Single Male Parent Too Can Avail Child Care Leave
Monday 26th October 2020, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that male government employees who were single parents are now entitled (allowed) to Child Care Leave (CCL).
Government of India provides Child Care Leave (CCL) for women government employees for taking care of their children. CCL is allowed for a maximum of 730 days during the entire service of a women employee for taking care of up to two children. CCL is allowed only till the child is upto 18 years of age. The rule was for only women employees but on Monday 26th October 2020, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that male government employees who were single parents are now entitled to Child Care Leave (CCL). He said, “Single male parent” includes employees who were unmarried or widower or divorcee and might therefore be expected to take up the responsibility of caring for a child single-handedly”
Mr. Singh said that this order will bring ease of living for government servants. He also said that orders regarding the decision were issued some time ago but somehow did not get enough traction in public domain. Based on inputs received over a period of time, he said another rule in CCL that was changed was that of a disabled child. Earlier conditions of availing CCL to the age of 22 years of the disabled child had been removed.
He added that now child care leave could be availed by a government servant for a disabled child of any age. Mr. Singh said that with the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his special emphasis on governance reforms, it had been possible to make several out-of-the-box decisions in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) over the last six years. He added that the purpose behind all these decisions had always been to enable a government employee to contribute to the maximum of his potential but the same time there would be no leniency or tolerance towards corruption or non-performance.
