After years of debate, a mandatory 3 day paternity leave on 80% pay was finally passed by Hong Kong’s Legislative Council last Friday. Although many welcome the long-awaited law, others, such as Community Business, have expressed disappointed by the focus on operational cost which has led to this “baby step” for Hong Kong, an international Asian hub.
Fern Ngai, CEO, Community Business said, “Although we recognise the potential operational cost of offering paternity leave, there is a strong business case for a family-friendly workplace, and we believe that the benefits far outweigh the costs.
“Flexibility is core to the spirit of Hong Kong and a key success factor of many Hong Kong companies. We call on companies, including small and medium sized enterprises, to consider the tremendous benefits of offering paternity leave, to be flexible and to consider going beyond this new law, to offer fully paid paternity leave, at a minimum of 5 days. This is a tangible way to demonstrate that your company is a caring, family-friendly employer,” Ngai added.
Benefits of paternity leave outweigh costs
Many studies have indicated that a supportive and family-friendly working environment plays an important role in staff engagement and the attraction and retention of talent, with direct and positive effects on performance and productivity. In Community Business’ the State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong Survey 2013, 69% of carers said that a family-friendly work environment is a top consideration when they choose to join, stay with or leave a company. More than half of respondents reported that they are willing to leave their job to devote more time to their family. Joint research by the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business showed that across industries and job types, happy, satisfied and engaged employees have 16% better overall performance, experience 125% less burnout than peers, and are 32% more committed to the organisation. They indicate 46% more satisfaction with their jobs, miss much less work and report significantly fewer doctor visits.
Unfortunately, considerations of the new bill, which were said to be reached by the Labour Advisory Board after rounds of deliberations, detailed discussions and rigorous lobbying with employees and employers, not only undervalued the high administrative and time cost on filling job vacancies but also overlooked the loss of knowledge, expertise, relationships and networks when staff leave that are crucial factors for running successful businesses.
Hong Kong lags behind Asian countries
Hong Kong’s slow progress on paternity leave does not reflect its leading position among the four Asian Dragons. South Korea has provided 5-day paternity leave since 2011 while Taiwan just extended its full-pay paternity leave from 3 days to 5 days in October this year. As for Singapore, the market which is always seen as a close competitor to Hong Kong, it implemented its mandatory 7-day paternity leave in May 2013 at full pay. Employers in as near as Mainland China are also required by law to provide 3 days of full-paid paternity leave.
According to Community Business’ Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia 2014 study, published in July this year, 93.3% of responding multinational companies already offer on average a 5-day paternity leave to their fathers in Hong Kong prior to a statutory requirement. One leading company doubles the length of time if the father is the primary caregiver.
Hong Kong is lagging far behind on this front in Asia, not to mention other markets outside of Asia, which enjoy substantially greater parental benefits. Without a healthy, productive and engaged work force, Hong Kong runs the risk of losing competitive advantage in the region.
A step back by the Hong Kong Government
Ngai commented, “We commended the Hong Kong SAR Government for the introduction of 5-day paternity leave in the civil service in 2012. However, we see the failure of the Government to convince the Labour Advisory Board of the same or a longer period of parental leave as a setback in its efforts in promoting family-friendly employment practices, eliminating discrimination on the ground of family status, encouraging a higher birth rate in Hong Kong, and as fundamental as safeguarding the general principle of equality. We call for the government to continue to lead by example and take a holistic review on the overall objective of its policies.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
