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Publication date: 22.04.2024
active and purposeful military lawyer with more than 4 years of experience
Leave for the father to take care of the child until he reaches the age of three
When considering the issue of overcoming the problem of gender inequality in its social, psychological, economic and legal aspects, it is worth paying special attention to specific steps aimed at creating equal opportunities for workers with family responsibilities (men and women) for equal participation in raising children. An important step in this direction is the legally enshrined right of the father to leave to take care of the child until he reaches the age of three.
About the right to vacation
The legislative acts that determine the right of employees to take leave to care for a child before the child reaches three years of age during martial law are:
• Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine (hereinafter - Labor Code);
• Law of Ukraine dated November 15, 1996 No. 504/96-VR "On Vacations" (hereinafter - Law No. 504);
• Law of Ukraine dated March 15, 2022 No. 2136-IX "On the organization of labor relations under martial law" (hereinafter - Law No. 2136).
According to Article 179 of the Labor Code and Article 18 of Law No. 504, after the end of leave due to pregnancy and childbirth, at the request of the child's mother or father, one of them is granted leave to take care of the child until it reaches the age of three.
An enterprise, institution, or organization can provide one of the child's parents with partially paid leave and unpaid leave to take care of the child for a longer period of time.This leave may be used in whole or in part also by a grandmother, grandfather or other relatives who actually care for the child, or by a person who adopted or took care of the child, one of the adoptive parents or foster parents.
At the request of the child's mother, father or the persons specified in part three of this article, during their stay on leave to care for the child, they can work part-time or at home.
Record book of annual and additional leave of employees
Format (size): 210×297 mm
Volume: 60 p.
The father's right to take leave on an equal footing with the mother is enshrined in law after amendments were made to the third part of Article 179 of the Labor Code and part 1 of Article 18 of Law No. 504 in connection with the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine of April 15, 2021 No. 1401- IX "On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Mothers and Fathers in Child Care."
According to Part 2 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136, the employer has no right to deny an employee maternity leave and leave to care for a child before the child reaches the age of three. Importantly! The right to leave to take care of a child before the child reaches the age of three can be used by the father, if the right to such leave has not been used by the mother or other persons listed in the seventh part of Article 179 of the Labor Code. The legislation does not provide for the simultaneous use of leave by several persons.
Leave to care for a child before the child reaches the age of three is not granted if the child is in state care, except for adopted children in foster families and foster children in family-type orphanages.
About the duration of the vacation
The leave lasts until the child reaches the age of three. The day the employee leaves for work must be the day after the child's birthday.
The employer can grant partially paid leave or leave without salary for a longer period of time (part four of Article 179 of the Labor Code).If a child needs home care, leave without pay is granted for the duration specified in the medical opinion, but not longer than until the child reaches the age of six, and in the case if the child is suffering from type I diabetes (insulin-dependent) or if the child, who does not disabled, suffering from severe perinatal damage to the nervous system, severe congenital malformation, rare orphan disease, oncological, oncohematological disease, cerebral palsy, severe mental disorder, acute or chronic kidney disease of the IV degree, no more than before the child reaches the age of sixteen , and if the child is classified as a "child with a disability of subgroup A" or a child who has not been diagnosed with a disability, received a serious injury, needs an organ transplant, or needs palliative care - until the child reaches the age of eighteen (Article 25 of Law No. 504).
Such leave is granted on the basis of an application submitted to the employer and a certificate in the form No. 080-1/o, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated June 11, 2012 No. 430 "On approval of the forms of primary accounting documentation and instructions for filling them out."
The leave can also be divided into parts that can be used by the persons specified in the seventh part of Article 179 of the Labor Code.About the procedure for granting leave
In accordance with Article 181 of the Labor Code, leave to care for a child until the child reaches the age of three and leave without salary (parts three and six of Article 179 of the Labor Code) are granted upon the application of the child's mother (father) or the persons specified in part seven of Article 179 of the Labor Code, in full or partially within the established period and issued by order (order) of the employer.
About the inclusion of leave in work experience and insurance experience
Leave to take care of a child before the child reaches the age of three and leave without salary (parts three and six of Article 179 of the Labor Code) are counted towards both general and continuous work experience and work experience in a specialty. The time of holidays specified in this article, the work experience that gives the right to annual leave is not counted.
The period of leave to take care of a child until the child reaches the age of three, receiving payments under certain types of social insurance, except for pensions of all types (with the exception of disability pension), is included in the insurance experience as a period for which insurance premiums were paid based on the amount of the minimum insurance premium (paragraph two of part 1 of article 14 of the Law of Ukraine dated September 23, 1999 No. 1105-ХИВ "On mandatory state social insurance").The following are subject to mandatory state pension insurance (clauses 8, 9 of Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine dated July 9, 2003 No. 1058-IV "On mandatory state pension insurance"):
• persons who take care of a child until it reaches the age of three and, in accordance with the law, receive assistance for the care of a child until it reaches the age of three and/or upon the birth of a child, upon adoption of a child;
• one of the non-working able-bodied parents, adoptive parents, guardian, custodian, one of the adoptive parents, foster parents who actually care for a child with a disability, a seriously ill child who has not been diagnosed with a disability, as well as non-working able-bodied persons who care for by a person with a disability of group I or by a person who has reached the retirement age established by Article 26 of this Law, and according to the conclusion of a health care institution, requires permanent care, if such disabled persons who are able to work receive assistance, allowance or compensation in accordance with the law;
About early exit from childcare leave before the child reaches the age of three
While on parental leave before the child reaches the age of three, the father has the right to interrupt it. The employee-parent of the child must notify the employer about the decision to terminate the leave for the care of the child before the child reaches three years of age no later than 10 calendar days before the day of early termination of such leave (Article 179 of the Labor Code).
