WORLD Policy Analysis Center

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How was paid leave introduced or expanded during the pandemic to meet increased childcare needs due to school or childcare center closures financed?

Government financing of paid leave is important to reducing the direct financial cost to businesses already facing economic challenges during the pandemic, and helping to prevent some forms of discrimination and retaliation against working parents.

No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave means the country took no specific approach to providing income support while maintaining parents’ attachment to the labor force. Countries may have taken other approaches, such as means-tested or universal payments to families with children, or introducing paid leave policies that narrowly applied to children needing to quarantine due to testing positive or being exposed to COVID-19.

Employers only means that employers were mandated to provide paid leave, but no mechanism was identified for reimbursement by the government.

Employers and social security or public funds means that government and employers shared financial costs for providing paid leave. In some countries, employers continued to pay the majority of wages, whereas in others employer contributions were small, such as continuing to be responsible for workers’ taxes and social security contributions while workers were on leave.

Countries

Afghanistan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Albania - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Angola - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Antigua and Barbuda - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Armenia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Australia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Azerbaijan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Bahamas - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Bahrain - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Bangladesh - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Barbados - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Belarus - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Belize - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Benin - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Bhutan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Bolivia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Bosnia and Herzegovina - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Botswana - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Brazil - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Brunei - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Burkina Faso - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Burundi - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Cambodia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Cameroon - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Cabo Verde - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Central African Republic - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Chad - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

China - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Colombia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Comoros - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Republic of the Congo - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Costa Rica - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Cote d'Ivoire - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Croatia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Denmark - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Djibouti - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Dominica - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Dominican Republic - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Ecuador - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Egypt - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

El Salvador - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Equatorial Guinea - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Eritrea - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Estonia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Ethiopia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Fiji - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Gabon - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

The Gambia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Georgia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Ghana - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Grenada - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Guatemala - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Guinea - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Guinea-Bissau - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Guyana - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Haiti - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Honduras - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Hungary - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Iceland - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

India - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Indonesia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Iran - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Iraq - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Ireland - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Israel - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Jamaica - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Jordan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Kazakhstan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Kenya - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Kuwait - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Kyrgyzstan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Laos - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Latvia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Lebanon - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Lesotho - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Liberia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Libya - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Liechtenstein - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Madagascar - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Malawi - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Malaysia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Maldives - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Mali - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Mauritania - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Mauritius - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Mexico - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Moldova - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Mongolia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Morocco - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Mozambique - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Myanmar - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Namibia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Nepal - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

The Netherlands - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

New Zealand - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Nicaragua - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Niger - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Nigeria - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Oman - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Pakistan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Panama - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Papua New Guinea - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Paraguay - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Peru - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

The Philippines - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Qatar - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Russian Federation - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Rwanda - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

San Marino - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Sao Tome and Principe - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Saudi Arabia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Senegal - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Serbia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Sierra Leone - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Singapore - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Somalia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

South Africa - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

South Sudan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Spain - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Sri Lanka - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

St. Kitts and Nevis - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

St. Lucia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Sudan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Suriname - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Eswatini - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Syria - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Tajikistan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Tanzania - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Thailand - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Timor-Leste - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Togo - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Trinidad and Tobago - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Tunisia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Türkiye - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Turkmenistan - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Uganda - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Ukraine - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

United Arab Emirates - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Uruguay - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Venezuela - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Vietnam - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Yemen - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Zambia - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Zimbabwe - No introduction of new leave or expansion of existing leave

Algeria - Employers only

North Macedonia - Employers only

Seychelles - Employers only

Austria - Employers and social security or public funds

Greece - Employers and social security or public funds

Monaco - Employers and social security or public funds

Portugal - Employers and social security or public funds

Romania - Employers and social security or public funds

Andorra - Social security or public funds only

Argentina - Social security or public funds only

Belgium - Social security or public funds only

Bulgaria - Social security or public funds only

Canada - Social security or public funds only

Chile - Social security or public funds only

Cuba - Social security or public funds only

Cyprus - Social security or public funds only

Czech Republic - Social security or public funds only

Finland - Social security or public funds only

France - Social security or public funds only

Germany - Social security or public funds only

Italy - Social security or public funds only

Japan - Social security or public funds only

Republic of Korea - Social security or public funds only

Lithuania - Social security or public funds only

Luxembourg - Social security or public funds only

Malta - Social security or public funds only

Montenegro - Social security or public funds only

Norway - Social security or public funds only

Poland - Social security or public funds only

Slovakia - Social security or public funds only

Slovenia - Social security or public funds only

Sweden - Social security or public funds only

Switzerland - Social security or public funds only

United Kingdom - Social security or public funds only

United States of America - Social security or public funds only

Uzbekistan - Social security or public funds only