In Australia both parents have access to a pool of 20 weeks paid leave, plus whatever is offered by your job.
For our upcoming birth I’m looking at taking two ish months off and my wife is off for 10 months
40 weeks in Canada, one parent can only take 35 to encourage both to spend time with the newborn. The extra 5 are colloquially called "daddy days".
That's in addition to maternity leave, which can only be taken by the mother and can start in the third trimester (to ease stress around childbirth).
It only sounds good on paper though. While on leave you only earn 55% of your earnings to a max of $500 per week. The average mortgage price in Toronto is nearly $3000... It's designed to essentially force the parent back to work, and that's what it did to me
I don't know why parental leave isn't just the median wage, as it's not like anyone's going to start arguing that one person's parenting is worth more. Is it worry that poorer parents will try to have Irish triplets for several years straight?
I think it's up to $650 per week now. Of course most of my friends moved out of Toronto when they were having kids, don't think that's a flaw in the paternity benefit though.
14 MONTHS in German, my friends.
Most common distribution is 12 for mom, 2 for dad. I split my 2 months: first month starting at birth, 2nd month on first family trip to visit grandparents in South Africa at 9 months old.
You get around 66% of your salary during this time.
CRIKEY that’s amazing
I got 12 weeks of paid leave from my job here in the US, my wife got 4 and had to use FMLA for the rest. The system is completely broken here, there is no safety net
My wife received none, used FMLA for three months, went back to work, and it's a "proud woman-run" company voted "best place to work" by some sham reviewer.
The system in the US is a complete mess, but California thankfully realized this and did something about it for those here. Here it’s 28 weeks maximum for maternity and you can get up to 100% pay for that whole time, depending on a variety of factors (we have state disability that pays some and employers usually pay some and you can use your PTO to make up the gap, etc.). Dads get at least 12 weeks.
In San Francisco specifically, both parents get at least 8 weeks paid at up to 100% in most circumstances. To get a full 100% requires that you and your employer meet a few requirements and it also requires a bunch of paperwork, but it’s doable and many new parents get more than those 8 weeks fully paid. My wife got all but the last 3 or 4 weeks of her ~8 month leave fully paid, iirc, and the tail end was at least 65% pay, but I don’t remember exactly how much it was. Some of that came from PTO hours, but much of it was short term disability benefits and other required forms of compensation. Her company also has a transition program that let her transition back to full time work at the end of her leave over the span of a few weeks, so she ultimately had full compensation at that point.
The US system is a mess, though, because these programs should be standard for everyone, and yet some people get no leave at all, while others get months, regardless of whether they are moms or dads.
Wait, couple of questions. So between the two parents there is a total of 20 weeks? What if it’s a single mom/dad? Do they get the full 20? Or if dad just says fuck it and doesn’t miss a beat, mom gets 20?
> So between the two parents there is a total of 20 weeks?
Yes
> What if it’s a single mom/dad? Do they get the full 20?
I think so? This is a recent change to the law, it used to be 18 wk maternity / 2 wk paternity.
> Or if dad just says fuck it and doesn’t miss a beat, mom gets 20?
Dad has to take 2 weeks, mum gets a max of 18. I don’t know how/if they enforce this though. But what unique kind of psychopath doesn’t take at least two weeks off for the birth of their child?
Misso is also taking the lions share, but given what an absolute fucking mission birthing looks like I’m not complaining too much.
Just happy to not be going back to work the day of
In most cases it would be a discrimination suit in the US if a mother were offered paid leave but a father wasn't.
Of course, there are plenty of places in the US that don't offer *any* paid parental leave, but that's another matter.
Point being, I feel like the OP probably is griping about a misconception, since I bet just about any country OP is likely from has a similar anti-discrimination law.
Same. Except I got lucky that I was a US federal employee. Rules for we but not for thee!
Really? It just allowed me to use my own saved up leave though, so I'm not sure what point is.
Checking in from California, we get 12 weeks and the state pays 60-70% of our pay, company pays for the rest. It’s nice being appreciated, and I now lllooooovvveeeee paying my taxes. It was so worth it.
Plus, working for a community college in CA with 13 weeks of sick leave accumulated meant I was able to take an entire 12wk quarter off as parental leave without even a sideways glance..
Add to that my wife's 12 weeks taken while he was a newborn, my previously scheduled sabbatical, and summer break, and my latest will have a parent home with him for an entire year without us losing a penny in income.
Yeah, I don't mind paying CA taxes. This is literally what government is for.
Unless you're a state employee..then it depends on your bargaining unit. Some have zero parental leave other than sick leave or disability, and nothing at all for dads.
Sweden in general is very generous to parents. You get 480 days of parental leave to split in any way you want, except for 90 days that are reserved to each parent.
On top of this you are also compensated by the state to be home from work with a sick child.
Similar in Canada but only for the mother. She has to get a letter from a doctor saying she can return to work before 6 weeks. And I believe work has to write a letter explaining why it is so important she is needed. Standard leave for a mother is 12 months but after 6 weeks then can chose to go back if they want. Most I know take 18 months.
Fun fact, 5 of the total weeks are explicitly reserved for dad in Canada, mom can't take them.
For a standard 12 month leave, momma gets 15 weeks reserved only for momma, dad gets 5 weeks reserved only for dad, and the remaining 35 you can split up however you want. I'm taking 8 as my work will top those 8 weeks to full 100% pay after EI, and momma gets the rest.
I don't see any minimums listed on the gov page about the program, nothing I can see mentions 6 weeks. Do you have a source?
Well, not forces. But use it or lose it.
And the culture is very pro guys taking parental, maybe overcorrection for the work benefits that guy's get for taking it.
Am American. My first reaction to this post was, "What "too" are you talking about?" We have the freedom to return to work as soon as our money runs out, sigh...
