Since 2011, men in Chile not only have a paid leave period that begins immediately after the birth of their son or daughter, but they can also opt for the parental postnatal benefit. Here we explain both!

Parental postnatal care for fathers in Chile

Paid dad leave

If the father has an employment contract, he is entitled to 5 days of paid leave, which can be used in two ways:

• From delivery: in this case it will be 5 consecutive days without interruptions, except in the case of holidays or weekends.

• Distributed within the first month of life: the 5 days can be used within the first month from the date of birth , continuously or in fractions. To make this permission effective, the father must request it from his employer in writing, who cannot refuse, although he can request additional documents.

Postnatal parenting

Mothers have a maternity leave that lasts 12 weeks (84 days), starting from the day of delivery. Afterwards, the parental leave period begins, during which part of this legal leave can be transferred to the father. These are the 2 modalities:

• 12 weeks full-time with 100% subsidy. Up to 6 weeks can be transferred to the father.

• 18 weeks part-time with 50% subsidy. Up to 12 weeks can be transferred to the father.
  

This leave may be transferred to the father, starting from the seventh week of the parental postnatal period (i.e. after 18 weeks of birth), for the number of weeks indicated by the mother. The weeks used by the father must be in the final period of the leave and must be in the same regime as that used by the mother.

Who can use this subsidy?

Employees or workers dependent on the private and public sector, and independent workers, affected by the pension system. Included are those who pay into the Pension Fund of National Defense and the Directorate of Pension of the Carabineros of Chile.

Conditions for transferring permission to the father

The father must choose the same option as the mother, that is, full-time or part-time.

• You must give at least 10 days' notice to your employer, the mother's employer and the Labor Department.

• You will receive a subsidy that will be calculated based on your salary and will correspond to 100% in the case of full-time work, and 50% in the case of part-time work.

• You will have protection for double your rest period, from the 10 days prior to the start of the rest period, but it cannot be longer than 3 months.

Does it apply in case of adoption?

The worker who adopts a child under six months of age has the right to both the postnatal period (12 weeks) and parental postnatal leave (12 additional weeks), in accordance with the general regulations (Chile Crece Contigo).

Postnatal parental care in same-sex marriages

• In marriages between two men or two women who adopt a child, one of the spouses will be entitled to parental postnatal leave and may transfer part of the leave to his or her spouse. The decision of who takes parental postnatal leave must be agreed upon and expressed in writing before a minister of faith.

• In the case of a marriage between two women, it is established that if one of the spouses is pregnant, she will have access to all the rights enshrined in the Labor Code on Maternity Protection Standards, and may transfer part of the parental postnatal leave to her spouse according to current regulations.

• In marriages between two men, in the event that one of the spouses is the biological father of a son or daughter, the working mother can grant the postnatal parental leave to the biological father, provided that he has acknowledged his paternity.

Sources of this article: Superintendency of Social Security (SUSESO) and Chilean Association of Social Security (ACHS).