Annex
SUMMARY OF PARENTAL EMPLOYMENT AND LEAVE
ENTITLEMENTS IN EU MEMBER STATES AND NORWAY
AUSTRIA
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997[5]
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years : 72 per cent (full-time—45 per cent; part-time—27
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 67 per cent (full-time—38 per cent; part-time—29
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—84 per cent; Medium—68 per cent;
Low—52 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 93 per cent (full-time—91 per cent; part-time—3
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—3 per cent; Women—6 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—33.4; Fathers—41.2
MATERNITY LEAVE
16 weeks (plus extra for multiple births/premature
births). Eight weeks before the birth; Eight weeks after birth
plus an extra four weeks for multiple or premature births. Paid
at 100 per cent of earnings.
Employed women who are breast-feeding are allowed
one 45 minute break a day if working between 4.5 and 8 hours a
day.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1990.
Each family is entitled to full-time leave until
a child reaches 18 months if only one parent takes leave; if both
parents share the leave, full-time leave may be taken until a
child reaches two years. Leave therefore is a family entitlement,
which parents can share between themselves, but with an incentive
for the father to use leave. Leave can only be transferred once
between parents.
The father can only claim Parental Leave if
the mother meets the eligibility conditions (ie the father's entitlement
is dependent on the mother).
Alternatively, part-time leave may be taken,
and if certain conditions are met this leave can be extended until
the child is four years; the number of hours worked must be reduced
by at least two-fifths. A new regulation also provides for payment
of parental leave allowance if the parent takes up short-term
employment; this is intended to enable parents to maintain contact
with employment.
Parents taking leave receive a flat-rate benefit
payment of ATS 185.50 per day, with a higher rate for single parents
or a parent with a partner on a low income [ATS 267.70 per day].
BELGIUM
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 67 per cent (full-time—43 per cent; part-time—24
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 65 per cent (full-time—39 per cent; part-time—25
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—85 per cent; Medium—70 per cent;
Low—38 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 91 per cent (full-time—89 per cent; part-time—2
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—4 per cent; Women—11 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—32.6; Fathers—40.9
MATERNITY LEAVE
Fifteen weeks. One week must be taken before
the birth and eight weeks after the birth; the remaining six weeks
can be taken either before or after birth or divided before and
after the birth. Paid at 82 per cent of earnings for the first
month, and 75 per cent of earnings (up to a maximum level) for
the remaining period. If the baby has to remain in hospital for
more than eight weeks, the mother may take her remaining period
of post-natal leave after the child is discharged home.
A 1991 law enables fathers to take the post-natal
period of leave if the mother is dead or seriously ill.
PATERNITY LEAVE
Three days paid at 100 per cent of earnings,
in the private sector. Four days paid at 100 per cent of earnings,
in the public sector
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1998.
Each parent is entitled to three months full-time
leave or up to six months half-time leave, which can be taken
until the child is four years old (or eight years if the child
has a handicap; or during the seven year period after adoption).
Leave therefore is an individual entitlement, not transferable
between parents.
Parents taking leave receive a flat rate benefit
payment of approximately BF20,000 per month.
In addition, there is a system of "career
breaks" from employment. They were first introduced in 1985
as part of collective agreements, and were dependent on the employer's
agreement. Since January 1999, however, "career breaks"
are an individual entitlement for all workers (except for workers
at managerial level or working in companies with less than 10
employees). The only condition now is that the employer must be
prepared to accept a previously unemployed worker as a replacement.
The employer can also defer the employee taking career break,
if s/he is satisfied that taking leave would have a serious adverse
effect on the operation of the business.
Under this system, workers may take up to five
years of full-time leave and up to five years of part-time leave
over the course of their working lives. Leave may be taken for
any reason including the care of children; it seems likely that
it is mostly taken to enable mothers to care for children.
Workers can take a career break of between three
and 12 months; but the length of the career break can be longer
if the worker applies for an extension at the end of the initial
period. Instead of a full-time "career break", workers
employed at least 3/4 time can request to work half-time, for
a period ranging from six months to five years.
Workers using this measure receive a flat-rate
payment, approximately BF12,000 a month for a full-time "career
break", with a reduced payment if taking part-time leave.
But a higher payment is made if leave is taken within six years
of birth or adoption of a second child (approximately BF13,000
a month for a full-time "career break"), or of a third
or higher order child (approximately BF14,000 a month for a full-time
"career break").
DENMARK
No data available from the European Labour Force
Survey
MATERNITY LEAVE
Eighteen weeks. Four weeks before birth; 14
weeks after birth. Paid at flat-rate benefit equivalent to unemployment
benefit, which in 1998 was DKK2,690 a week.
