Male Govt Employees Now Entitled For Child Care Leave As Single Parent: Report

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday announced that male government employees, who are raising a child alone, will now be getting the benefits of Child Care Leave (CCL), generally granted to women employees. He added that those “single male parents” who are employed at government services will get 730 days of CCL before their children turn 18. These employees could be unmarried, widower, divorcee or single parent, Singh clarified. He said that the order was passed earlier but has not been practised yet.

According to an ANI report, the Minister of State for Personnel Singh called it a "path-breaking" and "progressive reform" that could help a government servant raise a child single-handedly. Sharing the news on social media, BJP leader, Smriti Irani tweeted: "Decision to grant Child Care Leave to single male parent working in Government of India is a landmark measure by DoPT." She also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singh for "reinforcing GOI’s commitment towards gender equality."

Decision to grant Child Care Leave to single male parent working in Government of India is a landmark measure by DoPT. My heartiest congratulations to PM @narendramodi Ji & @DrJitendraSingh Ji for reinforcing GOI’s commitment towards gender equality. https://t.co/316dZcIu8T

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) October 27, 2020

Further explaining it, the Minister of State for Personnel, Singh said an employee, who is on CCL, will now be granted to leave the headquarters with the prior approval of the competent authority. According to an official statement, "In addition, the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) may be availed by the employee even if he is on Child Care Leave. Elaborating further, he informed that Child Care Leave can be granted at 100 per cent of leave salary for the first 365 days and 80 per cent of leave salary for the next 365 days."

Adding another welfare measure in case of a differently-abled child, Singh explained that CCL can be availed by a government servant for a disabled child of any age.

"Basic purpose behind all these decisions has always been to enable a government employee to contribute to the maximum of his potential, although at the same time there will be no leniency or tolerance toward corruption or non-performance," he said in a release.

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Feature Image Credit: Cafe Mom

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