Is Paternity Leave Really Up to 15 Days? Seeking Clarity on Government Rules and Company Policies

Friends, please let me know if there is any government ruling on paternity leave. Is it up to 15 days in one spell and a maximum of 2 spells? As far as I know, it is not covered by the Shops and Establishment Act, and it is at the company's discretion to provide it or not.

Please provide me with your valuable inputs as soon as possible.

Anu

So far, I have not seen any provision of paternity leave under labor law. Few organizations have the policy, but no law or act provides this type of leave.

N. N. Tiwari

Hi,

Paternity leave can be availed for 15 days in a year with a one-time break. For example, 7 days of paternity leave can be taken in July, and the remaining 8 days can be taken in August.

Regards,
Anu
Hyderabad

Hi Anu, thanks for the reply. But is there any law to it, and can it be less than 15 days?

Anu :D

Hi Anupama,

A male employee with fewer than 2 surviving children may be granted paternity leave for a period of 15 days during the confinement of his wife. It will not be debited from the leave account and can be combined with any other kind of leave. It can be availed up to 15 days before or up to 6 months from the date of delivery of the child. If this leave is not taken within this period, it will be considered lapsed.

Hope this information fulfills your requirements.

Regards,
Basant

Hi Basant (and others),

If there is no provision under labor law, are companies allowed to amend or increase the 15 days that you have mentioned? Or is that a leave entitlement stipulated in some policy or Act that I am unaware of? (We are a private limited company with less than 20 employees).

- Chatura
The Fuller Life
www.thefullerlife.com

There is no legal obligation for the employer to grant any employee paternity leave in India. However, many organizations have started granting their employees paternity leave lately, more as a goodwill gesture.

Another reason why most of the Project-Based IT companies do it is because some of the prospective clients go through the HR Manual of the company to satisfy themselves that the company follows anti-discriminatory and employee-friendly HR policies before a contract is awarded to them.

Thanks, Raj, Chatura, Baant, and others.

That means whether we give 15, 6, or 7 days as paternity leave, it is a matter of internal policy and has nothing to do with the law.

Anu

Dear Anu,

There are no specific law provisions in the Factories Act, Maternity Benefit Act, and Shop & Establishment Act regarding paternity leave. If an employer has their arrangement to provide paternity leave to their employees, it is typically granted as a 15-day paid leave and does not fall under privilege, sick, or casual leave categories. The decision about granting paternity leave lies at the discretion of the company's management.

Regards,
Bhushan Dahanukar

Let us not mention the number of days in our postings based on the practice in our respective companies to avoid confusing junior HR professionals. I work for one of the largest business groups comprising more than a dozen companies. We grant employees two days' paternity leave, and the employees are quite happy about it because these two days are in addition to generous PL/CL/SL entitlements and holidays. Granting of paternity leave, and the quantum thereof, is purely management's discretion in private companies. Period 😊

Dear Raj,

I absolutely agree with you that we should not mention the number of days for PL because that is the only reason I too got confused. Thanks for addressing the right point.

Anu

Hi, as Raj had rightly indicated, it is solely under the discretion of the company management to decide whether to grant or not to grant PL. Also, the period of PL is again decided by the management of a company. Good input from Raj, thanks, KMD Shrithar.

What is Paternal Leave:

Paternity leave is a paid leave granted by the company to a male employee when he becomes a father.

Applicability:

A male employee with less than 2 surviving children may be granted paternity leave for a period of 5 days during the confinement of his wife. It can be availed 15 days before or up to 15 days from the date of delivery of the child. If this leave is not availed within this period, it will be treated as lapsed. Different companies have different time limits to avail this leave, and the number of leaves varies between 3 and 5.

Is there a Law in India?

Even though there is no specific labor law that enforces this leave, the Fifth Pay Commission of India has suggested implementing it for government employees in India. Central and State Governments of India have introduced this leave with 15 paid days for their employees.

• Reference for central government leave: No <link updated to site home>

• Reference of all the states statistics: Major Legislations

Even more companies in India are increasingly offering paternity leave to their employees, either 3 or 5 days, depending on the company's discretion. This is a symbolic gesture that we are participating in the employee's happiness.