• Home Page
  • All Posts
  • About us
Friday, September 29, 2023
SocialPolicy English edition
  • Events
  • Employment
    • Jobs
    • Traineeships
  • Lifelong Learning
    • Master’s Studies
    • PhD Opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Social Policy
    • Articles
    • Social Protection
    • Social Cohesion
    • Gender Equality
    • Employment Policies
    • Social Economy
    • Health Policies
    • Mental Health
    • Social Housing
    • Social Inclusion
    • Social Policy Programs
  • Social Theory
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
  • Events
  • Employment
    • Jobs
    • Traineeships
  • Lifelong Learning
    • Master’s Studies
    • PhD Opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Social Policy
    • Articles
    • Social Protection
    • Social Cohesion
    • Gender Equality
    • Employment Policies
    • Social Economy
    • Health Policies
    • Mental Health
    • Social Housing
    • Social Inclusion
    • Social Policy Programs
  • Social Theory
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
SocialPolicy English edition
No Result
View All Result
Home Social Policy Social Protection

New rights to improve work-life balance in the EU enter into application

all Member States must apply EU-wide rules to improve work-life balance for parents and carers adopted in 2019.

New rights to improve work-life balance in the EU enter into application
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

These new rules set out minimum standards for paternity, parental and carers’ leave and establish additional rights, such as the right to request flexible working arrangements, which will help people develop their careers and family life without having to sacrifice either.

These rights, which come in addition to existing maternity leave rights, were achieved under the European Pillar of Social Rights and is a key milestone towards building a Union of Equality.

Work-life balance for parents and carers

The Directive on work-life balance aims to both increase (i) the participation of women in the labour market and (ii) the take-up of family-related leave and flexible working arrangements. Overall, women’s employment rate in the EU is 10.8 percentage points lower than men’s.

Moreover, only 68% of women with care responsibilities work compared to 81% of men with the same duties. The Directive allows workers leave to care for relatives who need support and overall means that parents and carers are able to reconcile professional and private lives.

  • Paternity leave: Working fathers are entitled to at least 10 working days of paternity leave around the time of birth of the child. Paternity leave must be compensated at least at the level of sick pay;
  • Parental leave: Each parent is entitled to at least four months of parental leave, of which two months is paid and non-transferable. Parents can request to take their leave in a flexible form, either full-time, part-time, or in segments;
  • Carers’ leave: All workers providing personal care or support to a relative or person living in the same household have the right to at least five working days of carers’ leave per year;
  • Flexible Working Arrangements: All working parents with children of up to at least eight years old and all carers have the right to request reduced working hours, flexible working hours, and flexibility in the place of work.

Next steps

As set out by President von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines, the Commission will ensure the full implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive, which will help bring more women into the labour market and help fight child poverty. The Commission will support Member States in applying the new rules including through the European Social Fund+ to improve the quality and accessibility of early childhood education and care systems.

Member States are required to transpose the Directive into national law (by the 2nd of August 2022). In a next step, the Commission will assess the completeness and compliance of the national measures notified by each Member State, and take action if and where necessary.

Background

The Work-Life Balance Directive is the outcome of years of work by the Commission to encourage Member States and the European Parliament to improve legislation on leave available for parents and to introduce for the first time in EU legislation the right to carers’ leave.

The Commission first tabled a proposal in 2008 to reform older legislation on maternity leave which it withdrew in 2015 after negotiations stalled. In order to broadly address women’s underrepresentation in the labour market, the right to suitable leave, flexible working arrangements and access to care services was embedded in Principle 9 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, jointly proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council on behalf of all Member States and the Commission in Gothenburg in November 2017.

The Work-Life Balance Directive is one of the actions of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan to further implement the Pillar principles. The Directive proposal was adopted on 13 June 2019 and Member States had three years until 2 August to implement it in national law.

The new rules are in addition to the rights under Directive 92/85 on pregnant workers, according to which women have the right to a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave with at least two being compulsory. Maternity leave is compensated at least at the national sick pay level.

It also goes hand in hand with the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, which the Member States had to transpose into national law by 1 August (press release).

The Directive updates and extends the rights for the 182 million workers in the EU, particularly addressing insufficient protection for workers in more precarious jobs, while limiting the burden on employers and maintaining flexibility to adapt to changing labour market conditions.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=10348&furtherNews=yes

Read Also  EU governments, respect the promises made to workers!
Tags: employment policiesEuropean Commissiongender equalitysocial policysocial protection

Related Posts

Green light for ESF+ from European Parliament and Council

European care strategy – One year after the adoption

by fGxfvU1nE7
September 25, 2023
0

Several actions were launched to ensure high-quality affordable and accessible care services and to improve the situation of care providers.

Understanding and Measuring Child Well-Being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round Two

New report published: Access for children in need to European Child Guarantee key services

by fGxfvU1nE7
September 25, 2023
0

The report examines the extent to which the six key services covered by the European Child Guarantee are readily available...

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Combating violence against women: MEPs ready to negotiate on draft EU directive

by fGxfvU1nE7
August 17, 2023
0

MEPs push for a broader scope, to protect more victims and punish more perpetrators

Rights for all seasons: European Labour Authority supports fair work for seasonal workers

Study on seasonal workers and intra-EU labour mobility published

by fGxfvU1nE7
August 17, 2023
0

The study complements the 2021 study on seasonal work and summarises the key challenges related to seasonal work.

Load More
Next Post
A European Care Strategy for caregivers and care receivers

A European Care Strategy for caregivers and care receivers

Three steps forward towards an equal sharing of unpaid care

Three steps forward towards an equal sharing of unpaid care

Pandemic exacerbates challenges civil society faces

Civil society vital for strengthening the rule of law

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Interview with Stephen Turner (Weber scholar and social theorist) : Part I
  • “Inaction on climate change”
  • European care strategy – One year after the adoption
  • New report published: Access for children in need to European Child Guarantee key services
  • Cascade Technical Assistance Coordinator @ Remote Location | CARE

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 25 other subscribers

About us

The present English Edition of socialpolicy.gr (SocialPolicy English Edition) is based on the need to curate and present social policy topics in depth.

Furthermore, we consider that many of our readers should be more easily informed by reading our English language content, thus adding to the accessibility of the project.

Recent Posts

  • Interview with Stephen Turner (Weber scholar and social theorist) : Part I
  • “Inaction on climate change”
  • European care strategy – One year after the adoption
  • New report published: Access for children in need to European Child Guarantee key services
  • Cascade Technical Assistance Coordinator @ Remote Location | CARE

Popular Posts

  • Researcher @ the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

    Vacancies @ European Asylum Support Office | EASO

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Administrative Assistant @ European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mental Health Officer @ MSF International

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 5 questions and answers about gender-based violence

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Research officer – Gender equality (one year contract) @ EIGE

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • About us
  • All Posts
  • Home Page

© 2021 socialpolicy.gr

No Result
View All Result
  • About us
  • Events
  • Employment
    • Jobs
    • Traineeships
  • Lifelong Learning
    • Master’s Studies
    • PhD Opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Social Policy
    • Articles
    • Gender Equality
    • Employment Policies
    • Social Economy
    • Health Policies
    • Mental Health
    • Social Cohesion
    • Social Housing
    • Social Inclusion
    • Social Policy Programs
    • Social Protection
  • Social Theory
  • Opinion
  • All Posts

© 2021 socialpolicy.gr