PATERNITY LEAVE
Ten days. Paid as for Maternity Leave
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement to Parental Leave introduced
in 1984; Child Care Leave introduced in 1992.
Each family is entitled to 10 weeks full-time
Parental Leave, paid as for Maternity Leave. This part of the
leave therefore is a family entitlement, which parents can share
between themselves.
In addition, each parent is entitled to 13 weeks
full-time Child Care Leave, which is extended to 26 weeks if her/his
child is under one year or recently adopted; the period of leave
can be doubled, but this extension of the leave period is dependent
on the employer's agreement. Leave can be taken until the child
is eight years old. The employer can defer the employee taking
child care leave for up to 26 weeks if it is considered impossible
to find a replacement—but not if the leave is taken immediately
following maternity and parental leave (ie when the child is still
very young). This leave therefore is an individual entitlement,
not transferable between parents.
Parents taking Child Care Leave receive a flat-rate
benefit payment, which initially was set at 80 per cent of unemployment
benefit, but has since been reduced—first to 70 per cent
and now (since April 1997) to 60 per cent (ie DKK1,614 a week
in 1998). However, this basic national payment may be supplemented
by local authorities if they wish to do so, up to a maximum of
DKK35,000 a year (for children under three years, it is a condition
of child care leave that children do not attend publicly-funded
child care institutions; children aged three to eight may attend
on a part-time basis).
This individual leave entitlement is also available
for workers for training purposes and for any other reason (ie
as a Sabbatical break from work), with payment at the level of
unemployment benefit for training and at 60 per cent of unemployment
benefit for a Sabbatical break. In both cases, however, workers
taking leave are not guaranteed their jobs, unlike workers taking
leave to care for children.
This individual leave entitlement is also available
for workers for training purposes and for any other reason (ie
as a Sabbatical break from work), with payment at the level of
unemployment benefit for training and at 60 per cent of unemployment
benefit for a Sabbatical break. In both cases, however, workers
taking leave are not guaranteed their jobs, unlike workers taking
leave to care for children.
FINLAND
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 49 per cent (full-time—41 per cent; part-time—7
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 70 per cent (full-time—61 per cent; part-time—9
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—72 per cent; Medium—58 per cent;
Low—37 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 86 per cent (full-time—84 per cent; part-time—2
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—8 per cent; Women—11 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—36.8; Fathers—42.1
MATERNITY LEAVE
17.5 weeks (ie 105 working days including Saturdays).
At least five weeks must be taken before the birth and 9.5 weeks
after, while the remaining three weeks can be taken before or
after the birth. Paid at between 43 per cent and 82 per cent of
previous earnings—the higher the earnings, the lower the
percentage paid. The average rate is 66 per cent of previous earnings
(the average payment in 1997 was FIM167 a day for women and FIM264
a day for men taking Paternity or Parental Leave).
PATERNITY LEAVE
One week (ie six working days). Paid as for
Maternity Leave
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1980, as
a father's right to share part of the Maternity Leave period;
terminology changed to Parental Leave in 1985. Child care (? Or
is it Home Care) Leave introduced in 1990.
Each family is entitled to 26 weeks of Parental
Leave (ie 158 working days including Saturdays), extended by 10
weeks in the case of multiple births, to be taken after Maternity
Leave. Paid as for Maternity Leave.
In addition, each family is entitled to a further
period of Child Care Leave available until a child is three years
old. Parents taking this leave receive a low flat-rate benefit
payment, currently FIM1,500 per month, with a supplement of FIM500
a month for each child under three years old and FIM300 a month
for each child over three years. This basic national payment may
be supplemented by local authorities if they wish to do so and
the average payment made by local authorities is approximately
FIM1,000 a month. The payment for parents taking this type of
leave is conditional on their child under three years not attending
publicly-funded child care institutions.
Both Parental and Child Care Leave are therefore
family entitlements, which parents can share between themselves.
Each parent is entitled to take both Parental and Child Care Leave
in two blocks (ie in each type of leave, parents in a two parent
family can split leave into four blocks shared between themselves).
Since 1998, a parent can take Child Care Leave in more than two
blocks, with the agreement of her or his employer.
Each parent is also entitled to work reduced
hours (either a six hour day or a 30 hour week) until the end
of the year when their child goes to school (ie when the child
is about seven years old). Parents working reduced hours receive
an allowance until their child is three years old, at 25 per cent
of the flat-rate payment for parents taking Child Care Leave.
This is an individual entitlement, and both parents can work reduced
hours at the same time.
