Government employees in Kerala who have children with special needs, can now seek relaxation in working hours for a maximum of 16 hours in total, in a month.
That means, parents of children with autistic disorders, multiple disabilities, mental retardation or cerebral palsy, who are working for the Kerala government, can now avail of relaxed working hours so that they can attend to the needs of their special children better. The state cabinet has decided that one such state government employee can avail not more than 16 hours of such relaxation in a month.
In a report submitted to the government in August last year, it was recommended that a maximum of 15 hours’ relaxation be granted to such parents, provided it doesn’t exceed an hour in a day. After going through the report, the government went on to grant 16 hours of relaxation in a month to one parent for taking care of a special child.
The relaxation is applicable to employees of all government offices and establishments.
It is pertinent to mention here that such parents are already eligible for special casual leave of up to 15 days in a year. This relaxation is over and above this benefit. To claim the special casual leave, the parent is required to produce a certificate from an authorised medical officer who attends to the child.
