[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Sometimes I feel, it should be made compulsory to take such leave - any leave which is not compulsory is not taken by the ambitious, and those who take leave are then seen as slackers.

Originally Posted by Miyata

In India, most people have a good amount of help around the house.

Two very valid points where the Indian cultural differences show up. I know of colleagues who didn't avail their eligible one-month paternity leave. And also some who took leaves and went for vacations while the mother and child were with the maternal grandparents. In both cases, the guys simply didn't have the need/responsibility since they had parents taking care. Nothing against the policy, just saying how it is different in India.

Originally Posted by hrman

That's a full 12 months where the headcount is not available. Due to Global restrictions, the Team manager is not allowed to recruit another resource for 12 months. The fallout of this? The rest of the team needs to bear the burden of the colleague on leave for one year.

Aren't the policymakers are at fault here? They just want to paint a rosy picture without analyzing the impact and repercussions on others. These headcount restrictions are some of the most idiotic decisions which break even the best of teams.

[v1p3r]

Good job Volvo. Scandinavian roots showing through, whatever the current ownership is.

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

Yet I cannot shake the feeling that my limited experience working in a Europe-based IT company is not the Indian reality. What I see around in my neighborhood areas of Bangalore like Bomannahalli, or Hulimavu is massive unemployment with shuttered garment factories and I fear that extended maternity/paternity leaves are just too elitist (personal opinion).

Of course, this is for the government to solve, not for Volvo/my company.

You are right. Ground realities are very different from what Sec A / expat English-speaking folks may discuss on a niche forum.

Originally Posted by Bhargav7

A quick point while we compare India's maternity/paternity policies to other countries -

In most of the European countries, the cost of maternity leaves is reimbursed by Governments (at least partially). In India, the Government only makes rules, the cost is to be borne by the employers.

I wish people would remember this. Here we have our Tughlaqs issuing firmans as they wish, and we deal with the consequences.

Originally Posted by am1m

The notion of valuing an employee as a valuable, long-term resource exists only in the culture some of the smaller companies.

I run one of those 'smaller companies'. My sole focus is ensuring resources for my organisation - people and capital. We went from 0 to 40% women workforce within a year. I also gave men 80 days of paternal leave, as well as extended the maternity benefit to unmarried women (something that the government didn't deem fit at the time). And yet, the business cost of having multiple key stakeholders away from critical projects is something I am always afraid of. I currently implement rules to ensure a bias does not creep into hiring, but at many companies it already has.

I don't understand why we compare ourselves to Europe. Europe is a continent content with what it has and what it had. Indian entrepreneurs have to compete against the best from China and Silicon Valley, while hobbled by our governance and infrastructure. If a Chinese or Valley company has more output per capita, they will be more successful.