Since the beginning of the year, eight families in the Aktobe region have made an unconventional choice: fathers, rather than mothers, have taken parental leave. All of them reside in the regional center, reports the website infohub.kz.
According to the portal "Diapazon," last year saw more such men: as of August 1, 13 fathers had applied for child care benefits.
Legislation allows either parent to take parental leave until the child turns one and a half years old. Traditionally, only mothers took maternity leave, but in recent years, more fathers are doing so.
"These cases are rare but they do occur. Mostly in young families where, presumably, the woman earns more than the man. For instance, she works for a foreign or mining company," said Nurlan Kuzeuov, head of the Aktobe branch of the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF).
He explained that when assigning benefits, income from the last 24 calendar months before the child's birth is considered. The payment amounts to 40% of the average monthly income over two years. If a person (man or woman) worked and participated in the social insurance system, they are entitled to a social payment for loss of income due to child care up to 1.5 years. If they did not work, a state allowance is paid, the amount of which depends on the birth order: for the first child — 5.76 MCI (24,912 tenge), for the second — 6.81 MCI (29,454 tenge), for the third — 7.85 MCI (33,952 tenge), for the fourth and more — 8.90 MCI (38,493 tenge).
The SSIF branch also reported that over 7 months of 2026, the minimum payment to fathers on parental leave was 27,680 tenge per month, and the maximum was 193,118 tenge per month.