Last month, men accounted for a larger share of flexible parental leave applications than women for the first time since the policy began on Jan. 1, as more fathers are taking advantage of the latest “child-friendly workplace” measures, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said today.
The ministry’s flexible parental leave without pay policy allows applications to be submitted on a daily basis.
Last month, about 50.3 percent of applications were submitted by men, the ministry said, demonstrating that more fathers are sharing the caregiving burden.
Photo: CNA
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 added.
The ministry said it has also handed out NT$2 million (US$63,643) in incentives over the first quarter of this year to small businesses that implemented the policy.
Employers are offered a daily subsidy of NT$1,000 when employees take flexible parental leave under the program.
In the first quarter of this year, about 989 businesses qualified for the subsidies, with 236 already 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 Web site to claim the funds.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said he hopes 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 current daily policy into a formal childcare leave system, increase the number of leave days available and extend eligibility to parents of older children, Hung said.
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