FRANCE
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 50 per cent (full-time—32 per cent; part-time—17
per cent)
Employment for women with a child aged 0 to
15 years: 62 per cent (full-time—40 per cent; part-time—22
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—76 per cent; Medium—58 per cent;
Low—35 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 89 per cent (full-time—87 per cent; part-time—2
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—7 per cent; Women—15 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—34.0; Fathers—41.5
MATERNITY LEAVE
16-26 weeks (plus extra for multiple births).
A minimum of four weeks must be taken before the birth, with a
further two weeks (or four weeks for a third or later order child)
which can be taken before or after birth. There is a further 10
weeks after birth [or 18 weeks for third or later order child].
In addition, in the case of a first child, a woman is entitled
to two extra weeks of post-natal leave if she has twins, and 12
weeks extra for triplets; in the case of a second child, a woman
is entitled to 12 extra weeks of post-natal leave for a multiple
birth; with two extra weeks for multiple births to women who already
have two or more children. Paid at 84% of earnings (but not taxed).
During the first year after birth, employed
women who are breast-feeding are allowed two breaks per day from
their employment, each of 30 minutes.
PATERNITY LEAVE
Three days, to be taken during the 15 days before
or after the birth.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1985; further
legislation in 1994 and 1996.
Each family is entitled to full-time leave until
a child reaches 36 months. Leave therefore is a family entitlement;
leave can be taken by the mother or the father, or the parents
may share the leave between them, one following the other.
The parent taking leave may work part time (defined
as between 16 and 32 hours per month).
Parents taking leave receive no benefit payment
if they have only one child. They receive a flat-rate benefit
payment if they have two or more children of FF 3,024 per month
(rather more than half the "SMIC" or guaranteed minimum
wage). The benefit is paid at a reduced rate if the parent taking
leave works on a part-time basis (FF 2,000 per month if working
under 20 hours a week; FF 1,500 if working between 20 and 32 hours
a month).
Eligibility conditions for receiving a benefit
payment are more restrictive for parents with only two children
compared to parents with three or more. In the former case parents
are only eligible if they have worked for at least two years out
of the five preceding birth; in the latter case parents are eligible
if they have worked two years at any time in the last ten years
preceding birth.
GERMANY
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 44 per cent (full-time—27 per cent; part-time—18
per cent)
Emloyment rate for women with a child aged 0
to 15 years : 58 per cent (full-time—28 per cent; part-time—30
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—64 per cent; Medium—51 per cent;
Low—26 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 89 per cent (full-time—87 per cent; part-time—2
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—6 per cent; Women—12 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—30.6; Fathers—41.9
MATERNITY LEAVE
Fourteen weeks (plus extra for multiple/premature
births). Six weeks before birth; eight weeks after the birth plus
an extra four weeks for multiple or premature births. Paid at
100 per cent of earnings.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1986.
Each family is entitled to full-time leave until
a child reaches 36 months (including 36 months after the adoption
of a child, if the child is under eight years when adopted). Leave
therefore is a family entitlement; leave can be taken by the mother
or the father, or the parents may share the leave between them,
one following the other. If the parents share the leave between
them, leave can be transferred between parents up to three times
(for example, the mother takes the first year of leave, the father
the second year and the mother the third year).
The parent taking leave may work part time,
for up to 19 hours a week for any employer (unless the employer
from whom the parent is on leave has a valid reason for objecting
to the parent working for another employer, for example the parent's
access to confidential and valuable commercial information).
Parents taking leave receive a flat-rate benefit
payment of DM 600 per month until the child is two years old.
This payment is income related (ie it is not paid if household
income is over a certain level). When the child reaches six months,
the income level beyond which no benefit payment is substantially
reduced, so that fewer parents receive a benefit payment.
GREECE
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 44 per cent (full-time—40 per cent; part-time—5
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 49 per cent (full-time—45 per cent; part-time—4
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—75 per cent; Medium—44 per cent;
Low—31 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 94 per cent (full-time—93 per cent; part-time—1
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—2 per cent; Women—11 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—37.4; Fathers—45.5
MATERNITY LEAVE
Fourteen weeks. At least seven weeks must be
taken after the birth, three weeks must be taken before the birth,
while the remaining four weeks can be taken before or after the
birth or divided before and after birth. Payment made at 100 per
cent of earnings.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1986.
Each parent is entitled to three months full-time
leave, which can be taken until the child is three and a half
years old. Leave therefore is an individual entitlement, not transferable
between parents.
Parents taking leave receive no benefit payment.
Employers may refuse leave if it has been claimed
by more than 8 per cent of the workforce during the year. The
entitlement only applies to enterprises with more than 50 employees.
