10 The purpose of parental leave in accordance with Staff Rule 760 is to allow an eligible staff member who becomes a parent a period of paid leave to bond with and take care of their newly arrived child/ren. Birth mothers are provided with an additional period of paid leave before and after giving birth, to prepare for and recover from the delivery, and to take care of, feed including breastfeed and nurture the child/ren.
20 “Parent” is the staff member who is legally recognized as the parent of the child supported by official documentation.
30 “Birth mother” is a staff member who becomes a parent by giving birth.
40 “Non-birthing parent” is a staff member who becomes a parent by other means than giving birth.
50 "Active service” means service on Fixed-term, Continuing or Temporary appointments under Staff Rule 420.4.
60 Staff members are eligible for parental leave based on the appointment they hold at the time of the birth. Staff members holding continuing and fixed-term appointments shall be eligible for parental leave as follows:
- Birth mothers who are in active service at least 6 weeks prior to the estimated delivery due date (hereafter referred to as “due date”). Birth mothers whose appointment expires prior to 6 weeks before the due date shall not be eligible for parental leave.
- Non-birthing parents who are in active service on the date of birth of the child or on the date of formalized legal parenthood agreement following the arrival of the child/ren. Non-birthing parents whose appointment expires prior to the date of birth or the formalized legal parenthood agreement shall not be eligible for parental leave.
70 Parental leave is granted to staff members who work on a part-time basis in the same proportion as their employment percentage bears to that of a full-time staff member. Part-time staff continue to receive their part-time salary and allowances during parental leave.
80 Staff members appointed to WHO on inter-agency transfer or secondment shall be eligible for parental leave from the date of taking up their appointment provided that the arrival of the child/ren takes place on or after the start date of transfer or secondment.
90 Separate provisions apply to staff members on temporary appointments under Staff Rule 420.4 – see Temporary Staff tab in this section.
Entitlement
100 In accordance with Staff Rule 760.1 and the provisions herein, upon submission of satisfactory documentary evidence of either the birth of the child/ren (e.g. birth certificate), or of formalized legal parenthood, as applicable, parental leave is granted with full salary and allowances as follows:
- a period of 16 weeks (112 calendar days) for the arrival of a single child; and
- a period of 18 weeks (126 calendar days) for the arrival of multiple children.
110 In accordance with Staff Rule
760.2, and the provisions herein, an additional period of 10 weeks for a single birth, 12 weeks in the case of multiple births shall be granted. The total duration of parental leave for a birth mother is:
- a period of 26 weeks (182 calendar days) for the arrival of a single child; and
- a period of 30 weeks (210 calendar days) for the arrival of multiple children.
120 Parental leave for birth mothers is granted as one continuous period of absence and shall commence 2 weeks prior to the due date.
130 Parental leave for birth mothers will normally end after 26 weeks (or 30 weeks for multiple births) and will end if the staff member returns to duty full time, whichever is earlier. See also Returning to duty prior to exhaustion of parental leave for birth mothers.
140 Parental leave may be granted as follows:-
- as one continuous full time period, or:
- in two continuous periods, the first period of which must be taken as full days, the second period may be taken in units of full or half days. The leave may start:
- at earliest 2 weeks prior to the child/ren’s arrival;
- any time within the first year from the child/ren’s arrival, provided the second period ends at the latest 12 months from the child/ren's arrival.
150 Staff members who benefit from parental leave are entitled to complete the full duration of parental leave and should not be requested by the Organization to work or undertake duty travel during that period of parental leave.
160 There is no entitlement to time-off or compensation for official holidays which fall within a period of parental leave.
170 When both parents of a child(ren) are WHO staff members, both parents are entitled to exercise in full their respective parental leave entitlements in accordance with the applicable provisions set out in this section of the WHO eManual.
