Family Rights [EU]

Parental leave and leave for family reasons

The Directive makes the framework agreement on parental leave concluded between the general cross-industry organisations compulsory. It also asks the Member States to lay down penalties for infringements of national measures taken in implementation of the Directive.

Drective 96/34/EC of 3 June 1996 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC

The framework agreement on parental leave concluded on 14 December 1995 between the general cross-industry organisations (UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC), annexed to the Directive, is made compulsory.

Content of the framework agreement

The framework agreement provides for:

• male and female workers to have individual entitlement to parental leave on the grounds of the birth or adoption of a child, enabling them to take care of the child for at least three months;
• the conditions of access to, and procedures for applying, parental leave to be defined by law and/or collective agreement in the Member States, subject to compliance with the minimum requirements of the agreement;
• the Member States and/or social partners to take the necessary measures to protect workers against dismissal on the grounds of an application for, or the taking of, parental leave;
• workers to have the right to return to the same job at the end of parental leave or, if that is not possible, to an equivalent or similar job consistent with their employment contract or relationship;
• the maintenance of rights acquired or in the process of being acquired by the worker on the date on which parental leave starts; at the end of the period of leave, those rights will apply;
• the Member States and/or the social partners to take the necessary measures to allow workers to take time off from work, in accordance with national legislation, collective agreements and/or practice, for unforeseeable reasons arising from a family emergency in the event of sickness or accident making the immediate presence of the worker indispensable.

More favourable provisions

The Member States may introduce more favourable provisions than those laid down in the Directive.

Implementation of the provisions of the Directive will not in any way constitute sufficient grounds to justify a reduction in the general level of protection afforded to workers in the field covered.

Sanctions

The Member States are to determine the range of penalties applicable for infringements of national provisions pursuant to the Directive, and are to take all the necessary steps to ensure their implementation. The penalties applied must be effective and commensurate with the infringement, and must constitute a sufficient deterrent.

Context

The objective of the Directive is to introduce minimum requirements on parental leave and time off from work on grounds of force majeure. It aims to reconcile occupational and family obligations and to promote equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women.

This Directive shall be repealed on 8 March 2012. It shall be replaced by Directive 2010/18/EU on the application of the revised framework agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC.

Parental leave

The European social partners have concluded a new Framework Agreement on parental leave. This Agreement extends the period of parental leave to four months for each parent. It applies to all workers and to all types of employment contract. It represents a means of better reconciling workers’ professional and parental responsibilities and of promoting equal treatment between men and women.

Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC (Text with EEA relevance).

Workers are entitled to parental leave on the birth or adoption of a child. Such leave may be taken until the child has reached an age determined by national law and/or collective agreements, but before the age of eight.

This Directive applies equally to all workers, men and women, irrespective of their type of employment contract (open-ended, fixed-term, part-time or temporary).

Parental leave shall be granted for at least a period of four months. In principle, workers should be able to take all of their leave. It should therefore not be transferable from one parent to the other. However, such transfers may be authorised on condition that each parent retains at least one of the four months of leave.

Taking of leave

The conditions of access to leave and adaptability of leave shall be defined by national law and/or collective agreements. For example, European Union (EU) States and/or social partners may:

• adapt leave to the needs of parents and employers, by granting leave on a full-time or part-time basis, in a piecemeal way or in the form of a time-credit system;
• make this right subject to a length of service qualification which shall not exceed one year. Where appropriate, that period shall be calculated taking account of all of the successive fixed-term contracts concluded with the same employer;
• authorise the postponement of leave by the employer, for justifiable reasons related to the organisation;
• authorise special arrangements to ensure the proper operation of small undertakings.

Workers wishing to take parental leave must give notice to the employer. The period of notice shall be specified in each EU country taking into account the interests of workers and of employers.

Each EU country shall also be encouraged to define additional measures and/or the specific conditions for the taking of leave by adoptive parents and parents of children with a disability or a long-term illness.

Return to work and non-discrimination

After taking parental leave, workers shall have the right to return to the same job. If that is not possible, the employer must offer them an equivalent or similar job consistent with their employment contract or employment relationship.

In addition, rights acquired or in the process of being acquired by the worker on the date on which parental leave starts:

• shall be maintained as they stand until the end of the leave;
• shall apply at the end of the leave, as shall all changes arising from national law, collective agreements and/or practice.

Similarly, workers shall be protected against less favourable treatment or dismissal on the grounds of an application for, or the taking of, parental leave.

