Labour pain is companies' too

The government has just about heralded the new maternity leave policy. Moms-to-be and new moms get to enjoy 26 weeks of paid leave from work, up from the previous three months.

Taking a bird’s eye view, the policy seems to be a landmark in women’s empowerment. Aimed at encouraging women join and stay in the workforce, it brings India in the league of nations such as Israel, Ireland and the UK that grant 26 weeks and more of paid leave to new mothers.

HR experts like Shefali Suri, Head of Human Resources, LIC MF have hailed it saying that “while the time a mother wants to spend with her new-born baby is never enough, the 6 months paid leave policy is a positive.”

Says Saba Adil, Chief People Officer, Aegon Life Insurance, “Policies like these do provide a much-needed balance that women need to manage professional and personal commitments with ease.”

But a closer thought spells greater challenges. The policy applies only to organised labour and for companies that employ 10 or more workers. This means, only about 1.8 million working women stand to benefit. Millions of others who work in the unorganised sector, or are self-employed are left beyond the purview of this policy.

A Downtrend in Hiring

The policy could cast a negative impact in new corporate hiring. Experts say it can substantially raise a company’s costs, as an employer will now have to pay 6 months’ salary to an employee, plus hire and pay an interim candidate to take on the role till the employee returns. This would double the cost for companies who could then get wary of recruiting new female candidates or promoting existing ones.

According to HR expert T Muralidharan, Chairman, TMI Group, this policy will be a dampener from a company’s standpoint. “What will the company do with the interim resource when the employee returns post maternity leave? In my mind, the policy should have provided for three months of leave with pay and three months without pay. In the current form, it is a progressive step from a woman’s perspective, but is not very fair to employers, specially the small and medium enterprises. SMEs are lean and adding to their costs can become a nightmare.”

But there are several alternatives to combat the ‘double cost’, says Adil. “Maternity leave will be a planned instance allowing companies to plan work allotment. The employee going on leave can spend time handing over work responsibilities to a colleague. We can argue that if companies do not provide 26 weeks of leave, it may result in them losing valuable resources. There is a cost impact to this as well.”

Paternity Leave?

The policy completely neglects the role of a father in a child’s initial development. Experts say it should have been a remodelled ‘parental’ leave policy. European and Scandinavian countries grant paid leave to both parents upon the birth of a baby. A policy granting paternity leave could have worked better, since it makes both parents equal partners in the share of a baby’s care.

Swedish retailer IKEA has announced a parental leave policy in India under which employees (including men) will be able to avail six months leave due to a new-born baby. According to Anna-Carin Mansson, Country HR Manager, IKEA India, the company remains committed towards empowering co-workers and ensuring equal opportunities.

Aegon Life meanwhile, provides a week off as ‘paternity leave’. “Paternity leave is important. Should it be a mandate or extended to a few weeks is a question to deliberate upon. Organisations have to move with the times and introduce such leaves based on the need of the day,” says Adil.

But according to Muralidharan, if the maternity leave was three months of paid and three months of unpaid leave, “an employer could have thought of giving a few weeks of paternity leave.” Granting paternity leave now would tantamount to spiralling costs for all companies, say experts.

Comeback Assistance

There is a strong need to address the challenges an employee could face post her return to work after six months. With multiple changes having taken place both within an organisation and in the job scenario, the employee would require handholding; mentorship and guidance cope up and get back into reckoning. But the most critical element is for companies to ensure that the employee has the same sense of belonging that she had when she went on leave.

“Companies can look at work solutions like task and time sharing (amongst employees), work-from-home options, childcare facilities and capability building programmes,” says Suri. Experts say employees need to be proactive and acquire new skillsets through the web and apps; while companies can share updates and content over apps and through internal communication channels.