an MP proposes creating love sickness leaves in the event of a romantic breakup

The text has not yet been debated in parliament, but Filipino companies have already started to implement these specific leaves for breakups.

If in France we are debating, on Friday October 11, the financing of social security, the Philippines are wondering if it might not be time to create a new sick leave, by establishing days of rest for all people after a romantic breakup.

A deputy Lordan Suan, parliamentarian from Cagayan, in the south of the country, has even tabled a very comprehensive project to take care of these romantic sorrows. He explains that breakups and divorces have a negative impact on the morale of individuals and therefore on society as a whole. The people affected are less concentrated at work and less productive. They sometimes contribute to increasing absenteeism in businesses and public services. Worse, their discomfort, if not taken into account, can lead to illness and ultimately contribute to widening the gap in social security.

We could therefore, according to this MP, propose a special break-up sick leave. The bill currently talks about unpaid leave. The social security system in the Philippines is in its infancy. The country does not have the means to pay salaries during all sick leave, but the idea is to push companies to take into account the personal problems of their employees and therefore to grant them days off to heal from their breakup. .

The text frames these holidays. You can only take them once a year and their duration varies with age. If you are under 25, you only have one day off to deal with your painful separation. Between 25 and 35 is two days. And over the age of 36, you can deposit three days per year. Lordan Suan explains that breakups or divorces can be more complicated to deal with when you have a family, children, and are settled in life. It would therefore take more time to recover. The bill also specifies that the employee must provide his employer with a signed certificate specifying that he has indeed terminated his employment within the last thirty days. And he must file his termination notice at least 48 hours before being absent.

This bill has not yet been debated in the Philippine Parliament, but Filipino companies have already started to implement these specific leave for breakups. A large hotel in the city of Cebu has, for example, been offering up to five days of “paid” leave since 2023, this time to its employees who are having a very difficult time with their breakup. The owner of the establishment explains that he himself suffered a lot in his past relationships and that these sick leave would have been very beneficial to him if they had existed.