IRELAND
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 46 per cent (full-time—34 per cent; part-time—12
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 43 per cent (full-time—28 per cent; part-time—15
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—70 per cent; Medium—49 per cent;
Low—26 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 84 per cent (full-time—81 per cent; part-time—3
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—9 per cent; Women—12 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—32.9; Fathers—45.6
MATERNITY LEAVE
Fourteen weeks. At least four weeks must be
taken after the birth, with the remaining 10 weeks to be taken
before or after birth or divided between before and after the
birth; a further four weeks leave can be taken if the mother requests.
Payment made at 70 per cent of earnings (but not taxed) for the
basic 14 weeks, but no payment for the optional four weeks.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1998.
Each parent is entitled to 14 weeks, which can
be taken until the child is five years old (or, in the case of
a child adopted between the ages of three and eight years, leave
must be taken within two years of the adoption order). Leave therefore
is an individual entitlement, not transferable between parents.
Leave may be taken as a continuous block of
14 weeks or, if the employer agrees, may be taken in shorter blocks
spread over a longer period of time; for example, the time may
be broken down into individual days or weeks or taken in the form
of reduced hours of work.
Parents taking leave receive no benefit payment.
The employer can postpone the leave for up to
six months, if s/he is satisfied that taking leave would have
a serious adverse effect on the operation of the business.
ITALY
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 43 per cent (full-time—35 per cent; part-time—8
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 44 per cent (full-time—37 per cent; part-time—8
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—78 per cent; Medium—57 per cent;
Low—27 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 90 per cent (full-time—88 per cent; part-time—2
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—5 per cent; Women—14 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—34.0; Fathers—41.6
MATERNITY LEAVE
Five months. Two months before the birth; three
months after the birth. Paid at 80 per cent of earnings.
During the first year after birth, mothers in
full-time employment have the right to two daily periods of rest,
each of one hour, and without loss of earnings; these periods
can be taken together, in which case mothers can effectively shorten
their working day by two hours; mothers normally working less
than six hours a day, are entitled to a rest period of one hour
a day.
Maternity Leave and rest periods can be taken
by the father in the case of the mother's death or severe disability.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1977. The
Government put a proposal for revised legislation before Parliament
in Autumn 1998.
The current entitlement is for six months after
Maternity Leave, to be taken before the child's first birthday.
In the first place, leave is for the mother. But the mother can
transfer part or all of the period to the father.
Parents taking leave receive a benefit payment
equivalent to 30 per cent of earnings.
In the case of parents who have a child with
a serious disability, the period of leave can be extended to the
child's third birthday, paid at 30 per cent of earnings, or may
be taken as two hours a day of paid leave.
Under the terms of the proposed new law, Parental
Leave will be extended from six to 10 months, and each parent
can only take six of these 10 months, so that the other four months
must be taken by the other parent. The proposed new law therefore
envisages a family entitlement combined with limitations on how
parents can choose to share the leave and an incentive for the
father to use leave ("use it or lose it").
LUXEMBOURG
No data available because sample size is too
small.
MATERNITY LEAVE
Sixteen weeks (plus extra for multiple births).
Eight weeks before the birth; eight weeks after birth plus an
extra four weeks for multiple births. Paid at 100 per cent of
earnings.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1998.
Each parent is entitled to six months full-time
leave or up to 12 months part-time leave. Leave can be taken until
the child is five years old (this applies to one parent; the other
parent must take Parental Leave immediately after Maternity Leave).
Leave therefore is an individual entitlement, not transferable
between parents.
One parent can opt to receive a flat-rate benefit
payment paid over 22 months at LF16,640 per month, but without
guarantee of re-employment (ie not tied to Parental Leave); or
s/he can opt for a flat-rate benefit payment of LF60,000 per month
(net of tax) for six months, with a guarantee of re-employment
(ie Parental Leave can be paid for one parent).
NETHERLANDS
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 58 per cent (full-time—6 per cent; part-time—52
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 57 per cent (full-time—7 per cent; part-time—50
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—76 per cent; Medium—59 per cent;
Low—36 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 93 per cent (full-time—85 per cent; part-time—8
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—3 per cent; Women—10 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—20.7; Fathers—40.7
MATERNITY LEAVE
Sixteen weeks. A maximum of six weeks can be
taken before the birth and a minimum period of four weeks must
be taken at this time, leaving between 10 and 12 weeks to be taken
after the birth. Payment at 100 per cent of earnings, up to a
maximum level.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1991; further
legislation in 1997.
Each parent is entitled to a period of six months
when they can work reduced hours (ie a parent taking leave must
work at least 20 hours per week). Leave can be taken until the
child is eight years old. Leave therefore is an individual entitlement,
not transferable between parents—but it is only available
on a part-time basis.
Parents taking leave receive no benefit payment.
The employer can postpone the leave because
of "serious reasons" (ie when a small company cannot
immediately find a replacement for a worker taking leave).
