(Yicai Global) Aug. 11 -- Parental leave for staff will cost companies an average of CNY17,200 (USD2,552) for each new birth, an expert has estimated, as China pushes ahead with a policy to boost the birthrate.

Costs amounting to tens of thousands of yuan per employee with children is enough to deter firms from embracing the policy, Yang Hui, deputy director of the policy and regulation research office of the Women’s Studies Institute of China, was cited as saying in an article published by the China Population Association on Aug. 9.

With the fertility rate continuing to fall, China last year began to encourage couples to have three children and introduced a series of support measures. Since then, various parts of the country have extended staff maternity leave from the stipulated 98 days to 158 days, and have also allocated about 15 days of paternity leave.

The lack of a reasonable cost-sharing mechanism could upend the policy. Firms need to pay an average of CNY13,800 in wages and CNY3,400 in social insurance contributions during an employee’s maternity leave, Yang noted at a recent forum.

A cost-sharing mechanism has not yet been put in place, Dong Yuzheng, director of the Guangdong Academy of Population Development, told Yicai Global. That has resulted in an excessive burden on businesses, and may crimp their willingness to hire female staff and adversely affect women’s employment and career development, he noted.

Some local governments have introduced policies to share the cost of parental leave with companies. According to a policy issued by Jiangsu province in March, it covers half of social insurance premiums paid by companies for female staff on leave for a second child and 80 percent for those out for a third child.

The government can also take steps such as tax relief and performance incentives to further trim the cost for companies and create a system whereby society jointly bears the cost of parenting, so as to prevent employment discrimination, Dong said.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Peter Thomas