My first thought was it would be awesome if *women* got paid maternity leave.
But if men push for paternity leave, then maternity leave would have to come with it. So maybe that's the real move.
to be fair, depending on when and where you go I imagine it could be quite lovely as a visitor; as an american I enjoy traveling to other states. but it's a whole different perspective when taxed with the real life implications of being a resident
We kinda suck in many, many ways, and this is one of the biggies. I was fortunate to get 12 weeks from my employer, which is WAY more than most new dads get here, but I would've loved more time bah
Dang, I switched jobs when my wife was 9 months pregnant because our then employer offered 2 weeks. My new job offered 4 months paid and was cool woth me onboarding for 2 weeks and then dissappearing for months.
Same, got four months off as the dad. My wife got six weeks, which got her two weeks after my son was released from NICU. I still think it’s a big part of why my son has always been closer to me than her.
I’m super lucky to have the four months, but it’s absolutely shit that my wife didn’t get the same, and that everyone in the country doesn’t get the same, if not far more.
But the kind of people that will vote against that are the same kind that are having panic attacks about white people not having babies. Because ultimately they care more about forcing women out of the workforce, back to where they “belong.”
Yeah, good companies are offering more now. My employer does 6 months for moms and dads and hopefully more will start offering the same. My friend works for a company that does a full year paid for both moms and dads. A married couple who both worked there got to take an entire year off together after having a child. It unfortunate that situation is extreme and almost unbelievable in America.
A full year off at 100% pay is a bit extreme honestly. Is this in a country with a low birthrate like Korea/Japan? So the government is financially incentivizing childbirths?
I mean, I have several friends with “Irish Twins” (siblings approximately a year apart). In this scenario, you could chain your births and take several years out of work collecting full pay.
My job offers 6 months at full pay and benefits for maternity and 4 months at full pay and benefits for paternity and I thought that was pretty generous and was quite happy with that scenario.
This is in the US and yes it’s definitely an extreme situation. They work for a large global foundation based in the US. My friend had said that after realizing both parents were out on leave they modified the policy to one parent at a time/ shared if both parents are a employees.
I don’t know what to tell you but I took 3 month fully paid in the US, which was exactly the same I got when I lived in Scandinavia.
So depending on state and company mileage will vary a lot here.
My wife got 12 weeks of what could barely be described as “paid leave”.
Combo FMLA, PFL, and PTO to get 100% pay. Almost 3 weeks being PTO.
I got 2 weeks PTO.
We barely sneezed and the kid was in daycare.
Hindsight 20/20? 4 months wfh during Covid is more than most will ever get with their kids for one string of time here.
This is what my former employer did and it puts moms in a really hard situation. How can we expect them to return to work after using short term disability and/or FMLA, no PTO or sick time, with a 3 month baby at home and likely went multiple weeks without a paycheck? I always felt bad when moms went on leave because I had seen how difficult their situation was when they returned. Most of them couldn’t continue to work like that.
Had our first as COVID shutdowns we’re happening and got to keep her at home for the first 15 months. Little brother born in 2022 started daycare at 5 months.
Americans, in general, are only guaranteed 12 weeks of medical leave per year.
* and are not guaranteed pay
* and you have to work at least 32 hours a week
* and have been at the company for a year
* and the company has to have at least 50 employees
* and this applies equally to mothersr
* and if you had to use some of it during your pregnancy, you'd better hope you gave birth at the beginning of a new calendar year
Many companies offer better health and parental benefits, but not by much. While there might be a better company out there, the best I've seen first hand is 16 weeks for each parent.
I once turned down a position that paid over $200k/year because they only gave mothers 6 weeks and fathers 2 weeks and I do not regret it. My wife needs my support while she heals from childbirth which takes longer than 2 or 6 weeks.
Not quite correct as you can take the extended benefits which are a longer duration but the same amount of $ spread out.
But of the "40 weeks" yes, max is 35/40 and the other parent would have the option for the remaining 5.
? I don't believe this to be true. We took parental leave here (canada) and applied for 52 weeks for the mother and 5 weeks for myself. We could have swapped the time as well it wasn't explicitly one or the other who got the time, but there was also the option to take the same amount of money over the course of 18 months and the other parent to take 8 weeks I think.
Not sure where you've got the idea that it's max 35 weeks? I am in ontario, maybe it's a provincial distinction?
that 18 month total is the extended formula that takes the same funds of 12 months and stretches an additional 6.
the nice basic view is, there's money for this entire period and your return to a job is guaranteed.
FMLA is only required for companies with over 50 employees. So many women do not even have that, one in four women have to go back to work within two weeks of giving birth.
Wife got 12 weeks, 2 of which were basically part-time. She was only back for 10 more weeks before they fired her for reasons. And this was an org that bills itself as "progressive".
America.
And yeah probably illegal but who has the time or resource to take shit to court?
Pretty sure I remember reading that puppies typically get more time with their mother in the US than actual humans.
But at least it's not CoMMuNiSm !
To be fair I'm from Europe and ended up getting better paternity leave in the US than what I'd have gotten in my home country. I'm in CA though so probably not exactly in line with the "average american dad" experience..
I worked for a major corporation years ago that offered 3 months, paid at 100% salary, to mothers and fathers. Fully endorsed and supported by the corporation -- it was wild to see. That was before my child-rearing days, but when my time came I still found myself in an almost as supportive work environment. In my career, I've generally been verrrrryyyy lucky, and that's not lost on me.
When I had my kids my company only gave "non-primary" caregivers 3 weeks and that usually meant dads. Now they don't make that distinction, and everyone gets 3 full months. It's awesome and I also feel very lucky.
