caregiving responsibilities.

India Debates Paternity Leave

The paper also proposed the creation of a supporting financing framework to enable this transition.

It suggested that the government could facilitate market-based instruments, with agencies such as the Life Insurance Corporation of India introducing contributory parental leave insurance products.

Under such a model, employers and employees would co-pay during employment and draw payouts during leave, reducing the burden of fully employer-funded maternity benefits.

It added that the government could subsidise contributions for low-income workers to make the system more inclusive.

'The maternity-centric design with minimal paternity provisions, and limited applicability to the informal sector not only designate women as default caregivers but also distort employer hiring incentives,' the paper added.

Even where childcare leave exists such as Child Care Leave (CCL), it remains largely female-centric, the paper noted.

Originally designed for women, CCL was extended to single male parents in 2018; however, partnered fathers remain excluded, limiting its ability to shift household care norms.

'The motherhood penalty thus arises not from maternity protection per se, but from its isolation within a broader care regime,' the paper stated.

'This needs pooled financing instruments and incremental reforms in gender-neutral childcare leaves,' the paper added.

Globally, the paper noted, there is a shift towards gender-neutral parental leave instead of separate maternity and paternity provisions.

Among G20 countries, nearly half have legal provisions for parental leave with partial funding support to the primary caregiver regardless of gender.

It cited examples from Nordic countries, where 'use it or lose it' quotas for fathers -- such as Sweden's 90-day allocation and Iceland's equal six-month split -- have increased uptake of paternal leave and supported higher female workforce participation by redistributing care responsibilities.

However, it cautioned that India's labour market structure requires adaptation rather than direct replication of such models.

A purely employer-funded shared leave regime could burden smaller firms, it said, suggesting partial public financing mechanisms to offset costs.

It recommended incremental reforms, including extending CCL eligibility to all fathers, as a pathway towards a more equitable, shared parental leave framework.

A NITI Aayog paper from December 2025 titled From Intent to Impact: A Compendium of Good Practices on Gender Parity at Workplace identified inadequate parental leave policies and the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work as key barriers to women's workforce participation.

It highlighted the need for more inclusive, family-friendly policies such as childcare support, flexible work, and broader parental leave structures to better balance caregiving responsibilities and improve workforce retention.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff