Some time ago, the media reported that a female employee in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, received only 0.5 yuan a month during maternity leave. As soon as the incident was reported, it immediately attracted the attention of netizens. In fact, as early as before the "0.5 yuan monthly salary" incident, the unfair treatment of women during maternity leave had been reported wave after wave.
Having seen the "lowest wage in history", we might as well turn our attention to Sweden, a Nordic country known for its high welfare. Perhaps this so-called "most generous and equal" maternity leave system in the world can bring us a new understanding.
480 days + high government subsidies
The so-called "generosity", first of all, is the length of maternity leave in Sweden, which makes most countries feel inferior.
According to Swedish law, expectant mothers can start pre-maternity leave 7 weeks before the expected date of delivery. From the birth of the child to the age of one and a half, parents can take complete leave at home. Before the child reaches the age of eight or completes the first year of primary school, parents can shorten their working hours by up to a quarter. Take 8 hours a day as an example, parents with children can work only 6 hours a day.
However, the above-mentioned "maternity leave" is not paid leave, but maternity leave time protected by law. The income of Swedes during maternity leave is not borne by the unit, but mainly depends on the maternity allowance issued by the government.
It is worth noting that Sweden's maternity allowance is also "generous". Maternity leave benefits are paid to both parents for a total of 480 days from the birth of the child to the age of eight, which is equivalent to approximately 80% of the actual income before the leave.
In addition to receiving government subsidies, workers can negotiate with their employers for wages or subsidies during maternity leave. In order to retain talents, some employers are willing to pay a certain proportion of salaries to employees on maternity leave to reflect the humanistic care of enterprises for employees.
Swedish law also stipulates that employers must not "give a cold shoulder" to employees on maternity leave. In principle, the salary of an employee after maternity leave shall not be lower than that before maternity leave.
Emil Westergren, chief financial officer of Scandia Bank in Sweden, is one of the typical examples of "benefiting" from maternity leave. When Westergren's first child was born, he took a year and a half of "maternity leave" to care for the child. In the meantime, the bank not only gave him extra subsidies, but also gave him promotion incentives after his vacation.
"Maternity leave should not be an obstacle to career advancement," Westergren said. "The bank encourages employees at all levels to take maternity leave. When an employee returns from maternity leave, his life has become richer, which is an asset to our bank."
"Gender Equality" encourages fathers to take more time off
In addition to being "generous," Sweden's maternity leave system also reveals the concept of "equality between men and women.". In the eyes of Swedes, taking care of children is not a matter for the mother alone, and the father must bear the same responsibility. Pappaledig, a Swedish word for "paternity leave", also appeared.
Since the 1990s, the Swedish government has stipulated that fathers must take 60 days of the 480 days when parents receive maternity leave benefits, otherwise they can not receive benefits.
In addition, in order to encourage fathers to take more maternity leave, the Swedish Social Security Department has set up a special "equal bonus". After taking the "statutory" 60 days of maternity leave, fathers can receive an "equal bonus" of 3000 Swedish kronor (2847 yuan) for each additional 30 days of maternity leave. If fathers and mothers take "full equality" in maternity leave, that is, 240 days each, the parents will receive a top bonus of 13500 Swedish kronor (12814 yuan).
According to Westergren, since Sweden introduced the requirement for fathers to take maternity leave, Scandia Bank has been giving extra subsidies to employees who take maternity leave.
Employees need to realize that a person's life includes not only work, but also personal life, and people should deal with the relationship between the two, he said. Maternity leave, on the other hand, provides a good opportunity for employees to "maintain a balance" between work and personal life. "Men should understand that they have their share of maternity leave," Westergren said. "It should be encouraged."
In the father's view, the additional benefits provided for employees to take maternity leave are also one of the important means for enterprises to attract talents and maintain competitiveness.
Last summer, Westergren's second child was born, and he did not hesitate to take maternity leave again. "I am a member of the leadership of the company, and I think it's important that I be seen to take the lead on maternity leave."