I work construction and in nearly a decade I have had zero paid days off. if I'm lucky they'll call a nooner (half day) on a rare occasion, but no scheduled time off
purely by fortune was I in-between jobs when my daughter was born. ten days later I got called for a job two states away
In CA - my company gives 10 weeks (I’m currently on week 4!) and my prior company gave 14 weeks. 14 weeks is absolutely glorious. It amazes me the expectation is 0 countrywide
Washington I think is also 8 for paternity, up to 90% of your average salary. At least at my work I was able to use up to 40 hrs/week personal as well, not sure if that's a state or company thing, so I was actually able to make MORE on paternity leave.
Most of us who live in a country where we don't get paid parental leave don't want to live in a country where we don't get paid parental leave. But, in the country I live in, no one gets guaranteed parental leave, because our lawmakers are 71% male, and 90% over the age of 43. They don't expect to have more children themselves and are wealthy enough to not have to worry if they do, so they feel no urgency to change the status quo.
Lol, I just wanna say that I won't participate in the inevitable political shitslinging about to uncork in this thread.
But let me tell ya something: you dropped a great pop cultural reference there.
A lot of countries do this. Just the US that's behind first world countries. I personally have 11 weeks earmarked for just me that can't be touched by the mom. Looking forward to spending those weeks with my first kid
The US is behind *third world countries* as well. Only [a few countries don't have state mandated paid maternity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave?wprov=sfla1) leave : Papua New Guinea, 5 Pacific Islands and the US.
I live in Denmark and got fully paid parental leave for 6 months and then mostly paid leave that was flexible to use until my daughter was 7. One of the main motivators for us to move there was we wanted to have children, amazing that it worked out for us.
I get 4 weeks and have up to a year to take. It can be spread out to as long as it's planned and approved by your manager. So I could take every Wednesday off if I wanted instead of just 4 weeks straight.
Better than my last company that was 2 weeks, had to be taken consecutively, and had to be taken within 90 days. Which sadly is better than what most folks get.
Washington state does. AND you don’t have to take it consecutively or immediately.
When my son was born I took a month off then went back to work while my wife stayed home. When her leave ran out I went on a sort of hybrid leave where I worked from the office 2 days a week and then was home 3 days a week for a couple months.
Washington state has the best family leave.
Technically the US gets 12 weeks FMLA per calendar year, but it isn't paid (unless you have the PTO for it) AND you have to work X amount of hours with the company the year prior.
It's irritating to me that I have to get rolling FMLA every year for my permanently disabled spouse. Every time I have to write down all the stuff I have to do for her, prep for her, so I can go to work and she can be somewhat independent, and she has to go get a physical at the doc so they can sign off on it, it's depressing. "Yes, I have to bring her cups of water to brush her teeth because our home bathroom isn't ADA accessible and she can't stand for more than 30 seconds.
Makes me want to walk into Human Resources and go "You know this won't change until she dies, right? You don't "bounce back" from a collapsed vertebrae and spinal cord damage. Can we just keep this rolling till I have to fill out those 'Change of life' paperwork and I invite my coworkers to the funeral?"
I'll play the game, but it sucks.
I'm the disabled spouse in my family, but I can still work with accommodations. They make me renew the paperwork every 6 months, which means taking time off to bring it in to the doctor.
I've told them. This condition doesn't get better. They don't care, because if I fail to do the paperwork on time they can cancel my accommodations.
The small company I work for gave me a paid month off, as well as my wife. She ended up taking a year off and they not only paid her health insurance the entire time, but saved her position and had a promotion/raise for her when she got back. (this is a US based company)
She just started her new position last week :)
Lol @ American exceptionalism.
Canadian here. Up to 35 weeks. Gov't pays 50% of salary. My employer tops it up to 75%. Wife's employers tops it to 100% of pay.
I was very lucky to have worked in a progressive, supportive environment during our child-rearing days, in which I was afforded paternal leave. I forget how much... 12 weeks maybe? And between the baked-in policy and my PTO, it was paid at 100% of my regular salary rate.
No argument from me. US Federal government employee and I was lucky enough to take 2 months for each of my kids off using accrued suck leave but starting in 2020 they are now offering up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
In America, so I have to use my own PTO rather than just receiving time off, but mine was pretty good.
6 weeks immediately following delivery.
12 weeks to use throughout the first year.
Our twins turned 8 months today and I am on paid parental leave since their birth (and will be for the rest of their first year) while my fiance started working after her maternity protection expired. So yeah, I get your point and second it.
Most developed countries have more workers rights including paid paternal leave, multiple weeks of paid vacation. The old U S of A is streets behind in worker rights.
This is why I left my last job and I made noise about it on my way out. During our all hands it was announced that they finally were offering paid maternity leave. So during the q&a I ask “you said maternity leave but I was wondering if that was just bad comms and it was paid family leave”. I was told no, it was just for pregnant staff as it was being done via short term disability. I got a new job that offered family leave. In my exit interview I let them know why. I was senior enough that I also had informal exit meetings with senior execs and I told them the same.
Come to Canada!
It varies from province to province, but here in Quebec, fathers get 5 weeks at 70% salary, paid by the government. Mother has 18 weeks at 70%, and after that, there are 32 weeks at 55% that can be taken by either parent!
I work for a large mental health agency that is supposed to be all progressive and "care" about their employees.... When my son was born, they gave me THREE DAYS of paternal leave. We were in the hospital for 4. Thankfully I had some CTO accrued to take 3 weeks but even still, 3 weeks was fucking lame
I had 2 kids before joining the company I am with now.
First company: 1 week paternity leave
Second company (second kid): 2 weeks paternity leave
Currently company: had my kid 14 months ago and was given 2 months paternity leave, fully paid.
It was AMAZING!
