A Kenyan doctor is seeking to have men's paternity leave increased to 90 days from the current 2 weeks if the recent court filing is anything to go by.
In his petition, the Nakuru based doctor, Magare Kigenyi, argued that it was discriminatory to subject men to the short term leave while their female counterparts enjoy a three-month fully paid leave.
The doctor further argued that fathers played an equally important role in their toddler's life just like the mothers do.
“The differentiation/discrimination of duration of maternal and paternal leaves is not a fair differentiation. The matter being determined is not just a mere discrimination of an individual employee, but it’s a large-scale discrimination which will have impact on the number of employees in an organization.
“A systematic review by Rollè et Al entitled, Father Involvement and Cognitive Development in Early and Middle Childhood, shows clearly that a father has a role in childhood development and that the 1st few days of life are important for child development," he argued in his court papers as reported by Citizen TV.
Kigenyi named Attorney General Paul Kihara and officials from the Ministry of Labour as respondents in the petition.
“This matter is of public interest and therefore it is imperative that this matter be placed before the court and orders and directions issued accordingly to preserve and safeguard public interests,” he added.
After receiving the file, Justice Jacob Kageri directed the respondents, including the Attorney General, to file their responses within 21 days.
Kageri also ruled the matter as not urgent.
According to the Constitution, employees are entitled to fully paid maternity leave provide the offer a written notice not less than seven days in advance.
The law, also does not have a stipulated limit of maternity leave depending on the complexity of the pregnancy and the duration of the notice requesting maternity leave also varies depending on the pregnant mother's circumstances.
If fathers, however, wish to extend their paternity leave, the law stipulates that they must get into agreement with their companies and may, in most circumstances, suffer salary reductions.