NORWAY
No data available from the European Labour Force
Survey because not an EU member state.
MATERNITY LEAVE
There is no separate Maternity Leave, only Parental
Leave (see below). However, mothers must take three weeks of Parental
Leave before birth, and six weeks after birth; if they choose,
they can take up to 12 weeks of Parental Leave before birth. Payable
at 80 per cent or 100 per cent of earnings; see Parental Leave
for more details.
PATERNITY LEAVE
Two weeks. Unpaid.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Each family is entitled to 52 weeks (260 working
days) at 80 per cent of earnings or 42 weeks (210 working days)
at 100 per cent of earnings. At least nine weeks must be taken
by the mother at the time of birth, three weeks before and six
weeks after birth; the mother can use up to 12 weeks before birth.
As a general rule, four weeks of the Parental Leave period must
be taken by the father; if he does not do so, this leave period
cannot be transferred to the mother and is lost (there are a few
exceptions, for example in the case of fathers who are ill, unemployed,
working abroad or off-shore or who are self-employed and would
incur high costs if they took leave). Apart from the period that
the mother must take and the period that the father must take,
the remaining period of leave can be divided between the parents
as they choose. Leave therefore is a family entitlement, which
parents can mostly share between themselves, but with some limitations
on how parents can choose to share the leave providing an incentive
for the father to use leave ("use it or lose it").
Parents adopting a child under 15 are entitled
to 46 weeks of leave at 80 per cent of earnings or 37 weeks at
100 per cent of earnings.
Parents may choose to take part of their Parental
Leave on a flexible basis. Up to 39 weeks (at 80 per cent of earnings)
or 29 weeks (at 100 per cent of earnings) can be taken flexibly
as reduced working hours (50 per cent, 60 per cent, 75 per cent,
80 per cent or 90 per cent of full time hours). Where leave is
taken in the form of reduced hours, the length of leave is extended
correspondingly (for example, four weeks of full-time leave becomes
eight weeks of half time leave if used to enable a worker to reduce
his or her hours by 50 per cent).
The father can only claim Parental Leave if
the mother meets the eligibility conditions (ie the father's entitlement
is dependent on the mother).
PORTUGAL
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 68 per cent (full-time—63 per cent; part-time—5
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 71 per cent (full-time—63 per cent; part-time—8
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—94 per cent; Medium—76 per cent;
Low—62 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 92 per cent (full-time—91 per cent; part-time—2
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—3 per cent; Women—8 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—38.2; Fathers—44.1
MATERNITY LEAVE
Ninety days. Sixty days must be taken after
the birth, while the remaining 30 days can be taken before or
after birth or divided between before and after the birth. Payment
at 100 per cent of earnings.
Fathers are entitled, in their own right, to
leave and the accompanying maternity benefit payment in the case
of the mother's death or disability; or in the case of the mother
attending a training course that might be affected by a long period
of absence.
During the first year after birth, employed
women who are breast-feeding are allowed two breaks a day from
employment, up to a maximum of one hour for each break.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1984; further
legislation in 1998
Each parent is entitled to a period of six months
full-time leave. Leave can be taken until the child is three years
old. In the case of the birth of a third or higher order child,
two to three years can be taken. Leave therefore is an individual
entitlement, not transferable between parents.
Parents taking leave receive no benefit payment.
A period of 60 days adoption leave can be taken
until the child is three years; parents taking this leave are
entitled to a benefit payment.
SPAIN
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 39 per cent (full-time—33 per cent; part-time—6
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 39 per cent (full-time—31 per cent; part-time—8
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—66 per cent; Medium—43 per cent;
Low—26 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 86 per cent (full-time—84 per cent; part-time—1
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—10 per cent; Women—26 per
cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—36.2; Fathers—42.5
MATERNITY LEAVE
Sixteen weeks plus two weeks extra for multiple
births. At least six weeks must be taken after the birth, while
the remaining 10 weeks can be taken before or after the birth
or divided between before and after birth. Payment at 75 per cent
of earnings.
During the first nine months after birth, employed
mothers or fathers have the right to one hour of absence from
work per day, without loss of earnings; this period can be divided
into two half- hours or may be replaced by a half-hour shortening
of the normal working day.
PATERNITY LEAVE
Two days. Paid at 100 per cent of earnings.
The mother may choose to transfer part of the
end of her maternity leave, up to a maximum of four weeks, to
the father.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1994.
Each family is entitled to 12 months full-time
leave. A further period of two years full-time leave may be taken,
but a parent taking this period of leave is not entitled to return
to his/her former job unless it is free; otherwise he/she must
wait for a vacancy to occur. Leave therefore is a family entitlement;
leave can be taken by the mother or the father, or the parents
may share the leave between them, one following the other. It
must be taken when children are under three years old.
