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Increased parental leave rights

A Framework Agreement on parental leave was signed by the European Social Partners in Jun 2009. In Nov 2009, the Council of Ministers approved a new Directive that will introduce the following changes:

• Longer leave: increasing parental leave from three to four months for each parent, with one of the months being non-transferable between the parents;
• No discrimination: an employee applying for or taking parental leave will be protected from any less favourable treatment for doing so;
• Temporary changes to work schedules: employees returning from parental leave will have the right to request changes to their working hours for a limited period; in considering such requests, employers will be obliged to balance the needs of the employee as well as the company;
• Parents of adopted children and children with a disability or long-term illness: governments and employers/unions will be obliged to assess the specific needs of such parents; and
• Work contracts: the new rights will apply to all workers, regardless of their type of contract (eg fixed-term, part-time, agency workers), although the possibility of a qualification period of maximum one year is maintained.

The new Directive was formally adopted in Mar 2010, and member states have two years to transpose the new rights into national law.