Makes sense. Having kids is one thing, but what if she got hit by a bus. You should never be that dependent on any one person. And there are many lines of work where having the employee take some time off helps with making sure that they're doing their work properly and not hiding something. You just have to plan for it.
I don't believe it was that simple. Technically the full time position existed and hiring someone else would have required finding long term budget for another one. It was in a country were firing people is very difficult when they're on a permanent position so when you hire, you have to be sure you can make it work.