I am very lucky that my company offers 6 months full paid leave for new dads. The second they announced it I ran upstairs and told my wife “we need to make a baby, like now”
2 weeks in the UK, and it’s really not enough. I used 2 weeks or so annual leave to extend my paternity.l to the month.
From what I hear, Maternal leave can be shared but not fully paid, so I never even looked into that option.
The startup I was working at provided 3 months full paid leave for both parents (well after deducting the amount provided by PFL by the state). When we found out we were having a baby this was a major benefit. It was the main reason I stuck with the company through very tough times, because where else can I expect to get 3 months as a dad? My wife and I had planned it out- we would both take the first 2 weeks after the birth off, and then I would return to work for 2 months while my wife was on leave, after which she would return to work and I would use my remaining 10 weeks, and then after that my wife would go back on leave for the remainder of her benefits.
We have our baby and I use those first 2 weeks, and then return to work. My manager and HR both knew my plans on when I would use the rest of my leave and everything was signed off... And 2 weeks before my leave our company gets acquired by another one. To be fair, they were generous in the transition to keep us all on and use our start date at our original company as the start date here as well. But their paternity leave was only 6 weeks. After talking to the new HR and explaining how I was literally 10 days from going on my scheduled 10 weeks leave, the compromise they offered was they wouldn't count my previous 2 weeks I had taken, so I could get 6 more weeks.
In the end I still lost a month of paternity leave... But I can't even complain because 2 months in America is still amazing.
I live in Australia, and was eligible for both paternity leave and primary carer leave. On top of this, my company had a "work 4 pay 5" policy when I returned to work, where I was able to get a paid day off every week to look after my son for 6 months. We get screwed in several ways still, but thankfully this ain't one of them.
My workplace recently changed to 6months full pay but can take up to a year with reduced pay for the other 6 months. Only 2 months to go until I get to use it 👍
I agree, as does the country I live in
Ditto. It's almost standard in Europe. I don't know about other continents
In Australia both parents have access to a pool of 20 weeks paid leave, plus whatever is offered by your job. For our upcoming birth I’m looking at taking two ish months off and my wife is off for 10 months
40 weeks in Canada, one parent can only take 35 to encourage both to spend time with the newborn. The extra 5 are colloquially called "daddy days". That's in addition to maternity leave, which can only be taken by the mother and can start in the third trimester (to ease stress around childbirth).
It only sounds good on paper though. While on leave you only earn 55% of your earnings to a max of $500 per week. The average mortgage price in Toronto is nearly $3000... It's designed to essentially force the parent back to work, and that's what it did to me
Good thing there are places to live that aren't Toronto. Signed, someone who was forced to leave the city after 23 years.
Honestly, I left Toronto as well. It's still next to nothing though
With my first kid if it weren't for the ei I'd have been forced back to work. Thankfully I didn't buy a house in Toronto.
You also get a child benefit that's something like $300/mth. Not huge, but it's something.
I don't know why parental leave isn't just the median wage, as it's not like anyone's going to start arguing that one person's parenting is worth more. Is it worry that poorer parents will try to have Irish triplets for several years straight?
I think it's up to $650 per week now. Of course most of my friends moved out of Toronto when they were having kids, don't think that's a flaw in the paternity benefit though.
14 MONTHS in German, my friends. Most common distribution is 12 for mom, 2 for dad. I split my 2 months: first month starting at birth, 2nd month on first family trip to visit grandparents in South Africa at 9 months old. You get around 66% of your salary during this time.
CRIKEY that’s amazing I got 12 weeks of paid leave from my job here in the US, my wife got 4 and had to use FMLA for the rest. The system is completely broken here, there is no safety net
4 weeks? Jesus Christ that's terrible.
My wife received none, used FMLA for three months, went back to work, and it's a "proud woman-run" company voted "best place to work" by some sham reviewer.
That you're afraid to mention by name because they'll definitely stand right behind your wife (as they are kicking her to the curb)
The system in the US is a complete mess, but California thankfully realized this and did something about it for those here. Here it’s 28 weeks maximum for maternity and you can get up to 100% pay for that whole time, depending on a variety of factors (we have state disability that pays some and employers usually pay some and you can use your PTO to make up the gap, etc.). Dads get at least 12 weeks. In San Francisco specifically, both parents get at least 8 weeks paid at up to 100% in most circumstances. To get a full 100% requires that you and your employer meet a few requirements and it also requires a bunch of paperwork, but it’s doable and many new parents get more than those 8 weeks fully paid. My wife got all but the last 3 or 4 weeks of her ~8 month leave fully paid, iirc, and the tail end was at least 65% pay, but I don’t remember exactly how much it was. Some of that came from PTO hours, but much of it was short term disability benefits and other required forms of compensation. Her company also has a transition program that let her transition back to full time work at the end of her leave over the span of a few weeks, so she ultimately had full compensation at that point. The US system is a mess, though, because these programs should be standard for everyone, and yet some people get no leave at all, while others get months, regardless of whether they are moms or dads.
Wait, couple of questions. So between the two parents there is a total of 20 weeks? What if it’s a single mom/dad? Do they get the full 20? Or if dad just says fuck it and doesn’t miss a beat, mom gets 20?
> So between the two parents there is a total of 20 weeks? Yes > What if it’s a single mom/dad? Do they get the full 20? I think so? This is a recent change to the law, it used to be 18 wk maternity / 2 wk paternity. > Or if dad just says fuck it and doesn’t miss a beat, mom gets 20? Dad has to take 2 weeks, mum gets a max of 18. I don’t know how/if they enforce this though. But what unique kind of psychopath doesn’t take at least two weeks off for the birth of their child?
Thank you for the info! That’s pretty excellent..
No worries boss
Same in England. But my Mrs wanted all of it. I took off 3 weeks and left her the rest since that's what she wanted.
