2-yr childcare leave for female staff in J&K

SRINAGAR: In a major welfare measure for women employees in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government on Thursday approved a ‘childcare leave’ for them for a period of two years to look after their children. The government issued a notification allowing the childcare leave for its women employees.

As per the new provision, a women employee can avail of a maximum 730 days of childcare leave during her entire service for taking care of her two eldest children, an official spokesman said. He said the leave could be taken to look after the children’s education, illness and other similar requirements.

The spokesman said after approval by chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the finance department has issued a notifica- tion incorporating the childcare leave in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Leave) Rules.

During the period of childcare leave, a woman employee would be paid leave salary equal to pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave and the childcare leave could be combined with any other kind of leave, the spokesman said.

However, the leave should not be granted for more than three spells in a calendar year, he said.

The spokesman said though childcare leave could be claimed only after completion of probation period by the employee, yet as a humanitarian gesture, some minimum childcare leave could be allowed to a probationer in extreme circumstances.

The present PDP-BJP coalition government in its first budget had announced that the childcare leave would be introduced in the State Leave Rules.