Starting June 1, 2025, several significant changes to maternity and paternity benefits will be implemented in Barbados.
Maternity leave will be extended from 12 weeks to 14 weeks for single births and to 17 weeks for multiple births.
The current stipulation of three confinements with one employer to qualify for maternity benefits will be removed, making these benefits more accessible to a wider range of workers.
The requirement that the child must be born in Barbados will also be eliminated, with the new condition being that the mother must be ordinarily resident in the country.
For the first time, statutory paternity leave will be introduced, granting fathers three weeks of leave.
The condition that parents must live together when the child is born to access these benefits will also be removed.
In another important update, the maternity grant will be converted into a child grant, recognizing that the primary caregiver of a child may not always be the mother.
These were all announced by Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, during the 2025 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposal.