All matters regarding social security and income in relation to parental leave are for determination by EU States and/or national social partners. The Agreement does not therefore contain any stipulations concerning the payment of salary or compensation during parental leave.

Finally, on their return from leave, workers must be able to request changes to their working hours and/or patterns for a set period of time. Employers shall consider and respond to such requests, taking into account both employers’ and workers’ needs.

Leave on grounds of force majeure

Workers may also request leave on grounds of force majeure for family reasons. Such leave may be requested in particular in cases of sickness or accident making the immediate presence of the worker within the family indispensable.

Context

This Directive introduces the revised Framework Agreement concluded by the European social partners on 18 June 2009. This Agreement follows the Framework Agreement of 14 December 1995 on parental leave.

The directive will be repealed by the work–life balance directive (2019/1158/EU) with effect from 2 August 2022.

Work-life balance for parents and carers

Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers

 

It seeks to ensure gender equality with respect to labour market opportunities and treatment at work throughout the EU by facilitating the work-life balance for workers who are parents or carers.
It sets out minimum requirements for family-related leaves (paternity, parental and carers’ leave) and flexible working arrangements.
It seeks to increase women’s participation in the labour market and to achieve a better sharing of caring responsibilities between men and women.

It creates incentives for men to assume an equal share of caring responsibilities by creating paid paternity and parental leave which is one of the reasons of the low take-up of leave by fathers.
The imbalance in the design of work-life balance policies between women and men reinforces gender stereotypes and differences between work and care. Policies on equal treatment should aim to address the issue of stereotypes in both men’s and women’s occupations and roles.
Scope

The directive relates to all men and women who have an employment contract or an employment relationship as defined by the law, collective agreements or practice in force in each EU country, taking into account the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU.
Minimum rights

The directive provides for minimum individual rights related to the following:

paternity leave, parental leave and carers’ leave;
flexible working arrangements for workers who are parents, or carers; and
legal protection for those applying for or making use of family-related leave and flexible working arrangements.
EU countries may choose to introduce or maintain rules that are more favourable to workers.

Paternity leave

Fathers or equivalent second parents have the right to take paternity leave of 10 working days on the birth of a child.
Paternity leave has to be paid at the national sick pay level.
The right to paternity leave must not be made subject to a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification.
EU countries may make the right to a payment or an allowance subject to periods of previous employment, which must not exceed 6 months immediately prior to the expected date of the birth of the child.

Parental leave

Each worker has an individual right to 4 months’ paid parental leave, 2 months of which are non-transferable between the parents.
At least 2 months of parental leave per parent need to be paid at an adequate level.
EU countries may make the right to parental leave subject to a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification, which must not exceed 1 year.
EU countries must ensure that workers have the right to request that they take parental leave in a flexible way, such as on a part-time basis, or in alternating periods of leave separated by periods of work.

Carers’ leave

The directive introduces rules for carers, namely workers caring for relatives requiring support due to serious medical reasons. These rules also cover care for a person who lives in the same household as the worker.
Each carer is entitled to take 5 working days per year.

Flexible working arrangements

Workers with children up to a specified age, but at least 8, and carers have the right to request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes.
These arrangements include the use of remote working arrangements, flexible working schedules, or a reduction in working hours.
Employers must deal with these requests within a reasonable period of time and provide reasons for refusing or postponing such arrangements.
EU countries may make the right to request flexible working arrangements subject to a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification. This period must not exceed 6 months.
Legal protection

EU countries must introduce rules to ensure:

workers are protected from discrimination and dismissal on the grounds that they have applied for, or have taken, family-related leave or flexible working arrangements;
workers who consider that they have been dismissed on the basis that they have exercised such rights should be able to ask the employer to provide duly substantiated grounds for the dismissal;
the previous job and the rights acquired or in the process of being acquired before leave by the worker are maintained after the leave.

Application

Repeal

The directive repeals Directive 2010/18/EU on parental leave from 2 August 2022.

It has applied since 1 August 2019 and has to become law in the EU countries by 2 August 2022 (except for the payment of the last 2 weeks of parental leave, for which the deadline is 2 August 2024).

 

For more information, see:

Work-life balance (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU (OJ L 188, 12.7.2019, pp. 79-93)

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC (OJ L 68, 18.3.2010, pp. 13-20)

Successive amendments to Directive 2010/18/EU have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (tenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (OJ L 348, 28.11.1992, pp. 1-7)