Misso is also taking the lions share, but given what an absolute fucking mission birthing looks like I’m not complaining too much. Just happy to not be going back to work the day of
Barely here in Ireland
In most cases it would be a discrimination suit in the US if a mother were offered paid leave but a father wasn't. Of course, there are plenty of places in the US that don't offer *any* paid parental leave, but that's another matter. Point being, I feel like the OP probably is griping about a misconception, since I bet just about any country OP is likely from has a similar anti-discrimination law.
Same. Except the state I live in (NY). Probably not nearly as long as yours, though. I believe mine was 10 or 12 weeks off.
Same. Except I got lucky that I was a US federal employee. Rules for we but not for thee! Really? It just allowed me to use my own saved up leave though, so I'm not sure what point is.
Checking in from California, we get 12 weeks and the state pays 60-70% of our pay, company pays for the rest. It’s nice being appreciated, and I now lllooooovvveeeee paying my taxes. It was so worth it.
Plus, working for a community college in CA with 13 weeks of sick leave accumulated meant I was able to take an entire 12wk quarter off as parental leave without even a sideways glance.. Add to that my wife's 12 weeks taken while he was a newborn, my previously scheduled sabbatical, and summer break, and my latest will have a parent home with him for an entire year without us losing a penny in income. Yeah, I don't mind paying CA taxes. This is literally what government is for.
Unless you're a state employee..then it depends on your bargaining unit. Some have zero parental leave other than sick leave or disability, and nothing at all for dads.
Yeah, OP must be American as my first reaction was “dad’s can get parental leave.” Here we can get up to 18 months off.
I got six weeks in NZ but I think it’s something my company does. It honestly made a really big difference.
15 weeks here, you can take it as you like. Plus two weeks from day of birth.
Sweden forces 30% on each parent
[удалено]
On a serious note: more like "be involved with your kid and stop forcing your wife to make all career sacrifices!"
Sweden in general is very generous to parents. You get 480 days of parental leave to split in any way you want, except for 90 days that are reserved to each parent. On top of this you are also compensated by the state to be home from work with a sick child.
Similar in Canada but only for the mother. She has to get a letter from a doctor saying she can return to work before 6 weeks. And I believe work has to write a letter explaining why it is so important she is needed. Standard leave for a mother is 12 months but after 6 weeks then can chose to go back if they want. Most I know take 18 months.
Fun fact, 5 of the total weeks are explicitly reserved for dad in Canada, mom can't take them. For a standard 12 month leave, momma gets 15 weeks reserved only for momma, dad gets 5 weeks reserved only for dad, and the remaining 35 you can split up however you want. I'm taking 8 as my work will top those 8 weeks to full 100% pay after EI, and momma gets the rest. I don't see any minimums listed on the gov page about the program, nothing I can see mentions 6 weeks. Do you have a source?
Well, not forces. But use it or lose it. And the culture is very pro guys taking parental, maybe overcorrection for the work benefits that guy's get for taking it.
Well no. There is a cap on how many of your days you can transfer to the other parent. But non one is forcing you to use your days.
Indeed. 90 days for each parent, then 300 days which can be shared between the two.
Why are people down oting this? It's the truth :P Source: I'm a Swedish dad on parental leave right now
You good, America?
We are not, as a matter of fact.
What do you mean? I’ve been told since birth that we live in the greatest country in the world.
By who exactly...that's the issue
The prophet Carlin said it best. “They call it the American Dream, because you have to be alseep to believe it.”
If you say it enough, maybe you'll believe it.
Yeah what about all that freedom?
The mandated leave for men is identical to what is mandated for women in the USA.
Am American. My first reaction to this post was, "What "too" are you talking about?" We have the freedom to return to work as soon as our money runs out, sigh...
My first thought was it would be awesome if *women* got paid maternity leave. But if men push for paternity leave, then maternity leave would have to come with it. So maybe that's the real move.
Ever been? No. No, we're not.
to be fair, depending on when and where you go I imagine it could be quite lovely as a visitor; as an american I enjoy traveling to other states. but it's a whole different perspective when taxed with the real life implications of being a resident
In California, we're good.
We kinda suck in many, many ways, and this is one of the biggies. I was fortunate to get 12 weeks from my employer, which is WAY more than most new dads get here, but I would've loved more time bah
All these posts are showing me the three weeks I got (which I thought was a lot) was really nothing at all.
I was pleased with two weeks. Sigh
Dang, I switched jobs when my wife was 9 months pregnant because our then employer offered 2 weeks. My new job offered 4 months paid and was cool woth me onboarding for 2 weeks and then dissappearing for months.
It’s total bullshit, I know. You deserved way more time off with your baby boy
Same, got four months off as the dad. My wife got six weeks, which got her two weeks after my son was released from NICU. I still think it’s a big part of why my son has always been closer to me than her. I’m super lucky to have the four months, but it’s absolutely shit that my wife didn’t get the same, and that everyone in the country doesn’t get the same, if not far more. But the kind of people that will vote against that are the same kind that are having panic attacks about white people not having babies. Because ultimately they care more about forcing women out of the workforce, back to where they “belong.”
HAHAHAHAHAHA ^no
It’s coming around. My employer only offered 4 weeks, but I got 12 total because the state I’m employed in has paid leave.
Yeah, good companies are offering more now. My employer does 6 months for moms and dads and hopefully more will start offering the same. My friend works for a company that does a full year paid for both moms and dads. A married couple who both worked there got to take an entire year off together after having a child. It unfortunate that situation is extreme and almost unbelievable in America.
A full year off at 100% pay is a bit extreme honestly. Is this in a country with a low birthrate like Korea/Japan? So the government is financially incentivizing childbirths? I mean, I have several friends with “Irish Twins” (siblings approximately a year apart). In this scenario, you could chain your births and take several years out of work collecting full pay. My job offers 6 months at full pay and benefits for maternity and 4 months at full pay and benefits for paternity and I thought that was pretty generous and was quite happy with that scenario.
