Nearly 4 in 10 employers now offering paternity leave

That is a significant increase from 1 in 10 in 2006.

According to a release, six years of promotional effort by the Labour Department has seen a continuous rise in the number of organisations providing paternity leave to employees.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung told lawmakers today the department has been promoting a family-friendly culture, including the provision of paternity leave, through its network of 18 Human Resources Managers Clubs and nine industry-based Tripartite Committees since 2006, along with seminars, roving exhibitions, publicity videos, feature articles, and leaflets.

A survey found the percentage of respondent organisations voluntarily offering paternity leave to their employees increased from 16% in 2006 to 38.7% this year.

He said the department has also conducted a study on legislating paternity leave. It has looked into the practices of other economies where paternity leave is provided by law and examined the various issues the Government must deal with if paternity leave is made a statutory benefit, having regard to the preponderance of small and medium enterprises in Hong Kong.

The Government has provided five working days of paid paternity leave to staff since April 1. Up to the end of last month, 1,315 paternity leave applications from government employees had been approved.