AKEL proposal to extend parental leave until the child’s 15th birthday

 

5 December 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

AKEL today submitted a request to Parliament to prepare a bill proposal extending the period of exercising the right to parental leave to be taken until the child’s 15th year of age, instead of the current 8th year. This AKEL initiative comes in response to the need for greater flexibility in the time of taking parental leave, something that working parents in the country need and are entitled to.

We all know that paid parental leave of 8 weeks can be taken by any parent up to the 8th year of age of each child. However, the reality is that working parents often need to be absent from work for childcare reasons beyond the child’s 8th birthday. The AKEL proposal provides greater flexibility for eligible working parents to choose when to exercise the right to parental leave.

AKEL calls on the parliamentary forces to support the initiative and the labour rights of parents. The bill proposal also stresses that this improvement in parental leave is included among the pre-election pledges made by Nicos Christodoulides.