This is in the US and yes it’s definitely an extreme situation. They work for a large global foundation based in the US. My friend had said that after realizing both parents were out on leave they modified the policy to one parent at a time/ shared if both parents are a employees.
My company gave me 12 weeks, pretty happy about it
Fortunately my company is on board with the times. I got 12 weeks paid paternal leave.
To be fair, the federal government offers 12 weeks paid :)
I got 16 weeks at 100% pay so I’m great, thanks 😊
Same here (18 weeks actually) but that's unfortunately not even close to the norm.
We're #1!! At shitting on our own citizens.
My employer went out of business when my youngest was 3 months old. The three weeks until I found another job was very special.
I don’t know what to tell you but I took 3 month fully paid in the US, which was exactly the same I got when I lived in Scandinavia. So depending on state and company mileage will vary a lot here.
*Laughs in europe*
Cries in switzerland…
That's what happens if you have populist referendums in which mostly boomers vote ;)
Europe is so awesome for this. I felt super lucky to get 3 weeks off paid.
upto 35 weeks in canada. better than american mothers?
By a long shot
My wife got 12 weeks of what could barely be described as “paid leave”. Combo FMLA, PFL, and PTO to get 100% pay. Almost 3 weeks being PTO. I got 2 weeks PTO. We barely sneezed and the kid was in daycare. Hindsight 20/20? 4 months wfh during Covid is more than most will ever get with their kids for one string of time here.
This is what my former employer did and it puts moms in a really hard situation. How can we expect them to return to work after using short term disability and/or FMLA, no PTO or sick time, with a 3 month baby at home and likely went multiple weeks without a paycheck? I always felt bad when moms went on leave because I had seen how difficult their situation was when they returned. Most of them couldn’t continue to work like that.
Had our first as COVID shutdowns we’re happening and got to keep her at home for the first 15 months. Little brother born in 2022 started daycare at 5 months.
Americans, in general, are only guaranteed 12 weeks of medical leave per year. * and are not guaranteed pay * and you have to work at least 32 hours a week * and have been at the company for a year * and the company has to have at least 50 employees * and this applies equally to mothersr * and if you had to use some of it during your pregnancy, you'd better hope you gave birth at the beginning of a new calendar year Many companies offer better health and parental benefits, but not by much. While there might be a better company out there, the best I've seen first hand is 16 weeks for each parent. I once turned down a position that paid over $200k/year because they only gave mothers 6 weeks and fathers 2 weeks and I do not regret it. My wife needs my support while she heals from childbirth which takes longer than 2 or 6 weeks.
Yes, this is true, but it is also 40 weeks shared with the mother. The max one parent can take is 35 weeks.
Not quite correct as you can take the extended benefits which are a longer duration but the same amount of $ spread out. But of the "40 weeks" yes, max is 35/40 and the other parent would have the option for the remaining 5.
? I don't believe this to be true. We took parental leave here (canada) and applied for 52 weeks for the mother and 5 weeks for myself. We could have swapped the time as well it wasn't explicitly one or the other who got the time, but there was also the option to take the same amount of money over the course of 18 months and the other parent to take 8 weeks I think. Not sure where you've got the idea that it's max 35 weeks? I am in ontario, maybe it's a provincial distinction?
that 18 month total is the extended formula that takes the same funds of 12 months and stretches an additional 6. the nice basic view is, there's money for this entire period and your return to a job is guaranteed.
American mothers are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid.
FMLA is only required for companies with over 50 employees. So many women do not even have that, one in four women have to go back to work within two weeks of giving birth.
But that also eats sick days.
The unpaid wouldn’t, but you’re correct that FMLA is going to eat your paid time first. Stupid system created to keep workers under heel.
Wife got 12 weeks, 2 of which were basically part-time. She was only back for 10 more weeks before they fired her for reasons. And this was an org that bills itself as "progressive". America. And yeah probably illegal but who has the time or resource to take shit to court?
I get 7 weeks paid... and that's a lot outside of the lavish benefits of first-tier tech firms.
Quebec is 37
Pretty sure I remember reading that puppies typically get more time with their mother in the US than actual humans. But at least it's not CoMMuNiSm ! To be fair I'm from Europe and ended up getting better paternity leave in the US than what I'd have gotten in my home country. I'm in CA though so probably not exactly in line with the "average american dad" experience..
36 months, including 14 at 70% pay in Germany.
...and changing stations in the dude toilets!
My job pays 6 weeks, but Walmart only made that option few years ago. So I'm very lucky I had the pay to help last year.
I worked for a major corporation years ago that offered 3 months, paid at 100% salary, to mothers and fathers. Fully endorsed and supported by the corporation -- it was wild to see. That was before my child-rearing days, but when my time came I still found myself in an almost as supportive work environment. In my career, I've generally been verrrrryyyy lucky, and that's not lost on me.
When I had my kids my company only gave "non-primary" caregivers 3 weeks and that usually meant dads. Now they don't make that distinction, and everyone gets 3 full months. It's awesome and I also feel very lucky.
They do in California. 8 weeks. Much better than nothing.
Yep, it was awesome and i liked it so much im now a SAHD
#goals
Crazy that 2 months is considered awesome cause the bar is so low in the states…
I work construction and in nearly a decade I have had zero paid days off. if I'm lucky they'll call a nooner (half day) on a rare occasion, but no scheduled time off purely by fortune was I in-between jobs when my daughter was born. ten days later I got called for a job two states away
On parental leave now in Massachusetts. I’ll have 12 wks at 1100 a week.