Parents taking leave receive no benefit payment.
Parents with a child under six, or a disabled
child, can reduce their working hours by between a third and half,
but with no compensation for lost earnings; this can be claimed
by both parents at the same time.
SWEDEN
No data available from the European Labour Force
Survey
MATERNITY LEAVE
Sixty days leave before birth for women who
cannot continue with their ordinary job and cannot be transferred
to alternative duties; 50 days are covered by a maternity allowance,
while payment for the other 10 days must come from Parental Leave
allowance. Alternatively, women can take up to 60 days of Parental
Leave before birth. Paid at 80 per cent of earnings. All women,
including those not eligible for Parental Leave, are entitled
to six weeks leave before and six weeks after birth.
PATERNITY LEAVE
Two weeks (10 working days). Paid at 80 per
cent of earnings.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement introduced in 1974. Several
further changes in legislation, most recently in 1995.
Each parent is entitled to 18 months of full-time
leave (Child Care Leave). A benefit payment (Parental Allowance)
is available for 450 days per family, paid for 360 days at 80
per cent of earnings, and for 90 days at a flat rate of SEK 60
per day; for multiple births, paid leave is extended by 90 days
at 80 per cent of earnings and 90 days at SEK 60 per working day.
Thirty days of the parental allowance must be taken by the father;
if he does not do so, this leave period cannot be transferred
to the mother and is lost. Paid leave therefore is a family entitlement,
which parents can mostly share between themselves, but with some
limitations on how parents can choose to share the leave providing
an incentive for the father to use leave ("use it or lose
it").
Leave and payment must be taken before a child
reaches the age of eight (or by the end of the child's first year
at school), and can be taken in one block of time or several shorter
blocks. Paid leave can be taken on a full time, half time or quarter
time basis (eg one month full-time, two months half-time, four
months quarter-time).
Parents are also entitled to work 75 per cent
of normal working hours until their child has completed her first
year of school, although there is no payment for lost earnings
(unless parents choose to use part of their Parental Allowance).
UNITED KINGDOM
PARENTAL
EMPLOYMENT 1997
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 2 years: 49 per cent (full-time—18 per cent; part-time—31
per cent)
Employment rate for women with a child aged
0 to 15 years: 61 per cent (full-time—23 per cent; part-time—38
per cent)
Employment rate for mothers by level of educational
qualification: High—76 per cent; Medium—56 per cent;
Low—42 per cent
Employment rate for men with a child aged 0
to 15 years: 88 per cent (full-time—85 per cent; part-time—3
per cent)
Unemployment rate for men and women with a child
aged 0 to 15 years: Men—5 per cent; Women—6 per cent
Average working hours per week of employed parents:
Mothers—26.0; Fathers—46.6
MATERNITY LEAVE
All pregnant employees are entitled to 14 weeks
of leave and (with some exceptions) a flat-rate payment. Women
who have two years full time employment or five years part time
employment with the same employer are entitled to 40 weeks, 11
weeks before the birth, 29 weeks after the birth, with payment
at 90 per cent of earnings for six weeks, and a flat-rate payment
for a further 12 weeks; the remainder of the period is unpaid.
Some of these features will change as a result of legislation
following the Fairness at Work White Paper.
PATERNITY LEAVE
None.
PARENTAL LEAVE
Statutory entitlement will be introduced at
the end of 1999.
It is proposed that each parent will be entitled
to three months full-time leave per child, but that parents taking
leave will receive no benefit payment. Other details of the new
entitlement will be announced in September 1999.
TABLES ON PARENTAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE EUROPEAN
UNION
Table 1: The employment status of women with
a child aged 0 to 15 years by member state (1997)
Table 2: The employment status of women with
a child aged 0 to 2 years (ie under 36 months) by member state
(1997)
Table 3: The employment status of men with a
child aged 0 to 15 years by member state (1997)
Table 4: The employment status of women with
a child aged under six years (ie 36-71 months) by highest educational
qualification by member state (1997)
Table 5: Expected years in employment for women
between 25 and 64 by level of education (1995)
Table 6: Average hours worked per week by employed
women and men with a child aged 0 to 2 years (ie under 36 months)
by member state (1997)
Tables 1 to 4 and Table 6 are based on secondary
analysis of the 1997 European Labour Force Survey undertaken by
EUROSTAT (the Statistical Office of the European Union) for the
Thomas Coram Research Unit. Earlier analyses of parental employment,
using the same source and going back to 1985, can be found in
publications of the European Commission Childcare Network. Table
5 is taken from OECD's Education at a Glance, 1997 edition.
The 1997 material presented here does not inlude
Denmark or Sweden; because of problems with the data from these
two countries, EUROSTAT are unable to provide secondary analyses.
