Bye, Bye Baby
France
According to the French state health insurance agency, L’Assurance Maladie, the statutory period of paternity leave is 11 days, or 18 days in the case of multiple births. The father has four months to use these days, all of which are paid by the state.
Fathers also receive another three days to cover the time of the birth itself, all paid for by the employer. This compensation is paid regardless of the type of job the father holds, so contract employees, part-time employees and full-time salaried employees are treated the same way.
Spain
Mothers in Spain are entitled to four full months of paid maternity leave. And she can take a full year of maternity leave (without pay) without the risk of losing her job.
Fathers are entitled to 15 days of paid leave, and more in extenuating circumstances, such as complications arising from childbirth. In 2015, the government of Spain will extend the father’s eligibility from 15 days to 30 days.
Finland
In Finland, fathers of newborns are eligible for three weeks of paternity leave while the mother is also on leave. This also applies in the case of newly adopted children.
The time can be taken all at once, or it can be broken up into pieces, but an allowance is paid for all the time that’s taken either way. According to Finland.fi, these benefits are “society’s way of tempting young fathers to share part of parental leave.”
Norway
In 1993, Norway became the first country in the world to offer paternity leave. Currently, the nation offers 10 weeks of paid leave to fathers, to be taken all at once or in bits and pieces during the first year of a child’s life.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the aim of the parental benefit scheme is to help parents to combine working life and family life.” And apparently it’s working. “Norway tops European statistics on birth rates and participation of women in the workforce,” the Ministry says on its website.
Iceland
The nation's original paternity leave program (launched in 1998) was scrapped in 2000 in favor of leave rights for both parents, each of whom now receives three months paid in full, plus another three months that can be used freely by either one of them, for a potential of 6 months paid leave for fathers.
Denmark
Danish parents are eligible for 52 weeks of leave. The mother receives four of those weeks prior to birth and 14 after, while the father is entitled to two. The remaining 32 weeks are not set aside for a particular parent, and can be split up as they see fit (for a potential of 34 weeks paid leave for the father). Private sector employees are compensated for their time out of the office, but at a rate determined by their employers. Public sector employees, on the other hand, receive their full salaries.
