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The Response of Firms to Maternity Leave and Sickness Absence

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  • Schmutte, Ian M.
  • Skira, Meghan M.

Abstract

We study how firms respond to predictable, but uncertain, worker absences arising from maternity and non-work-related sickness leave. Using administrative data on over 1.5 million spells of leave in Brazil, we identify the short-run effects of a leave spell starting on firms' employment, hiring, and separations. Firms respond immediately by increasing hiring, but the increase is substantially less than one-for-one replacement. Hiring responses are more pronounced for absences arising in occupations with more transferable skills and in firms operating in thicker labor markets. Overall, our results imply that using external markets is costly and firms manage absences through other channels.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmutte, Ian M. & Skira, Meghan M., 2022. "The Response of Firms to Maternity Leave and Sickness Absence," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1101, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:1101
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    Cited by:

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    2. Irene Ferrari & Jan Kabátek & Todd Morris, 2023. "Longer careers: A barrier to hiring and coworker advancement?," Working Papers 2023:06, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    3. Bamieh, Omar & Ziegler, Lennart, 2023. "Gender-age differences in hiring rates and prospective wages—Evidence from job referrals to unemployed workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Mathias Huebener & Jonas Jessen & Daniel Kuehnle & Michael Oberfichtner, 2022. "Parental Leave, Worker Substitutability, and Firms' Employment," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0007, Berlin School of Economics.
    5. Rettl, Daniel A. & Schandlbauer, Alexander & Trandafir, Mircea, 2022. "Employee Health and Firm Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 15147, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Bennedsen, Morten & Larsen, Birthe & Schmutte, Ian M. & Scur, Daniela, 2023. "The effect of preserving job matches during a crisis," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Canaan, Serena & Lassen, Anne Sophie & Rosenbaum, Philip & Steingrimsdottir, Herdis, 2022. "Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave: Evidence on the Economic Impact of Legislative Changes in High Income Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 15129, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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