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CHILDREN

Fathers to get ‘bonuses’ for paternity leave

French President François Hollande this week announced plans to give financial incentives to encourage fathers to take their fair share of parental leave.

Fathers to get 'bonuses' for paternity leave
File photo: Shningleback/flickr

Speaking at a convention on equality on Thursday, the French president said the reform was necessary to ensure women spend less time out of work, which can harm their career prospects, and to encourage second parents – in most cases fathers – to share the burden of parental leave ('congé parental').

In France 'congé parental' can be taken by either parent at the end of maternity leave, but statistics show it is taken up by mothers in 96 percent of cases. This is a figure the government has its sights set on re-balancing.

"Today, less than 4% of those taking parental leave are men," said Hollande. "This means that for the most part, parental leave is for women, but it sometimes ends up working against women, when they cannot find a job again."

Under the proposed changes, parental leave will be reduced from a maximum of three years for parents with two or more children to two and half years. However an additional six months leave can be taken, but only by the father.

For parents with one child, the six months will also be extended to one year, but only if the additional six months is taken by the father.

Someone on parental leave currently receives a maximum allowance of €566 per month.

The question will remain over whether fathers, whose salary is often higher than that of their partners, will be attracted by the idea of giving up work to stay at home and look after their children.

To encourage them to sign up, the French government is to give men financial incentives or "bonuses" by increasing their parental allowance during the six months they are on leave.

Despite the increased ‘bonus’ for fathers and the lengthening of the minimum time for parental leave, the government insists the reform will not cost the government anything.

Further details on the legislation are expected to be announced in May and will form part of a new equality law being put together by the French government.

The changes in the law are not expected to come into force before January 2014 and may even be delayed up to July 2014.

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CHILDREN

What names do foreign nationals give their babies in Switzerland?

Each year for more than three decades, the Federal Statistical Office has been publishing the first names of infants born in Switzerland the previous year. It seems that foreigners favour names that are typical of their national background.

What names do foreign nationals give their babies in Switzerland?
Foreigners give their babies names that reflect their nationality. Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels

As The Local reported on Wednesday, the most popular names for newborn girls born in Switzerland in 2020 were Mia, Emma, and Mila.

For boys, Noah took the top spot, ahead of Liam and Matteo.

REVEALED: The most popular baby name in each Swiss canton

But what about the most popular names among various nationalities living in Switzerland?

The answers come from the same study.

Italy

The top name for boys of Italian parents is Giuseppe, followed by Antonio and Francesco. For girls, Maria is in the first place, Anna in the second, and Francesca in the third.

Portugal

There are many Portuguese immigrants living in Switzerland and, like their Italian counterparts, they like to give their children traditional names: José, Carlos and Manuel for boys, and Maria, Ana, and Sandra for girls.

Spain

Spanish names are similar to those of Portuguese babies.

José, Juan and Jose are most popular boy names, while Maria, Ana and Laura are in the top three spots for the girls.

Turkey

Most boys of Turkish descent are named Mehmet, Ali, and Mustafa. Among girls, Fatma, Ayse, and Elif dominate.

Kosovo

Arben, Vallon, and Bekim are top names for boys, and Fatime, Shquipe, and Merite for girls.

Macedonia

Bekim is in the first place for boys, followed by Muhamed and Fatmir. Among girls, Fatimr is in the lead, Sara in the second place, and Emine in the third.

Serbia

Aleksandar, Dragan and Nicola take the first three spots. For the girls, Jelena, Maria and Snezana are at the top.

Can you give your baby any name you want?

Not in Switzerland, you can’t. It’s important to keep in mind that the cantonal registry offices, where new births must be announced, don’t have to accept very unusual names.

Several years ago, for instance, a Zurich court ruled that parents can’t name their infant daughter ‘J’.

In another case, a couple in the canton of Bern were ordered to change the name of their newborn son because their choice – Jessico – was considered too feminine. 

Several names have been forbidden in Switzerland, including Judas, Chanel, Paris and Mercedes. 

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