EU introduces parental leave for both partners and ten-day paternity leave
The rate of employment for women in the EU is by 11.6% lower than that of men and, moreover, a third of all EU women work only part-time. Differences in employment are much more profound for parents and other persons with care responsibilities. Consequently, in mid-June, the EU Council approved a directive on work-life balance for parents and care-givers, aiming to address women's underrepresentation in the labour market and to provide for a better balance of work and family lives. It is now up to the member states to implement the content of the directive into their national legislations within three years.
The directive introduces paternity leave: fathers or equivalent second parents will be able to take ten working days of paternity leave around the time of the birth of a child, and will be compensated at least at the level of sick pay. The member states may allow the taking of paternity leave also before childbirth. The paternity leave of seven calendar days has already been in force in the Czech Republic, compensated at a level exceeding sick pay. To meet the directive’s requirements, our legislators will only have to extend the paternity leave to ten working days, i.e. double the current entitlement.
For parental leave, the directive aims to balance the taking of parental leave by both fathers and mothers; in the future, each parent should have the individual right to parental leave of at least four months, of which at least two months may not be transferred to the partner. In practice, this means that each parent should stay at home with their child for at least two months. The non-transferrable part of the parental leave should be paid; however, the minimum amount of pay has not been determined. Working parents should also be allowed to apply to take parental leave in a flexible manner, i.e. on a part-time basis, which is another obligation imposed on member states by the directive. However, employers may refuse to satisfy such requests. Czech regulations already allow for the alternation of partners on parental leave and for full parental leave to be taken only by one parent.
The novelty is a care-givers’ leave of five working days a year for workers providing personal care or support to a family member. The directive also stipulates the right to time off from work for force majeure reasons in urgent family matters. The amount of compensation is left to be decided by the member states; these may also opt for not providing any such allowance. In our legal environment, the new concepts remind us of impediments to work as a result of home nursing or provision of long-term care. The directive also stipulates the right of all working parents of children up to the age of eight to flexible working arrangements, including flexibility in the place of work. Similarly as in the case of taking parental leave in a flexible manner, working parents will be entitled to apply for such working arrangements, while the final decision will be made by the employer. The Czech Labour Code currently allows for applying for shorter working hours or another suitable adjustment of working hours by parents of children up to the age of fifteen.
We have to wait and see whether the directive will really help enhance the gender balance in the labour market and improve work-life balances. It will largely depend on what approach is adopted by individual member states. The majority of tools introduced by the directive have already been in force in a certain form in the Czech Republic. The major challenge for Czech lawmakers will be the requirement to enable the drawing of time off in a flexible manner, such as by alternating leave and work. This could really result in a greater involvement of men in care responsibilities.