President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law "On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Mothers and Fathers in Child Care" No. 1401-IX, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on April 15. This was reported in the Office of the President.
The document is designed to ensure equal opportunities for men and women in terms of combining work with family responsibilities. In particular, legislative loopholes limiting the father's right to parental leave are eliminated.
Previously, such leave was granted to the child's father, grandmother, grandfather, or other relatives actually taking care of the child on the basis of a certificate from the mother's place of work or school stating that she went to work before the end of her maternity leave.
In this way, a discriminatory approach was established, according to which the right of the father or other relatives to leave to take care of the child was derived from the right of the mother, that is, only the mother could delegate the right to the decree to others. Therefore, in cases where the mother of the child, for example, is a self-employed person or self-employed person, the father also could not take leave to take care of the child.
The law, signed by the head of state, introduces a new type of leave - a one-time leave for the birth of a child lasting up to 14 calendar days, which is paid for by the employer.
Such leave will be granted to only one person: a man whose wife has given birth to a child; to the child's father, if he is not married to the child's mother, but lives together; grandmother or grandfather or another adult relative of the child, who actually cares for him.
The law also defines childcare leave before the child reaches the age of three as an equal right of each parent.
The right of employees of both genders who have children or adult children with disabilities since childhood of subgroup A I group to additional leave is also established.
This law will create prerequisites for strengthening the father's role in raising children and developing responsible fatherhood in Ukraine.
