Pursuant to the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2014, male employees with a child born on or after February 27, 2015 are now entitled to three days' paternity leave for each confinement of their spouse or partner, if they have been employed under a continuous contract and have notified their employers in accordance with the law. Further, if the employee has been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 40 weeks immediately before the day of paternity leave and has provided the birth certificate of his child to his employer within the stipulated period, the employer must pay him paternity leave pay in respect of the paternity leave taken by him at the rate of four-fifths of his average daily wages. Employees may take paternity leave at any time during the period from four weeks before the expected date of delivery of the child to 10 weeks beginning on the actual date of the child's delivery. The three days of paternity leave may be taken altogether or on separate days.
However, employers and employees are also advised to observe their obligations under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in relation to the disclosure and use of personal data of the mother of the employee's child for the purpose of granting or claiming paternity leave and paternity leave pay. Employees should obtain the consent of the child's mother before disclosing her personal data to the employers.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.