Men overtook women in applications for flexible parental leave last month, the first time it has happened since the “child-friendly workplace” policy was implemented on Jan. 1, the Ministry of Labor said.
The flexible parental leave without pay policy allows applications to be submitted on a daily basis.
Last month, 50.3 percent of applications were submitted by men, the ministry said, indicating that fathers are sharing childcare responsibilities.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
Of the more than 24,000 applications submitted by nearly 12,000 people so far this year, men accounted for 48.4 percent of the total, it said.
The ministry said that in the first quarter it handed out NT$2 million (US$63,613) in incentives to small businesses that implemented the policy.
Employers are eligible for a daily subsidy of NT$1,000 when employees take flexible parental leave under the program.
In the first quarter, about 989 businesses qualified to recieve subsidies, with 236 having opened online accounts and received direct transfers by Wednesday last week, the ministry said.
However, 70 percent of eligible businesses have not yet received the subsidy, it said, urging employers to register their information on the Labor Insurance Bureau’s Web site to claim the funds.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) told reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei that the flexible parental leave system has encouraged many more fathers to participate in parenting, which is “incredibly important and great news.”
Hung said he hoped that proposed amendments to the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法) and the Employment Insurance Act (就業保險法) would further transform the system and encourage more parents to share child-rearing responsibilities.
The amendments would adapt the daily policy into a formal childcare leave system, increase the number of leave days and extend eligibility to parents of older children, he said.
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