How to Claim Paternity Benefits 2024 Philippines

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Fathers in the Philippines have a right to get a leave of absence from work at a time when they are having children. But how many days can you have, and what are your rights as a father?
In this article, we will talk about things like “what is paternity leave, what it means for someone in the Philippines, and what benefits I can get new father.” In the end, you will have enough knowledge about the law and what you can expect if you are about to have a baby.

What is the Paternity Leave Law in the Philippines

There are several laws regarding paternity leave. In this case, it also makes sense that we discuss maternity absence or leave and try to understand the differences between paternity, maternity, and parental leaves of absence.

Paternity Benefits or Paternity Leave Based on the Law of RA 8187

There is no SSS paternity benefits 2024. The person who pays your leave is yor employer.

Based on this law, a father has seven full days of leaves (1) with full pay as a father. The law applies to employees in private companies or government offices for the first children of the legal wife with whom he lives.

As you can see, the law may sound simple, but it does have some special provisions. For one, you must be married. The law says “legitimate” spouse. It means that to prove that you are the husband, you must present a marriage certificate that comes from the Philippine Statistics Authority (4) or PSA.

You can get your marriage certificate from a PSA office or use the services of an agency. The most popular is PSA Helpline. It is an independent contractor where you can request a marriage certificate online. They will process it for you and ship the document to your house.

Second, you can only avail of the 7-day paternity leave for the first four children. You can only have seven days per child. In addition, from being married, you must be living with your wife. The reason is that paternity leave is granted so you can take care of the baby with your wife.

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How to claim paternity benefits in SSS

As mentioned earlier, the Social Security System (SSS) in the Philippines does not provide specific paternity benefits or paternity leaves. The paternity leave benefits are covered under the Paternity Leave Act of 1996 (Republic Act 8187) and the Allocation of Maternity Leave Credits under Section 6 of Republic Act 11210.

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Maternity Leave: Can You Transfer Them to a Father

A maternal leave can be transferred to the father, but only to a certain degree. This law is based on RA 11210 (2).

The maternity leave of the mother is different from the father. As such, both parents have a right to file a leave of absence separately. Based on this law, a mother with maternity leave credits can allocate some of the days of leave to a father.

The father can enjoy as much as 14 days of leave. However, a father cannot transfer his leave days to the mother. In addition, the mother can allocate leave to the father even if they are not married. If they are not married, the father cannot file for paternity leave.

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Parental Leave Based on the Law of RA 8972

The parental leave is an added benefit to people where they can get not more than seven days of leave to care for a child. However, this is granted only to solo parents. In addition, the parent must have rendered service to the company for at least one year. This leave is what we call the solo parent leave (3).

How Many Days Can You Get for the Paternity Leave in the Philippines in 2024

A father can only have seven days of paternity leave in the Philippines in 2024. There is no change in the law about this, and it has been this way for many years.

If you need more days, surely you have vacation leaves. If you have vacation leave credits left, you can ask your supervisor and manager to combine these days. However, on paper, these leaves will be filed as separate types.

What does this mean?

What you can do is file for seven days of paternity leave. This guarantees that you can be on leave for seven days. Now, if you still have vacation leaves, say, 7 days, you can ask your supervisor or manager to give you more days of leave from that. So, if the manager approved seven days from your vacation leave, and you got approved for seven days from your vacation leave, you now have a total of 14 days.

The approval of your extra leave really depends on your employer. It is not a right but rather a privilege. As you can see, employers hired you to be present, so you cannot demand that you will be absent because you want to.

If your vacation leave was not approved, the employer must pay you in cash. The employer must pay you for at least five days. For example, if you have 10 days of vacation leave, and you did not use any of that, the employer must pay you the equivalent of five days of work. Some employers are generous—they pay the ten days.

Paternity Leave: Who is eligible for Paternity Benefits

To be eligible, you must be the legal husband of the mother. In addition, there are only two conditions: the other must have had a successful delivery or a miscarriage. It means that if the woman is pregnant, you cannot file a paternity leave yet.

