By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-21 09:08:23 | Updated at 2024-10-21 11:32:04
2 hours ago
Civil servants in Hong Kong will receive three days of childcare leave annually from next April for each child aged under three, as part of a new government measure that a human resources expert predicts private companies will follow suit.
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said on Monday the new measure, introduced in the latest policy address, was expected to benefit around 12,000 employees and that the government drew a line at three years old as toddlers needed more care.
“Those aged below three are preschool children and require more care since they stay at home,” Yeung told the legislature’s panel on public service.
Asked if the government would consider expanding it to children aged three or above, the minister said there were not many private companies that provided childcare leave, making it difficult to find a reference. But she pledged a review of the policy after it was rolled out.
The measure will start in April next year and is aimed at supporting families with newborn children by creating an environment conducive to childcare, in keeping with the government’s stance of encouraging childbirth, according to the bureau.
Yeung, however, dismissed the call by finance sector lawmaker Ronick Chan Chun-ying for the administration to introduce birthday leave, which the legislator said was common in the private sector.
