Before you read: The Hong Kong government is introducing three days of childcare leave annually for civil servants with children under three years old to support families and encourage childbirth. This policy aims to inspire private companies to offer similar benefits, fostering a more family-friendly work environment across sectors.
Think about it: Will the childcare leave initiative promote a more family-friendly environment in Hong Kong? What other measures could help boost the birth rate?
Civil servants in Hong Kong will receive three days of childcare leave annually starting next April for each child under three years old.
This initiative aims to support families with newborns and create a better environment for childcare, aligning with the government’s commitment to encourage childbirth.
Introduced in the latest policy address, the government hoped the move would prompt private companies to follow suit.
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said that approximately 12,000 employees would benefit from this new leave policy. Yeung explained that the government had drawn the line at three years old for now, but said authorities would review the policy later.
“Those aged below three are preschool children and require more care since they stay at home,” Yeung told a meeting of the legislature’s public service panel.
Leading the way
Alexa Chow Yee-ping, managing director of AMAC Human Resources Consultants, said the introduction of childcare leave in the civil service might prompt more leading employers to follow suit, including in the private sector.
“Private companies have some employee benefits such as birthday leave, flexi-working hours or work-from-home arrangements which cover everyone,” she said. However, she noted that even with these arrangements, childcare leave was still relatively uncommon.
“Their orientations and roles are different from the government as they are not required to boost the birth rate in the city. But the government’s latest move will create a demonstrative effect in promoting leading enterprises to keep up with [the civil service] in maintaining their competitiveness.”
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Shift in the right direction
Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai, an expert in demographics at the University of Hong Kong, said offering childcare leave was a move in the right direction. He said it would not only create a more family-friendly environment but also seek to foster a change in mindset by reinforcing that fathers also had a key role in raising children.
“Research has found that if fathers do more in taking care of children, it will indirectly boost the birth rate as gender equity is important. Women are more willing to have a second child under such circumstances,” he said.
However, Yip also noted that the city might have to overcome some “cultural issues” to encourage men to take such leave. He pointed to the situation in Japan, where some fathers were reluctant to take days off, either because of traditional values or fearing they did not know how to care for children.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu had previously put forward a raft of measures aimed at encouraging families to have children amid the falling birth rate in the city.
In his previous policy address, the city leader announced a one-off “newborn baby bonus” of HK$20,000 (US$2,570) for each child born to a permanent resident parent, a measure set to last for three years.
Families with newborns were also given priority in buying their own government-subsidised flats, with an additional 10 per cent of homes reserved for them.
