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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, to a question by the Hon Emily Lau on paternity leave in the Legislative Council today (October 29):
Question:
In reply to a question from a Member of this Council in June 2006, the authorities advised that the Labour Department ("LD") was conducting a study on whether legislation should be enacted for providing paternity leave to male employees. The Chief Executive also sought to "deepen various family-friendly measures" in his Policy Address in October 2006. However, in response to another question from a Member of this Council in November 2007, the authorities said that "At present, we have no plan to provide paid paternity leave in addition to the existing annual leave benefits of civil servants and non-civil service contract staff". This subject was not even mentioned in the Policy Address delivered recently. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(a) of the progress of the above study and the expected completion date;
(b) as the authorities stated in their reply to the question in November 2007 that "In deliberating whether we should legislate for paternity leave, we should first and foremost ensure that there is wide consensus in the community......", whether they will consider publishing a public consultation paper immediately upon completion of the above study by LD, with a view to attaining consensus in the community; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) of the increase in the number of local enterprises providing paternity leave to male employees since the Government's promotion of family-friendly employment practices; whether they have assessed the effectiveness of the approaches adopted for promoting paternity leave; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(d) whether they have assessed how, on the one hand the Government will not consider providing paid paternity leave to civil servants, on the other hand, it can be a model of good employer to encourage enterprises to take up social responsibility and offer paid paternity leave, and what concrete plans it has to do so?
Reply:
President,
(a) & (b) The Labour Department (LD) has been studying the subject of paternity leave. It has conducted questionnaire surveys with over a thousand member organisations of its Human Resources Managers Clubs in 2006 and 2008 to collect information on the prevalence and actual arrangements of paternity leave. We are now collecting and comparing relevant practices in other economies on such aspects as the duration of paternity leave, eligibility criteria for and manner of taking such leave, as well as pay during the leave period etc.
Information collected reveals that a variety of practices of paternity leave are adopted in different places appropriate to their own economic situations, social security and welfare systems, population policies as well as labour market situations etc. As the majority of firms in Hong Kong are small and medium-sized enterprises with less flexibility in staff deployment, we have to consider the actual circumstances of Hong Kong to ensure that a reasonable balance is struck between the interest of employees and the affordability of employers. Furthermore, in the light of local circumstances, LD has to deliberate in depth a number of issues such as the certification required to support the taking of paternity leave, the authentication of childbirth by the spouse outside Hong Kong, and eligibility of a male employee in cases involving non-marital birth etc.
Upon completion of the aforesaid study, we will report to the Labour Advisory Board and consult the LegCo Panel on Manpower.
(c) To allow employees to fulfill both their work and family responsibilities, LD has been encouraging employers to adopt various family-friendly employment practices, including the provision of paternity leave, through channels and promotional activities such as Tripartite Committees and Human Resources Managers Clubs formed in various trades, organising seminars, staging roving exhibitions at different locations and publishing newspaper supplements.
The Administration has not conducted territory-wide survey on the provision of paternity leave by enterprises in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, LD issued questionnaires to over a thousand member organisations of its Human Resources Managers Clubs in 2006 and 2008. The surveys reveal that 16% and 21% respectively of the organisations have provided paternity leave, indicating an increase in the number of employers providing paternity leave to their employees over the past two years. Although most of LD¡¦s member organisations are relatively large in terms of employment size and the survey findings may not reflect the full picture of small and medium-sized enterprises, they help provide useful reference for LD's planning of appropriate promotional activities.
Moreover, through regular contacts with employers and human resources practitioners, LD notes that the number of local enterprises which have paternity leave arrangements is increasing. These organisations have implemented measures most appropriate to their operations, needs of their clients and the employment terms of their employees. We consider the existing promotional measures effective. We will continue to act as a facilitator and seek partnership with the business community and non-governmental organisations to further promote good people management practices, including the provision of paternity leave.
(d) We consider that individual organisations in the public and private sectors are in the best position to decide whether, and if so, how to implement family-friendly employment practices, having regard to their operational circumstances, needs of their clients and the level of fringe benefits currently provided to their staff etc. The Government aims to provide a family- friendly working environment to enable civil servants to cope with both work and family commitments. Under the basic principles of no additional staffing resources, no reduction in the conditioned hours of service of individual staff, no reduction in emergency services and the continued provision of some essential counter services on Saturday, the five-day week initiative was introduced into the civil service in phases from July 2006 to reduce work pressure of staff and to improve the quality of family life. Around 65% of government employees are working five days/shifts per week on the full implementation of the initiative by 1 July 2007.
As regards the provision of paid paternity leave, we consider that the full-pay annual leave generally provided to civil servants are adequate for meeting personal needs that may arise during the year, including taking care of family members. In fact, most civil servants have accumulated a considerable balance of untaken leave. As such, we currently have no plan to provide paid paternity leave in addition to the existing annual leave benefits of civil servants. Earlier on, we have encouraged departmental management to, where operational needs permit, favourably consider applications from expecting fathers for taking their earned paid leave to take care of their spouses and newborn babies. We believe that the existing leave benefits and adoption of other practices such as the five-day week have enabled civil servants to meet the needs of their family.
Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:42
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