哈里王子即将休陪产假，意义重大

Now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s baby son has made his royal entry into the world (and onto Instagram), Prince Harry is expected to take time off to learn how to be a parent.

现在哈利王子和梅根·马克尔的儿子正式进入了王室世界（也进入了Ins）,哈里王子要离开媒体一段时间来学习如何做家长。

He won’t be alone, but he may not be in the majority, either: Under U.K. law, new dads are eligible for two weeks’ paid paternity leave, and some companies, like Amex and Diageo, offer their U.K.-based employees a great deal more (20 and 26 weeks, respectively).

他不是一个人，不过他也不属于大多数。根据英国的法律，新晋爸爸能够请两周的陪产假，一些公司，像Amex和Diageo这样的公司能够让男性员工分别提供20至26周的带薪陪产假。

But studies show that the percentage of eligible fathers who opt to take paternity leave remains small. As for Markle, if she were a commoner and not the Duchess of Sussex, she would be entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave under U.K. law. The first 26 weeks are paid at 90% of their average weekly salary before tax.

研究表明，新晋爸爸选择陪产假的还是少数。对于马克尔来说，如果她不是苏塞克斯公爵夫人，而只是一个普通人的话，根据英国的法律她有权享有52周的产假，前26周能够享受税前工资的90%。

Last year, a group of MPs argued that fathers should get more paid paternity leave. Specifically, the lawmakers argued that fathers should have the option of 12 weeks’ paid “use it or lose it” paternity leave. The idea is to try to encourage more men to get involved in the lives of their young children and hopefully close the gender pay gap.

去年，一些议员就爸爸能不能休带薪陪产假进行辩论。特别是法律制定人员称，爸爸们能够选择12周的带薪陪产假“不使用，就作废”。这个想法主要是让更多的男性参与到养育小宝宝的行列，并且缩小两性之间的收入差异。

As this is Harry’s first child, it’s likely that he will take off as much time as possible off. Hopefully, he gave the queen advance notice of his plans, though, because under U.K. law, he had to give her at least 21 days’ notice. If so, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson reportedly told the Daily Mail, that “Her Majesty will accommodate a break from duties” for the new royal father.

鉴于这是哈里王子的第一个孩子，他肯定想尽可能的多陪陪他。希望他已经给女王提前说过他的计划，因为根据英国的法律，他必须提前至少21天请示女王。如果这样做的话，白金汉宫发言人就会告知《每日邮报》“女王陛下允许这位新晋父亲从王室事务里抽身一段时间。”

If only all employers could be so flexible.

要是所有的雇主都这么通情达理就好了。