World of HR: South Korea ranks #1 for paternity leave pay, new report finds

More than 110 countries guarantee at least some paid paternity leave, but it varies greatly, according to a new report from UK-based payroll software company Moorepay.

Where in the world? New dads in South Korea are eligible for up to 36 million South Korean won ($26,818) in paternity leave, on average, more than those in any other country included in the report. This includes 20 days paid at their full rate, plus up to 18 months of leave at reduced pay. Luxembourg was a close second at $23,411. Nordic countries including Sweden, Norway, and Iceland rounded out the top five.

At least two-thirds of the countries examined mandate that employers provide some paid paternity leave, but it varies, and is often shared with a partner. Countries in South America and Africa are less likely to mandate paid time off for new parents, while China only guarantees roughly two weeks and Brazil offers less than one week. Several Eastern European countries including Slovenia, Slovakia, and Estonia guarantee at least 25 weeks of leave for new parents.

Japan has a generous parental leave policy, allowing workers to take up to 48 weeks off. But the country has struggled to get fathers to take the time. The government in 2022 introduced new guidance encouraging workers to take paternity leave, and last year for the first time more than 50% of new dads in the country took it, according to Turkish news outlet Anadolu Ajansı.

“Our findings underscore that paternal leave is not just a workplace benefit, it’s a public health issue that can deeply impact families and children,” Craig Garfield, professor of pediatrics and medical social science at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a new co-authored study. Garfield and his colleagues found that fathers who did not have access to leave were more likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Satellite view. Some 51 countries do not guarantee any paid paternity leave, including India, New Zealand, and the US, where the issue was front and center this summer when Vice President JD Vance announced he would not take time off after the birth of his fourth child.

Not only does lack of paternity leave impact new fathers, but it can impact expectant and new mothers as well, according to some experts.

“When fathers do not take time off of work to focus on family, it reinforces traditional gender roles of fathers as breadwinners and mothers as caregivers,” Richard Petts, a sociology professor at Ball State University, told HuffPost. “Importantly, fathers miss out on critical time to bond with their new baby.”

Nearly half (46%) of private employers in the US offer paid parental leave, and that number is growing, according to SHRM. Lush, a UK-based cosmetics company, recently expanded its parental leave to six months in the US, HR Brew reported previously.

“That’s a big milestone in your life, and you want to work for an employer that you think is going to support you,” Gord Frost, global rewards solution leader at Mercer, told HR Brew.