Software giant SAP announced that, starting next year, it will give fathers and other partners in Germany six weeks' paid leave from the time their child is born, as the government continues to discuss paid leave for partners at the national level.
"We want to show with this that family compatibility and career-making are not contradictions," said SAP's head of human resources in Germany, Cawa Younosi.
In the coalition agreement two years ago, the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) had announced plans to introduce a two-week paid leave for the partner after the birth of a child.
Different terms are being used for the plan, including "paternity leave" and "father's time" - since it would mostly benefit fathers.
Family Minister Lisa Paus spoke on Tuesday of a "family start time" - a guaranteed two-week paid leave for both parents after the birth of a child.
The draft law is currently being discussed by the government.
The DAX-listed company SAP expects 700 to 800 fathers or other partners per year in Germany to take up the offer, around 90% of those eligible for the scheme.
This would incur costs of several million euros per year, it said.
German legislation currently allows parents up to 3 years of parental leave, of which up to 14 months are paid. Parental leave can be divided among parents or taken by one parent.
In most cases, this means the mother takes up most if not all of the parental leave, while fathers go back to work.
Fathers in Germany do not currently have guaranteed time off after the birth of their child.
