Since the 01/08/2017, and within the scope of the enhancement of the concept of a social state, the provision of paternity leave was legally established, as the Protection of Paternity Law 117(I)/2017, was enacted, which grants two (2) weeks of paid leave for fathers, and it covers retroactively fathers of children born from May 2017 and onwards.
Therefore, from the 1st of August 2017, it is possible to file application for allowance from the Social Insurance Fund, and it must be submitted at the latest, twenty one (21) days from the date the allowance is requested and the right to apply lapses after sixteen (16) weeks.
The Law renders eligible for the paternity leave, the fathers of adopted children, up to the age of 12, and also fathers who have had children through a surrogate mother.
The basic prerequisite for the approval of the application, is the marital status of the applicant. Under the Law, unmarried fathers are not eligible for paternity leave. This is apparent in the legislation, which refers to the “husband” , as well as during the submission of the application, where on the application document the definition given is “husband” and a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.
The beneficiary must inform his employer in writing two (2) weeks prior to the paternity leave. The allowance received, will amount to the 72% of his salary, as defined by Part III of the Social Insurance Law 59(I)/2010.
The paternity leave can coincide with maternity leave and is given in the time period starting with the week that the birth takes place up to sixteen (16) weeks post birth. Even though the duration of the leave cannot increase , it can extend in case that the maternity leave extends too, for instance in situations of premature birth or other health issues.
In order to safeguard the efficient operation and application of the Law, the Law appoints as Supervising Officers, individuals who have the capacity to conduct inspections without notice and to prepare relevant reports in relation to the results of the inspections they conduct.
