Paternity leave extended in private sector
The measure had already been introduced for civil servants in the Principality - © Unsplash
The measure was voted unanimously by the National Council.
A major step forward was adopted in the Chamber on the evening of Tuesday 28 November. Bill 1083, to extend paternity leave in the private sector, was passed unanimously by the elected representatives.
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There will now be 21 days’ leave, rather than 12, for a single birth and 28 days, instead of 19, for multiple births or for households that already have two children.
Christophe Robino, Minister for Health and Social Affairs, said: “From a societal perspective, this measure responds to a number of objectives to which the Government is committed and which are shared by the Commission. These objectives include in particular the promotion of gender equality, support for parenting and children’s well-being, and more broadly addressing society’s changing needs, promoting a better work-life balance for employees, while providing companies, through international benchmarking, with a means of attracting and retaining talent.”
“The bill is another step forward for our families, supporting fathers who are employed in the private sector, and who will now be able to enjoy extra days of paternity leave, as is already the case for civil servants and public sector employees since last year’s reform. This public/private balance is eagerly awaited. That is why, after concertation, we decided to look into the matter very quickly so that it could be effective as soon as possible for the families of employees in the Principality,” said Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, President of the National Council.
Leave may not be split
Rapporteur Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo welcomed the bill, but nevertheless mentioned a few regrets and remarks : “First of all, it is not possible for the other parent to split their leave so as to be free to help the mother at certain crucial moments, particularly when maternity leave has been completely used up. Secondly, I would like the Government to initiate a debate on parental education leave, whereby parents would be able to take leave for which they would be paid an allowance. (…) The High Commissioner communicated her opinion in which she pointed out that, and I quote, “the bill would benefit from an amendment to take account of common-law and same-sex couples, by way of the term “second parent.” This would put the child at the centre of our considerations, while adjusting to the sociological changes observed over the past fifteen years or so.”
Christophe Robino responded that the issue of split leave had been considered by the Government but had not been adopted since “it was considered that splitting leave could lead to a risk of disruption for businesses, a windfall effect for beneficiaries, but also a disparity of treatment between men and women, given that maternity leave cannot be split in this way. Generally speaking, the Government prefers to maintain a traditional approach of promoting a balanced society in terms of the rights available to everyone. This is, in fact, one of the main objectives of the bill being debated, as stated in the Commission’s report.”
As a reminder, extended paternity leave was already introduced for the Principality’s civil servants in 2022. For now, the measure does not apply to self-employed persons. The forthcoming introduction of maternity leave for self-employed women, however, was mentioned by Christophe Robino at a press conference in October. A bill to this effect was tabled recently.
“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the recent tabling of Bill 1086, which aims to introduce maternity leave for self-employed workers, a total of almost 6,000 in our country according to IMSEE, with women who obviously deserve to be included in a system that allows them to raise their children in the best possible conditions,” said Brigitte Boccone-Pages.