180 Parental leave may be granted under the following conditions:
- the child/ren meet/s the eligibility requirements to be recognized as a dependant(s) of the staff member (or of the spouse, if a WHO or a UN common system staff member), under Staff Rule 310.5.2; and
- for non-birthing parents:
- a minimum of 12 months has elapsed between the end date of one parental leave and the start date of the next; and
-
the staff member has served at least 3 months of uninterrupted service prior to exercising the entitlement.
190 In addition, in cases of adoption
- the child/ren will reside with the staff member after the adoption; and
- the child/ren is/are less than 18 years old at the time of adoption;
- the child/ren is/are not a step-child, brother or sister of the staff member; and
- the child/ren has/have not been living with the staff member for an extended period of time prior to the official date of recognized legal parenthood. This condition shall not apply, when, pending completion of legal proceedings, the child may have been entrusted to the staff member’s care.
200 In the unfortunate event that a child dies prior to arrival or during or after birth, the staff member is entitled to avail of the full duration of applicable parental leave to be taken in one period. Staff members may seek support from Staff Health and Wellbeing (SHW) or Regional Staff Physician (RSP).
210 An eligible staff member is not required to take parental leave, the staff member may choose to use it fully, partially or not to use it at all subject to the minimum period for birth mothers being completed – see below
Returning to duty
220 Requests for parental leave should be submitted between the 16th and 20th week of pregnancy for birth mothers and at 5 months or 4 months at the latest prior to the commencement of the leave for non-birthing parents. This allows for:-
- SHW/RSP to monitor and enable a supportive environment for all parents; and
- efficient human resources planning and backfilling arrangements to be managed.
230 Eligible staff members must submit a parental leave request in the system indicating the child/ren’s date, or expected date, of arrival and the period of leave requested and attach the relevant supporting document.
240 In all cases the birth certificate or legal document confirming parenthood must indicate the staff member’s name as the parent for the purposes of granting parental leave, official recognition of the child/ren for WHO purposes and dependency benefits.
250 To initiate a request for parental leave prior to the arrival of the child/ren, the staff member must provide:
- a certificate from a licensed medical practitioner or midwife indicating the expected date of delivery, or
- official documentary evidence of adoption in accordance with relevant statutory provisions, or formal recognition by prescribed court procedure of customary or de facto adoption of the child/ren; or
- a surrogacy agreement or similar legal document issued by a prescribed legal or national authority confirming that the staff member is, or will be recognized as a parent of the child/ren after birth.
260 To complete a request for parental leave following the arrival of the child/ren, the staff member must provide:
- the child/ren's birth certificate indicating the staff member as a parent, a parental order or other legal document by a prescribed legal or national authority indicating the date of birth and staff member as a parent; when it is impossible to obtain a birth certificate, other satisfactory evidence of the birth of the child/ren i.e. passport; or
- if legal proceedings have been initiated but are not completed, official documentary evidence that legal procedures have been initiated and that pending finalization of the proceedings, the child/ren is/are being entrusted to the staff member's care. Once formalities have been completed, official proof that a final legal parenthood arrangement has been concluded must be provided.
270 Upon submission of evidence of legal parenthood proceedings that the Organization considers as satisfactory in accordance with the above provisions, at the option of the staff member, any annual leave taken in connection with the finalization of legal parenthood procedures immediately preceding the start date of parental leave, may be converted to parental leave within the maximum period of the entitlement.
Obligations including requesting recognition of the child/ren
280 Upon the arrival of the child/ren, and for the purposes of ascertaining official recognition of the child/ren as dependents of the staff member for dependency allowance and other entitlements and benefits, the staff member is responsible in accordance with Staff Rule 490 to promptly notify the Organization of the change to their status and for providing all relevant information and documentation.
290 Documentation (as above) must be provided within 3 months of the date of arrival of the child for the purposes of dependency. Failure to provide satisfactory documentation will result in cancellation of the parental leave and any leave days taken in connection with the arrival would be converted to annual leave or special leave without pay (SLWOP) as appropriate.
300 Once the child/ren are officially recognized, the staff member is responsible for submitting a request for dependency benefits (See Related content).
