Family Responsibilities
Paternity Leave
No specific paternity leave entitlements are found in the Labour Law. However, a worker may request for up to 7 days' special leave for personal reasons that affect their immediate family (marriage of an employee or his/her child, birth of a child, illness or death of an employee's husband, wife, children or parents). If an employee has not taken annual leave, this special leave may be deducted from the annual leave. If an employee has already exhausted his/her annual leave, the employer may require him to work longer hours in order to make up for that leave.
Making up for the time lost can be implemented on an ordinary workday, provided that the total working hours do not exceed 10 hours a day and 45 hours per week. These increased working hours are paid at the normal hourly rate of pay.
Sources: §171 of the Labour Law, promulgated by Royal Order No. CS/RKM/0397/01 of 13 March 1997 (amended in 2021); Prakas on Special Leave (76/1998; 267/2001)
Parental Leave
No specific leave entitlements found in the law on parental leave.
Flexible Work Option for Parents / Work-Life Balance
No provisions could be located in the law supporting work-life balance for parents or workers with family responsibilities. However, workers can work part-time. Employees who work less than 48 hours per week are considered part-time workers. They have the same rights as full-time employees under the Labour Law, with the exception of being paid wages in proportion to the number of hours worked. The part-time employees are entitled to leave, bonuses, and other benefits in proportion to their work time.
Source: Arbitration Council Awards 03/2003
Special Leaves
A worker may take up to 7 days of paid special leave for events directly affecting their immediate family—such as the worker’s own marriage, a child’s marriage, the birth of a child, or the illness or death of a spouse, child, or parent.
If the worker still has annual leave, the employer may deduct the special leave days from the remaining annual leave. If annual leave is exhausted, the employer may require compensatory work on ordinary working days within 90 days, provided total hours do not exceed 10 per day or 54 per week, with these extra hours paid at the normal rate.
Sources: §171 of the Labour Law, promulgated by Royal Order No. CS/RKM/0397/01 of 13 March 1997 (amended in 2021); Prakas on Special Leave (76/1998; 267/2001)
Regulations on Family Responsibilities
- Labour Law, promulgated by Royal Order No. CS/RKM/0397/01 of 13 March 1997 (amended in 2018)
- Prakas on Special Leave (76/1998; 267/2001)