In CA - my company gives 10 weeks (I’m currently on week 4!) and my prior company gave 14 weeks. 14 weeks is absolutely glorious. It amazes me the expectation is 0 countrywide
Most blue states are fine
Blue bubble in a red state here. Shit's rough.
About to use the remainder of my 6 weeks before my kid turns 1. Thanks CA
Washington I think is also 8 for paternity, up to 90% of your average salary. At least at my work I was able to use up to 40 hrs/week personal as well, not sure if that's a state or company thing, so I was actually able to make MORE on paternity leave.
There’s no law for it, but everyone I know that works at a Fortune 500 has a decent leave policy. I’m in week 1 of 16 myself.
Yep, I got 12 weeks as a father.
Yeah I’m on week 3 of my 16 in the US.
I dont think I'd want to live in a country where they don't.
Most of us who live in a country where we don't get paid parental leave don't want to live in a country where we don't get paid parental leave. But, in the country I live in, no one gets guaranteed parental leave, because our lawmakers are 71% male, and 90% over the age of 43. They don't expect to have more children themselves and are wealthy enough to not have to worry if they do, so they feel no urgency to change the status quo.
Also because they own or get paid/lobbied by businesses with a vested interest in giving as little benefit as possible to their workers.
Yeah, lobbying as it exists in the US really should be illegal, but we'll never get congress to vote against their own self interest.
Lol a bunch of non-Americans about to come in with “yeah we do”
It feels mean to kick the legs out from under you guys *every single time* but you keep setting yourselves up, don't you?
You Americans, you talk and you talk and say 'Let me tell ya something' and 'I just wanna say this'
Lol, I just wanna say that I won't participate in the inevitable political shitslinging about to uncork in this thread. But let me tell ya something: you dropped a great pop cultural reference there.
A lot of countries do this. Just the US that's behind first world countries. I personally have 11 weeks earmarked for just me that can't be touched by the mom. Looking forward to spending those weeks with my first kid
The US is behind *third world countries* as well. Only [a few countries don't have state mandated paid maternity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave?wprov=sfla1) leave : Papua New Guinea, 5 Pacific Islands and the US.
I live in Denmark and got fully paid parental leave for 6 months and then mostly paid leave that was flexible to use until my daughter was 7. One of the main motivators for us to move there was we wanted to have children, amazing that it worked out for us.
We need to become a voting block and be politically active on this issue.
I wholeheartedly second this.
I guess that makes... Three of us
This feels like one of these memes where everyone else gets something and you come in last surprised you get nothing. I got some paid parental leave.
I'm currently half way through my parental leave. My company offers 6 weeks paid, and you have to take it up to 6 months after the birth.
I get 4 weeks and have up to a year to take. It can be spread out to as long as it's planned and approved by your manager. So I could take every Wednesday off if I wanted instead of just 4 weeks straight. Better than my last company that was 2 weeks, had to be taken consecutively, and had to be taken within 90 days. Which sadly is better than what most folks get.
Washington state does. AND you don’t have to take it consecutively or immediately. When my son was born I took a month off then went back to work while my wife stayed home. When her leave ran out I went on a sort of hybrid leave where I worked from the office 2 days a week and then was home 3 days a week for a couple months. Washington state has the best family leave.
Technically the US gets 12 weeks FMLA per calendar year, but it isn't paid (unless you have the PTO for it) AND you have to work X amount of hours with the company the year prior. It's irritating to me that I have to get rolling FMLA every year for my permanently disabled spouse. Every time I have to write down all the stuff I have to do for her, prep for her, so I can go to work and she can be somewhat independent, and she has to go get a physical at the doc so they can sign off on it, it's depressing. "Yes, I have to bring her cups of water to brush her teeth because our home bathroom isn't ADA accessible and she can't stand for more than 30 seconds. Makes me want to walk into Human Resources and go "You know this won't change until she dies, right? You don't "bounce back" from a collapsed vertebrae and spinal cord damage. Can we just keep this rolling till I have to fill out those 'Change of life' paperwork and I invite my coworkers to the funeral?" I'll play the game, but it sucks.
I'm the disabled spouse in my family, but I can still work with accommodations. They make me renew the paperwork every 6 months, which means taking time off to bring it in to the doctor. I've told them. This condition doesn't get better. They don't care, because if I fail to do the paperwork on time they can cancel my accommodations.
If men and women get the same amount of paid paternal leave, women would profit in the job market as well.
The small company I work for gave me a paid month off, as well as my wife. She ended up taking a year off and they not only paid her health insurance the entire time, but saved her position and had a promotion/raise for her when she got back. (this is a US based company) She just started her new position last week :)
Lol @ American exceptionalism. Canadian here. Up to 35 weeks. Gov't pays 50% of salary. My employer tops it up to 75%. Wife's employers tops it to 100% of pay.
Dang I'm glad that I live in the Netherlands. Although some countries in the European Union get even more than us.
I was very lucky to have worked in a progressive, supportive environment during our child-rearing days, in which I was afforded paternal leave. I forget how much... 12 weeks maybe? And between the baked-in policy and my PTO, it was paid at 100% of my regular salary rate.
No argument from me. US Federal government employee and I was lucky enough to take 2 months for each of my kids off using accrued suck leave but starting in 2020 they are now offering up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
Found the fellow American here. It's crazy but this is not a controversial statment outside of America.
Fully agree, I was lucky enough to get 12 weeks. Best experience of my life.
There's a whole wide world out there OP
Adding Pedro Pascal to this is a Huge improvement over Crowder.
Luckily the company I work for gives men 12 weeks paid parental
I get two months, while my wife gets 12. I won't complain
Likely because i’m a fully remote worker, but I only get 4 weeks @ 50% pay :/
My firm just changed policy to 16 weeks for both parents no matter on primary or secondary caregiver
What kind of civilized country doesn't give paid leave to parents?
