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The Kenya Federation of Employers is worried about the increased requests for maternity and paternity leaves by employees, saying that it is draining employers financially.
Speaking Wednesday during the Annual General Meeting of rift Valley FKE branch, the group executive director Jacqueline Mugo said that employers are being forced to dig deep into their pockets to sustain the increased cost of operations as a result of increased maternity and paternity leaves.
Mugo said that the four-month maternity and two-week paternity leaves have raised the cost of operations by 15%.
“You can imagine four women asking for maternity leaves of four months each at the same time in one company. This is a big burden for employers because they are losing out,” said Mugo.
“There was no need to increase the maternity leave period from three to four months because the effects on the employer were not factored in,” she said.
“Most men who ask for paternity leaves are rarely found at home during that time,” she added.
She also accused the County governments of imposing exorbitant levies on investors within their counties, something she said was driving away investors.
