FIRM OFFERS CASH AND EXTRA PAID LEAVE TO PARENTS

Hoping for a bonus and more leave? A company in northern China is offering both, for any employee having a baby.

Da Bei Nong Group, an agricultural technology company in Beijing, is offering up to 90,000 yuan (HK$110,000) in cash and extra leave of up to 12 months for female staff and an extra nine days for males, if they are expecting a baby, the

National

reported.

Business Daily

The company has become the most generous employer in China in encouraging births as local governments issue incentives amid China’s three-child policy to prevent a looming demographic crisis.

Employees of the company will be rewarded with 30,000 yuan for their first child, and the amount will double for the second and triple for the third, according to a plan recently released by the company.

Maternity leave will increase by a month, three months and 12 months respectively. Paternity leave will increase by nine days regardless of the number of children.

China’s national policy offers maternity leave of 98 days for women, but no leave for the father. Local government regulations normally offer extra leave for female employees and a paternity leave ranging from a week to a month.

Professor Hu Zhan, a population expert from Fudan University, said: “It’s good that enterprises are shouldering social responsibility by issuing birth incentives, but the point is whether they are just short-term measures riding the wave of public attention on demographic issues, or sustainable, long-term benefits.”

The number of newborns in China has dropped for four consecutive years since 2016. The year 2020 witnessed a record low of 12 million, down from 14.65 million in 2019.

Mandy Zuo