DAN MURAMUZI: Paternity leave of 4 days is not impactful to the family

Human resource policies of most countries are some of the guiding documents that are less revised and updated periodically because of the existing provisions and consequences associated with such amendments. For instance, Annual leave applies to employees who have performed continuous service to their employer for a minimum period of six months or have been working under a contract of service for sixteen hours a week or more according to labour laws. Whereas this appears to be a mandatory provision, other forms of leave are pre-conditional

Male employees on top of annual and compassionate leave —immediately after the delivery or miscarriage of the wife have the right to a period of four working days’ paid leave from work yearly according to labor laws of Uganda less by one day according to World Health Organization.

This period of 4 days has attracted mixed reaction on whether they are enough to add total parental support during these first days. The reality of the matter is that it remains critical for a mother and her baby to get optimal support from the spouse for at least 1 complete month. 

From experience, the first month of neonatal and postnatal life is full of joy as a result of a new member in the family and this is often a huge experience for first time parents, every moment seems to be full of discoveries mixed with fear and excitement. Mothers in this period are still fragile whether they delivered normally or they were operated. They still need great support from their spouses for mental support, spiritual and physical support.

Different countries in the region offer varying number of paternity leave days for instance, Kenya that neighbors Uganda in the East, working dads are entitled to a leave of 14 working days following child birth, the highest number of leave days given in the region.

Notably, some countries in Europe give dads paternity leave ranging from 20 to 360 days and these Canada, Luthiana, Norway and Portugal;  and these days have been of great benefit to the families from these countries.

Without doubt, the working off days given to a Ugandan dads are very few and relatively insignificant given to the demand from these  newborns together with domestic workload. It is expected that dads embracing a more active role in caregiving is likely to be one of the most substantial social developments of the 21^th century according to ILO.

It is expected that kids who grow up with a highly engaged Dad are more likely to have better physical and mental development, are more likely to be confident future leaders, their level of risk-taking and management increases. These kids exhibit pro-social behavior, and display a greater ability of self-regulation and experience less anxiety and depression, and tend to be more active.