In a snapshot, here are the requirements:

1. The male employee must be legally married to the child’s mother
2. The mother must have delivered the baby / had a miscarriage
3. The paternity leave must be availed of within 60 days from the date of the child’s birth.
4. Only four paternity leaves per man (four babies at different times)
5. The male employee must have notified his employer in writing at least one month before the intended start of the leave, unless the notification is not reasonably possible due to certain circumstances

During the paternity leave, the employee will receive full pay, which means that his salary or wage for the period of leave shall not be less than the average daily or monthly salary or wage he received during the six-month period preceding the childbirth.

If you had a twin, it does not mean you can have 14 days of leave. You still get seven days. If you are an expecting father, make sure that you request your marriage document or certificate early. You do not want to get disapproved for your request because of this.

Keep in mind that you must be married. The employer will look for your marriage document or certificate. If you cannot present it, the employer has the right to deny your paternity leave. Your only course of action is to use your vacation leave and then plead with your employer to approve it.

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Requirements for Filing Paternity Leave

The requirements for filing a paternity leave are pretty straightforward. Here they are:

1. Application for paternity leave
2. Your marriage certificate

Most companies have a leave form. Get that leave form from your representative from the human resources department, fill it out, give it to your supervisors and managers along with your marriage certificate, and wait for approval.

How to Apply for Paternity Leave

If you ask: Should I apply to the SSS? The answer is no, you do not need to go to the Social Security System (SSS) for paternity leave in the Philippines – Paternity leave is not filed with the SSS. You will need to apply for paternity leave directly with your employer or through your company’s HR department. They will provide you with the necessary forms and guide you through the application process.

1. Inform your HR department about the pregnancy and due date.
2. Complete the Paternity Notification Form provided by your employer.
3. Submit the form with a copy of your marriage certificate to HR. Additional documents like ultrasound results may be required.
4. If taking the extra seven days leave, submit the SSS Allocation of Maternity Leave Credits form (5) and Maternity Notification form (6).
5. After receiving paternity benefits, submit a copy of your baby’s birth certificate. For miscarriage or abortion, submit a medical or death certificate.

Note that your employer may have specific procedures. Check with HR for guidance.

For convenience, obtain marriage and birth or death certificates through the NSO online service, delivered within two to 13 working days.

How To Transfer Some of Maternity Leave Days to the Father

There are several ways to apply for paternity leave the first thing you want to know is how to apply for the common paternity leave, which we already discussed earlier.

There are two other things that you may be interested to know:

• How To Transfer Some of Maternity Leave Days to the Father
• Solo Parents Leave and How to Get It

 

This table will show you how to do it:

LEAVE TYPE	PROCESS
How To Transfer SSS Maternity Leave Credits	• Go to HR and ask for this transfer of leave. • It is the HR who will ask you to fill in the documents. • As always, you must have a marriage certificate. • A mother can allocate up to seven days to the child’s father even if they are not married.
How To Apply for Solo Parents Leave	• You must have rendered at least one year of work for the same company • Secure a solo leave form from your municipal social welfare office • You must present a valid birth certificate of the child • Go to your HR and apply

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Reasons To Apply For Paternity Leave

There are several important reasons to apply for paternity leave:

• Bonding with your child: Paternity leave allows you to spend quality time with your newborn child and establish a strong bond early on. This is crucial for both your child’s development and your relationship with them.
• Supporting your partner: Taking paternity leave enables you to support your spouse or partner during the postpartum period. It shows your commitment to sharing the responsibilities of childcare and providing emotional and practical support.
• Active involvement in caregiving: Paternity leave allows you to actively participate in caregiving tasks such as feeding, changing diapers, and soothing your baby.
• Promoting gender equality: By taking paternity leave, you contribute to promoting gender equality in parenting and challenging traditional gender roles. It sends a positive message that both parents have an equal role in raising children.
• Compliance with legal rights: In many countries, including the Philippines, paternity leave is legally mandated. By applying for paternity leave, you exercise your rights as an employee and ensure that you receive the benefits entitled to you under the law.

The main reason why you want to take paternity leave is because you want to take care of your child and your wife. Obviously, money is also baked into it. You will not work, but you still get paid a salary.

Summary

It’s important to note that these laws provide for paternity leave benefits rather than specific paternity benefits, such as monetary allowances. The purpose is to provide fathers with the opportunity to bond with their newborn child and support their spouse or partner during the early stages of parenthood.

A paternity leave is an excellent law to be able to enjoy some time with your new family. Make sure you prepare your documents way ahead of time. In addition, you must be married to your wife before you can avail of it.

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