Extension of fixed-term appointments
310 In accordance with Staff Rule
1040.2, in the absence of any offer and acceptance of extension, a fixed-term appointment which expires during a period of parental leave will be extended to cover the full duration of parental leave.
320 In addition, in the case of birth mothers only, the appointment will also be extended if the due date falls within 6 weeks (42 calendar days) after the expiry date of the initial appointment and the parental leave entitlement will be due.
330 The Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP)/Regional Human Resources Manager (RHRM) will inform the supervisor with a copy to the staff member when an appointment extension is required so that the necessary action is taken to initiate the extension of appointment. Upon extension of the appointment, the parental leave request should be extended to coincide with the end date of the full parental leave entitlement.
340 The staff member shall be informed in writing by the HR Administrator, GSC that the contract will be extended to cover parental leave.
350 When a fixed-term appointment has been extended for the sole purpose of granting parental leave:
- the parental leave must be taken in one continuous period immediately following the birth/arrival of the child/ren;
- there is no option to return to work on a half-time basis;
- there is no entitlement to request further leave upon expiration of the parental leave e.g. annual leave or SLWOP;
- the 12-month eligibility period for taking the leave will not apply;
- the staff member continues to accrue service credits for all purposes during the period of extension of the fixed-term appointment; and
- the contract will end on the last day of parental leave.
360 In accordance with paragraph 60, staff members are eligible for parental leave based on the appointment they hold at the time of the birth and the leave shall be taken during that appointment. Where an offer of extension of the same appointment has been made and accepted, a staff member may take a portion of their parental leave within the new fixed-term appointment without the need to extend the initial appointment, subject to the maximum period of 12-months following the child/ren’s arrival.
Non-extension of fixed-term appointments
370 An appointment will not be extended for the purpose of parental leave in the following cases:
- where the appointment was of sufficient duration to take the full or remaining parental leave entitlement before the appointment expiry date;
- in the case of non-birthing parents the appointment expires before the date of arrival;
- in the case of birth mothers, the appointment expires more than 6 weeks before the due date; or
- beyond the mandatory age of separation, as stipulated in Staff Rule 1020.
Flexible working arrangements
380 Where flexible working arrangements are in place at the duty station, eligible staff members may request flexible working arrangements in accordance with the applicable policy.
390 In particular, birth mothers serving in field duty stations without adequate medical facilities may wish to avail of teleworking prior to the commencement of their parental leave entitlement. Requests for teleworking must be submitted through the online system for approval. Travel time falling on a week day should be recorded as annual leave.
400 Subject to exigencies of service, supervisors are expected to be flexible in approving such flexible working arrangements.
Leave options after parental leave
410 A staff member who wishes to avail of annual leave or other post-parental leave options must make the request at least four weeks in advance of the parental leave end date to provide supervisors with planning time. Supervisors are expected to comply with requests for annual or other leave after parental leave within the appointment duration.
420 Subject to the needs of the Organization, requests to combine half-time work with half-time annual leave following parental leave will be given favourable consideration.
Special Leave without Pay (SLWOP)
430 Subject to exigencies of service, requests from staff members for SLWOP to take care of their child/ren following parental leave will be given favourable consideration of up to two years, with a possibility of extension, in exceptional cases, for up to two additional years. See the full provisions and procedures in
III.6.20 Special leave to care for a child or seriously ill family member.
440 Staff members must report for work on the next working day following the end date of their parental leave, unless a leave request has been approved prior to the expiry of the parental leave.
Prior to exhaustion of parental leave
450 A staff member may also make a request, of their own volition, to return to work at an earlier date under the following pre-requisite conditions:
- the early return to work on a full-time or half-time basis (see below) is discussed and agreed to by the supervisor; and
- for birth mothers a minimum period of 6 weeks following delivery has elapsed in the case of single births, and 8 weeks in the case of multiple births; and
- a medical certificate confirming the birth mother’s fitness to return to duty from a duly qualified practitioner is provided to SHW/RSP for approval before the staff member return to duty.
460 When the above pre-requisite conditions are met, the staff member will submit an amended parental leave request in the system for approval.
