House moves step closer to paternity leave

The House labour committee on Tuesday discussed a series of bills, including one introducing paternity leave, which MPs intend to vote through before parliament breaks for the summer recess.

Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou said that for the first time in Cyprus fathers will be entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave.

This leave must be used during the 16 weeks of the mother’s maternity leave. The benefit will be calculated in the same way as maternity leave.

The extra cost arising from paternity leave payouts will not curb the Social Insurance Fund, the minister said.

Under another bill, in surrogacy cases, both the surrogate and the mother will be entitled to maternity leave.

Currently, only the surrogate mother is entitled to the benefit.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.