Hong Kong civil servants to get 3 days of childcare leave for each child aged under 3 years

Human resource expert says the measure will pave the way for the private sector to follow suit

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A mother with her child at a park in Admiralty. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 5:04pm, 21 Oct 2024Updated: 9:08pm, 21 Oct 2024

Civil servants in Hong Kong will receive three days of childcare leave annually from next April for each child aged under three years as part of a new government measure that a human resources expert has said will prompt private companies to follow suit.

Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said on Monday that the move, introduced in the latest policy address, was expected to benefit around 12,000 employees and that the government had drawn a line at three years as young children needed more care.

“Those aged below three are preschool children and require more care since they stay at home,” Yeung told a meeting of the legislature’s public service panel.

Asked if the government would consider expanding it to children aged three or above, Yeung said there were not many private companies that provided childcare leave, making it difficult to find a reference. But she said authorities would review the policy after it was rolled out.

The measure will start in April next year and is aimed at supporting families with newborn children by creating an environment conducive to childcare, in keeping with the government’s stance of encouraging childbirth, according to the bureau.

Yeung, however, dismissed a call by finance-sector lawmaker Ronick Chan Chun-ying for the administration to introduce birthday leave, which he said was common in the private sector.