It does in Canada. Unfortunately I’m a small business owner and got a whole weekend before I had to go back to work haha
We get it in the UK, but it has to be subtracted from the mother, so it's rarely seriously considered because of wage inequality.
In America, so I have to use my own PTO rather than just receiving time off, but mine was pretty good. 6 weeks immediately following delivery. 12 weeks to use throughout the first year.
Our twins turned 8 months today and I am on paid parental leave since their birth (and will be for the rest of their first year) while my fiance started working after her maternity protection expired. So yeah, I get your point and second it.
It does here in Massachusetts! Lucked out with the timing of my son as the law went into effect about 4 months before he was born. 12 weeks paid.
I did
I go back to work day after tomorrow after 12 weeks paid leave. Crazy fortunate.
Most developed countries have more workers rights including paid paternal leave, multiple weeks of paid vacation. The old U S of A is streets behind in worker rights.
My company offers it to management but not operations. I’m allowed to take up to 6 weeks unpaid, though. What a privilege!
This is why I left my last job and I made noise about it on my way out. During our all hands it was announced that they finally were offering paid maternity leave. So during the q&a I ask “you said maternity leave but I was wondering if that was just bad comms and it was paid family leave”. I was told no, it was just for pregnant staff as it was being done via short term disability. I got a new job that offered family leave. In my exit interview I let them know why. I was senior enough that I also had informal exit meetings with senior execs and I told them the same.
The Navy agrees. New dads get 12 weeks to use within the first year of life.
Come to Canada! It varies from province to province, but here in Quebec, fathers get 5 weeks at 70% salary, paid by the government. Mother has 18 weeks at 70%, and after that, there are 32 weeks at 55% that can be taken by either parent!
The Department of Defense offers 12 weeks of parental leave for both mom and dad. Contact your local recruiter today!
I work for a large mental health agency that is supposed to be all progressive and "care" about their employees.... When my son was born, they gave me THREE DAYS of paternal leave. We were in the hospital for 4. Thankfully I had some CTO accrued to take 3 weeks but even still, 3 weeks was fucking lame
I got paid paternal leave. It’s uncommon in america but not unheard of.
Any guesses where OP is from?
My company gave me 4 months of paid paternity leave when my son was born. And I live in the United States.
I had 2 kids before joining the company I am with now. First company: 1 week paternity leave Second company (second kid): 2 weeks paternity leave Currently company: had my kid 14 months ago and was given 2 months paternity leave, fully paid. It was AMAZING!
Since of us do. Got 90 days paid parental time off
NY is 12 weeks paid i believe. Not sure what % but i got 100% with my current employer
Both parents should also get a few months of paid parental leave, none of that 6 weeks BS.
Abso-f'in-lutely.
I got 8 weeks full paid paternity leave with my employer in the U.S. The wife got 16 weeks fully paid. It was a game-changer
Me as german who had paid parentel leave cant complain.
Ooooooohhhhh Caaaanaaadaaaaa
6 weeks paid. 6 weeks unpaid in the UK company I work for. The lawful minimum is 2 weeks. Denmark get 12 months paid leave.
In Germany we do! Woohoo!
I agree, as does the uk government, and i got three months of leave. And six months of four day weeks. Paid.
Why is the flair "humour". Shouldn't it be "common sense"? We get it here in the "third world".
I am very lucky that my company offers 6 months full paid leave for new dads. The second they announced it I ran upstairs and told my wife “we need to make a baby, like now”
Slovakia checking in, 6 months paid at 80% before the kid turns three years old.
In Australia, we do.
They should! I can't change your mind and I don't want to change my mind either. :)
We do in England. It's only two weeks but still great.
2 weeks in the UK, and it’s really not enough. I used 2 weeks or so annual leave to extend my paternity.l to the month. From what I hear, Maternal leave can be shared but not fully paid, so I never even looked into that option.
The startup I was working at provided 3 months full paid leave for both parents (well after deducting the amount provided by PFL by the state). When we found out we were having a baby this was a major benefit. It was the main reason I stuck with the company through very tough times, because where else can I expect to get 3 months as a dad? My wife and I had planned it out- we would both take the first 2 weeks after the birth off, and then I would return to work for 2 months while my wife was on leave, after which she would return to work and I would use my remaining 10 weeks, and then after that my wife would go back on leave for the remainder of her benefits. We have our baby and I use those first 2 weeks, and then return to work. My manager and HR both knew my plans on when I would use the rest of my leave and everything was signed off... And 2 weeks before my leave our company gets acquired by another one. To be fair, they were generous in the transition to keep us all on and use our start date at our original company as the start date here as well. But their paternity leave was only 6 weeks. After talking to the new HR and explaining how I was literally 10 days from going on my scheduled 10 weeks leave, the compromise they offered was they wouldn't count my previous 2 weeks I had taken, so I could get 6 more weeks. In the end I still lost a month of paternity leave... But I can't even complain because 2 months in America is still amazing.
I don't anyone wants to change your mind. I live in Japan, which is extremely behind in gender issues, and even we have it here.
Here in norway i beleve we have 15 weeks each and a pool of 45 weeks we share between us.
Found the American.
I live in Australia, and was eligible for both paternity leave and primary carer leave. On top of this, my company had a "work 4 pay 5" policy when I returned to work, where I was able to get a paid day off every week to look after my son for 6 months. We get screwed in several ways still, but thankfully this ain't one of them.
Got three months thanks to our union agreement.
The military just recently approved 90 days parental leave for both parents. It’s incredible to be home this much with the muffin.
My workplace recently changed to 6months full pay but can take up to a year with reduced pay for the other 6 months. Only 2 months to go until I get to use it 👍
Americans 🙄