What are the conditions for taking paternity leave for men? Can the 5-day paternity leave be taken separately?

Hong Kong’s Employment Ordinance stipulates that in addition to eligible pregnant female employees who are entitled to paid maternity leave, men can also take paternity leave. Hong Kong’s statutory male servants came into effect in 2015, and after the implementation of the amendments to the Employment (Amendment) (No. 3) Ordinance 2018, eligible male employees are allowed to show their employers the birth of their children considering the birth of their children. After the registration certificate, you can apply for up to 5 days of paternity leave and receive part of the salary. This article will first summarize the main points of the arrangement of male paternity leave for reference.

Conditions for male employees to take paternity leave.

The Employment Ordinance of Hong Kong stipulates that male employees who want to take paternity leave need to serve the employer on a continuous contract, and they can enjoy 5 days of paternity leave for each childbirth of their spouse/partner in preparation for welcoming new family members. . The Employment Ordinance also does not stipulate that an employee must be legally married to the mother of the baby to be entitled to paternity leave, even an unmarried male partner is also eligible.

The following are several conditions for taking statutory paternity leave:

• The employee is the father of a newborn baby, or has a baby imminent;

• the employee is employed under a continuous contract;

• The employee has notified the employer as required by law.

Also, whenever requested by the employer, the employee is required to submit to the employer a written statement signed by the employee stating:

• the name of the mother of the newborn baby;

• the expected or actual date of birth of the first-born baby;

• The employee is the father of the baby.

If the baby was not born in Hong Kong, what about the supporting documents?

Under normal circumstances, employees are required to provide the following documents to prove that the baby was born in Hong Kong, including a birth certificate bearing the name of the employee to prove that the baby is the father of the baby. The baby’s birth certificate also needs to be marked with the employee’s name to show the baby’s father.

When should I notify my employer to arrange paternity leave?

For informing the employer about the arrangement of taking paternity leave, the employee must also apply to the employer for paternity leave within the following time, and pay attention to the following points:

• The employee notifies the employer of his intention to take paternity leave at least 3 months before the baby’s expected date of birth (at this stage

• no requirement to specify the exact date of taking paternity leave); and

• Before taking paternity leave, notify the employer of the exact date of his paternity leave (there is no statutory requirement to give such notice).

If the employee fails to give the employer 3 months’ advance notice due to other circumstances, he must notify the exact date of taking the paternity leave at least 5 days before taking the paternity leave.

Can 5 days of paternity leave be taken separately?

Under the above conditions, the employee is entitled to 5 days of paternity leave, and he can choose to take the 5 days of paternity leave day by day or to take the 5 days of paternity leave all at once.

However, regardless of whether the paternity leave is split or lump-sum, it needs to be arranged on any day from 4 weeks before the expected date of birth to 144 weeks from the actual date of birth to take the paternity leave.

The above information is for reference only. If you have any questions about entrepreneurship, labor law, or accounting, we welcome your inquiries.