It also does not include individual data on Luxembourg, because
the cell sizes are too small; Luxembourg data are however included
in the totals for the 13 European Union member states for which
data is available (referred to below as EU13).
Table 1: The employment status of women
with at least one child aged 0 to 15 years by member state (1997).
All figures given as a percentage
|
| Country | Economically inactive
| Unemployed | Employed
| Full-time/Part-time employed
|
|
| Austria | 29
| 4 | 67
| 38/29 |
| Belgium | 27
| 8 | 65
| 39/25 |
| Germany | 35
| 8 | 58
| 28/30 |
| Spain | 47
| 14 | 39
| 31/8 |
| Finland | 21
| 9 | 70
| 61/9 |
| France | 27
| 11 | 62
| 40/22 |
| Greece | 45
| 6 | 49
| 45/4 |
| Ireland | 51
| 6 | 43
| 28/15 |
| Italy | 49
| 7 | 44
| 37/8 |
| Netherlands | 38
| 6 | 57
| 7/50 |
| Portugal | 23
| 6 | 71
| 63/8 |
| U. Kingdom | 34
| 4 | 61
| 23/38 |
| EU13 | 36 |
8 | 56
| 32/24 |
|
Table 2a: The employment status of women with a child
aged 0 to 2 years (ie under 36 months) by member state (1997).
All figures given as a percentage
|
| Country | Economically inactive
| Unemployed | Employed
| Full-time/Part-time employed
|
|
| Austria | 25
| 3 | 72
| 45/27 |
| Belgium | 24
| 9 | 67
| 43/24 |
| Germany | 53
| 3 | 44
| 27/18 |
| Spain | 48
| 12 | 39
| 33/6 |
| Finland | 41
| 10 | 49
| 41/7 |
| France | 39
| 11 | 50
| 32/17 |
| Greece | 49
| 6 | 44
| 40/5 |
| Ireland | 49
| 6 | 46
| 34/12 |
| Italy | 50
| 7 | 43
| 35/8 |
| Netherlands | 39
| 3 | 58
| 6/52 |
| Portugal | 25
| 7 | 68
| 63/5 |
| U. Kingdom | 47
| 4 | 49
| 18/31 |
| EU13 | 45 |
7 | 48
| 29/20 |
|
Table 2b: The employment status of women by number
of children by member state (1997). All figures given as a percentage
|
| Country | Economically inactive 1ch 2ch 3+chn
| Unemployed 1ch 2ch 3+chn
| Employed 1ch 2ch 3+chn
| Per cent of employed working FT 1ch 2ch 3+chn
|
|
| Austria | 23 34 43
| 4 4 3 | 73 62 54
| 60 50 65 |
| Belgium | 25 23 41
| 9 9 8 | 66 69 51
| 66 58 50 |
| Germany | 28 38 56
| 8 7 6 | 64 55 38
| 53 41 37 |
| Spain | 45 47 54
| 14 14 13 | 41 39 32
| 81 81 73 |
| Finland | 20 17 31
| 9 9 11 | 70 74 59
| 89 88 80 |
| France | 19 27 50
| 12 11 11 | 69 62 39
| 70 61 47 |
| Greece | |
| | |
| Ireland | |
| | |
| Italy | 46 52 63
| 6 7 7 | 48 38 30
| 84 81 83 |
| Netherlands | 34 37 48
| 6 6 4 | 60 57 47
| 16 10 9 |
| Portugal | 22 23 38
| 5 6 6 | 73 71 56
| 89 88 78 |
| U. Kingdom | 30 31 51
| 5 4 4 | 65 65 45
| 46 32 25 |
| EU13 | | |
| |
|
Table 3: The employment status of men with a child
aged 0 to 15 years by member state (1997). All figures given as
a percentage
|
| Country | Economically inactive
| Unemployed | Employed
| Full-time/Part-time employed
|
|
| Austria | 4
| 3 | 93
| 91/3 |
| Belgium | 4
| 4 | 91
| 89/2 |
| Germany | 4
| 6 | 89
| 87/2 |
| Spain | 4 |
10 | 86
| 84/1 |
| Finland | 5
| 8 | 86
| 84/2 |
| France | 3
| 7 | 89
| 87/2 |
| Greece | 3
| 2 | 94
| 93/1 |
| Ireland | 8
| 8 | 84
| 81/3 |
| Italy | 5 |
5 | 90
| 88/2 |
| Netherlands | 4
| 3 | 93
| 85/8 |