470 When an eligible staff member does not exercise all or part of their parental leave because they request an earlier date of return, the entitlement will be forfeited and there will be no right to payment in lieu or any additional annual or other leave credit in compensation.
480 A staff member may request a return to duty on a half-time, regular daily basis while remaining on parental leave for the balance of the work day. If approved, the parental leave end date should be extended to ensure the remainder of the full entitlement is used. For example, if the last 2 full weeks of parental leave are requested on a half-time basis, these weeks are replaced by 4 weeks on a half-time basis and the parental leave end date is extended by 2 weeks.
490 Staff members working part-time may request to return to duty on a half-time basis only if their part-time working schedule is comprised of full working days.
500 Once a staff member returns to duty on a half-time basis, it will not be possible to revert to full-time parental leave.
Time off for breastfeeding, feeding, nurturing and bonding
510 The Organization supports new parents by providing them with time to breastfeed, feed, nurture, and bond with their child after returning to work.
Up to the child's 1st birthday
520 All staff members eligible for parental leave will be entitled to fully paid time off on a daily basis up to the child’s first birthday for the purpose of feeding, including breastfeeding, nurturing and bonding.
530 Time off for feeding, including breastfeeding, nurturing and bonding will be granted based on 2 hours per day where a staff member works 8 hours per day/40 hours per working week. At locations where the working day is less than 8 hours, the time off per day is granted on a pro-rata basis i.e. 25% of what is the regular full working day at the duty station. Where a working day is less than 6 hours, no time off will be granted. Time off includes commuting time.
540 Supervisors are expected to be flexible when agreeing to the time off per day which best suits the parent and their child/ren upon their return to work.
550 Staff members working part-time are entitled to time off only on days on which they normally work a full day. Where a staff member’s part-time working day is less than 6 hours, no time off will be granted. No change to the staff member’s individual full-time/part-time work schedule is required for this purpose.
560 Time off is granted per work day and cannot be accumulated to take off full or half days. There is no entitlement to compensation for breastfeeding, feeding, nurturing and bonding time off on days the staff member takes annual leave or other leave. In such cases, full days of leave must be recorded.
570 Time off for breastfeeding, feeding, nurturing and bonding is not recorded in the system. The staff member, supervisor and HRBP/RHRM will take note that the staff member is required to return to their normal working schedule on the day after the child’s 1st birthday.
Breastfeeding from the child's 1st to 2nd birthday
580 On return to full-time work after the child's 1st birthday, the 2 hours’ time off per day will no longer apply and staff members wishing to continue breastfeeding up to the child's 2nd birthday may request flexible working conditions for this purpose. Such requests will be granted subject to a medical certificate being provided to SHW/RSP from a duly qualified practitioner confirming that the staff member is breastfeeding.
590 These flexible working conditions include the following options, or a combination thereof, and will be granted upon request:
- Staggered working hours to allow parents to breastfeed and/or express milk during the day as required; and/or
- Part-time work for breastfeeding. Part-time staff members will be paid salary and post adjustment, as applicable, in the same proportion that their actual working schedule bears to a full-time working schedule.
600 When there is a breastfeeding facility on premises that provides private space and a refrigerator, staff members may use it during the workday to breastfeed, or to express and store milk. If in smaller offices breastfeeding facilities are not available, the staff member should contact the Head of the WHO Country Office (HWCO) or the DAF in the regional office so that an appropriate facility/room is made available with minimum facilities.
Relationship with other entitlements, benefits and options
610 Service credits continue to accrue for all purposes during parental leave.
620 Staff members are not required to exhaust accrued annual leave prior to proceeding on parental leave.
630 Sick leave is not granted while a staff member is on parental leave.
640 In accordance with Staff Rule
740.1, a staff member who is unable to report for duty for health reasons prior to the normal parental leave start date must inform their supervisor and ensure that the relevant medical certificate is submitted in accordance with standard certified sick leave request procedures. See also
III.6.9 Certified Sick Leave.