Pay for "generosity" with high taxes
On the streets of Sweden, you can often see "super dads" like Westergren. They push strollers, carry bottles, take their children to the sun, go to the park, and fumble in the bathroom to change diapers for their children. However, once the baby is in a bad mood and cries loudly, it becomes the most testing time for "milk fathers".
The reporter once encountered such a scene in the Stockholm subway: on one side was a crying baby in a baby carriage, and on the other side was a bald father who looked at the baby with a loving face, but was helpless and did not know how to make the baby happy. As a result, the baby was able to cry, the father was able to endure, and the "deadlock" lasted for three stops until an old lady coaxed the baby enthusiastically. Dad just stood aside, his face full of guilt, and kept repeating "thank you".
Sweden's generous maternity leave system can be seen as a microcosm of Sweden's entire high-welfare social security system. However, this high welfare system must be supported by high taxes. Swedes spend about 40% of their monthly wages on taxes, and businesses or government agencies also pay a high proportion of taxes for their employees.
For a long time, "high taxes, high welfare" has become a proud sign of generations of Swedes. However, the high welfare and high tax system represented by maternity leave allowance often hinders the liquidity of capital, drags down the national economic development, and becomes a hidden danger for the high welfare model to enter a dead end. In a book published earlier this year, Magnus Henriksson and Andreas Berry, professors at the Swedish Institute of Business Studies, pointed out that the period from the early 1960s to the early 1990s was the most remarkable period for Sweden's high-welfare social model, but it was also a relatively slow period for Sweden's economic development.
Therefore, since the 1990s, Sweden has gradually reformed its social model of high taxes and high welfare, and benefits such as maternity leave have also been weakened to a certain extent, which is mainly reflected in the fact that these benefits have begun to be linked to income, breaking the previous myth of "making money by having children and receiving subsidies".
Nowadays, Swedes have clearly realized that if they want to enjoy high welfare, they must first make corresponding contributions to society. Reporter Liu Yinan
What do you know about maternity leave for parents around the world
UK: Mothers are entitled to 12 months of maternity leave, but women can choose to return to work six months after giving birth and leave the remaining six months of maternity leave to their husbands. Husbands can not only take six months of maternity leave, but also get 112.75 pounds a week.
Germany: The father and mother of the baby have 12 months of paid leave. If the applicant is a mother, the father can also apply for an additional two months of maternity leave. During this period, they receive about 67% of their salaries.
Norway: Parents have two options: a couple can take 47 weeks of parental leave on full pay or 57 weeks on 80% of their previous salary, all of which are covered by the state. Of this, the compulsory parental leave for the father is 12 weeks. The Government has stipulated that maternity leave can be transferred from the mother to the father, but not from the father to the mother, in order to allow the father to also assume responsibility for the care of the child.
Finland: The government sets 39 weeks of maternity leave, nearly 10 months during which mothers can nurse their babies at home and get 80% of their salary.
Canada: 37 weeks of maternity leave.
Italy: Maternity leave lasts for half a year.
Australia: Maternity leave for women is 18 weeks and parental leave is also 18 weeks.
Austria: Maternity leave for women is 20 weeks.
Chile: 18 weeks of maternity leave.
Japan: Female employees can take 6 weeks of leave before the birth of a child and 8 weeks of leave after the birth. If it is a multiple birth, it can be extended appropriately. During maternity leave, the salary is 60% of the original salary. In addition, the government stipulates that men must take 40 days of paid maternity leave at home, and when they return to work, they must submit a "father's note" to record the process of how they fulfill their family obligations.
The United States: The world's largest economy is slightly "stingy" with maternity. The country's Family and Medical Leave Act, implemented in 1993, stipulates that employers must grant new parents 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave each, but there are some restrictions attached to this leave, such as 12 months of previous employment in enterprises with more than 50 employees, during which at least 1250 hours must be worked. In the absence of a legal guarantee of paid maternity leave, more than half of new mothers in the United States return to work six weeks after giving birth. However, state laws in the United States may be slightly different from those at the federal level, such as paid maternity leave in California, and even parental leave for gay couples.
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