| Portugal | 4
| 3 | 92
| 91/2 |
| U. Kingdom | 7
| 5 | 88
| 85/3 |
| EU13 | 5 |
6 | 89
| 87/2 |
|
Table 4: The employment status of women with a child
aged under 6 years (ie. 36-71 months) by highest educational qualification
by member state (1997). All figures given as a percentage
|
| Country | Economically inactive
| Unemployed
| Employed
| Full-time/Part-time employed
|
| H |
M | L
| H | M
| L | H
| M | L
| H | M
| L |
|
| Austria | 16
| 28 | 41
| 3 | 3
| 7 | 84
| 68 | 52
| 54/30 | 38/31
| 33/19 |
| Belgium | 11
| 21 | 45
| 3 | 10
| 16 | 85
| 70 | 38
| 56/29 | 41/28
| 20/18 |
| Germany | 31
| 43 | 67
| 5 | 6
| 6 | 64
| 51 | 26
| 35/29 | 24/27
| 12/15 |
| Spain | 22 |
42 | 59
| 12 | 15
| 15 | 66
| 43 | 26
| 57/8 | 35/8
| 20/7 |
| Finland | 18
| 31 | 49
| 8 | 11
| 14 | 72
| 58 | 37
| 68/5 | 49/9
| 33/5 |
| France | 17 |
29 | 49
| 7 | 13
| 15 | 76
| 58 | 35
| 52/24 | 35/22
| 21/15 |
| Greece | 20 |
48 | 62
| 5 | 8
| 6 | 75
| 44 | 31
| 69/5 | 40/4
| 27/4 |
| Ireland | 28
| 45 | 65
| 4 | 5
| 8 | 70
| 49 | 26
| 53/15 | 36/14
| 14/13 |
| Italy | 18 |
36 | 65
| 4 | 7
| 8 | 78
| 57 | 27
| 67/12 | 47/10
| 21/6 |
| Netherlands | 21
| 37 | 59
| 3 | 4
| 5 | 76
| 59 | 36
| 8/68 | 6/54
| 4/32 |
| Portugal | 4
| 16 | 30
| 2 | 8
| 8 | 94
| 76 | 62
| 92/2 | 73/4
| 54/8 |
| U. Kingdom | 22
| 39 | 53
| 2 | 4
| 5 | 76
| 56 | 42
| 34/42 | 17/39
| 12/30 |
| EU13 | 21 |
37 | 57
| 5 | 8
| 9 | 74
| 55 | 34
| 46/27 | 30/25
| 18/16 |
|
H = with high educational qualifications;
M = with medium level educational qualifications;
L = with low educational qualifications.
Table 5: Expected years in employment for women between
25 and 64 by level of education, 1995
|
| Level of education
| | |
| Country | Below upper secondary
| Upper secondary |
Tertiary | All
|
|
| Austria | 19.9
| 23.6 | 30.1
| 22.7 |
| Belgium | 14.0
| 20.6 | 27.1
| 19.3 |
| Denmark | 22.6
| 29.3 | 33.6
| 26.8 |
| Finland | 21.1
| 25.7 | 30.6
| 25.1 |
| France | 18.3
| 24.2 | 28.9
| 23.1 |
| Germany | 15.7
| 24.3 | 30.5
| 23.4 |
| Greece | 14.8
| 14.2 | 24.1
| 17.0 |
| Ireland | 10.6
| 18.0 | 27.8
| 16.2 |
| Italy | 12.0
| 21.3 | 27.8
| 15.4 |
| Netherlands | 15.2
| 22.2 | 27.5
| 20.1 |
| Norway | 21.0
| 29.5 | 34.6
| 28.9 |
| Portugal | 22.6
| 24.8 | 33.2
| 24.0 |
| Spain | 11.1
| 18.3 | 26.6
| 13.7 |
| Sweden | 28.2
| 32.9 | 35.4
| 32.5 |
| U. Kingdom | 19.7
| 27.6 | 31.6
| 26.2 |
|
Table 6: Average hours worked per week by employed
women and men with a child aged 0 to 2 years (ie under 36 months)
by member state (1997)
|
| Country | Average hours worked per week by employed:
|
| women
| men |
|
| Austria | 33.4
| 41.2 |
| Belgium | 32.6
| 40.9 |
| Germany | 30.6
| 41.9 |
| Spain | 36.2
| 42.5 |
| Finland | 36.8
| 42.1 |
| France | 34.0
| 41.5 |
| Greece | 37.4
| 45.5 |
| Ireland | 32.9
| 45.6 |
| Italy | 34.0
| 41.6 |
| N'lands | 20.7
| 40.7 |
| Portugal | 38.2
| 44.1 |
| U. Kingdom | 26.0
| 46.6 |
| EU13 | 32.7
| 42.7 |
|
5
For the source of this information on parental employment, and
a full set of tables, see pages below. Back
| 