650 If the birth mother is working in the office prior to the normal parental leave start date and there is concern that they may not be fit to continue work, the supervisor may refer to SHW/RSP for advice. If SHW/RSP determines that the staff member is not fit to continue to work, the staff member shall be granted certified sick leave in order to consult their medical practitioner or midwife. SHW/RSP initiates, on behalf of the staff member, an initial sick leave request which can be amended once the medical certificate has been received.
660 Where a birth mother has been absent for an extended period of time of more than one month due to complications with the pregnancy, the period of absence in excess of one month up to the start of the parental leave will be charged to special leave with full pay upon request to Director, HRT by SHW/RSP.
670 Sick leave after parental leave is granted in accordance with certified sick leave provisions and the staff member’s appointment duration. If a staff member is unable to return to duty on expiration of parental leave due to health reasons the supervisor and SHW/RSP should be advised by the staff member before the parental leave ends. The staff member must submit a sick leave request accompanied by a medical certificate and/or report in accordance with standard sick leave procedures.
Travel of a newly dependent child/ren
680 A staff member may request for the newly arrived child/ren one way travel to join the staff member at the duty station in accordance with Staff Rule
820.2.2. No settling-in grant shall be paid for child/ren arriving subsequent to the arrival of the staff member at the duty station in accordance with Staff Rule
365.4.
690 Staff members are solely responsible for ensuring that all legal requirements such as entry visas are obtained for the child/ren to enter and reside at the duty station.
700 Upon receipt of the notification of approval of parental leave, the staff member and supervisor review the objectives for the performance review cycle and the timing of the review. The supervisor should ensure that the performance review is undertaken before a staff member departs on parental leave, making adjustments to the performance review cycle dates as necessary. Where it has not been possible to assess performance before the staff member’s departure, a delay in completion of the PMDS regular cycle may be agreed upon between the staff member and the supervisor. Any decision to defer the completion of a probationary period or defer the within-grade increase (WIGI) should be taken in accordance with the procedures for performance evaluation. See
III.5 Performance and Change of Status.
Duty travel during pregnancy
710 During pregnancy, the Organization must give particular consideration to the wellbeing of the staff member and the unborn child/ren. Accordingly, staff members who are pregnant must consult with SHW/RSP for medical clearance before undertaking duty travel. A medical certificate from the duly qualified medical practitioner or midwife must be provided for consideration by SHW/RSP who will make the final determination as to whether the staff member may or may not undertake duty travel. In cases where SHW/RSP does not grant medical clearance to undertake duty travel during pregnancy, the staff member and the supervisor(s) will be informed by SHW/RSP. In such cases the staff member will not suffer any adverse work, performance evaluation or entitlement repercussions due to the inability to travel.
720 In accordance with Staff Rule
1083, notice of termination of appointment under Staff Rule
1030 (Termination for reasons of health), Staff Rule
1050 (Abolition of Position), Staff Rule
1060 (Non-confirmation of appointment), Staff Rule
1070 (Unsatisfactory performance or unsuitability for international service), Staff Rule
1072 (Refusal of reassignment), Staff Rule
1073 (Facts anterior), Staff Rule
1075 (Misconduct) and Staff Rule
1080 (Abandonment of position), may be served during periods of parental leave. However, the effective date of separation will be either, the expiry date of the parental leave, or the end of the notice period under the relevant Staff Rule whichever is later. When a staff member has been notified of separation, the option to avail of parental leave on a half time basis will not be permitted.
Support and information
730 Staff members may seek advice or support from SHW/RSP at any stage of a pregnancy and/or prior to, or during parental leave. The Staff Counsellor may also be consulted.
740 Staff members may seek advice on their parental leave request and requirements for recognition of the child/ren and application for dependency benefits from their respective HRBP/RHRM. See also related content for FAQs and practical guides for staff members.
750 This policy and these procedures will enter into force from 1 January 2023. This policy will apply to all staff whose child/ren arrive/s on or after 1 January 2023.
