Commission to examine parental leave

In May 2004, the Swedish government set up a commission to examine the current system of parental leave and benefits. Trade unions and the Equality Opportunities Ombudsman have been calling for changes to the scheme, mainly to address the unequal situation whereby women take much more parental leave than men.

On 5 May 2004, the government appointed a commission to examine the parental leave and benefits system from the perspective of whether it functions in the best way for children and contributes to greater equality between the sexes (Översyn av föräldraförsäkringen, direktiv 2004:44). The head of the commission is Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, a senior official at the Swedish Metalworkers' Union (Svenska Metallarbetareförbundet). His remit is look into questions such as:

• how the system can be used so that children have access to both parents as much as possible;

• how the current scheme affects both parents' possibilities to take responsibility for the child;

• how the system affects the parents' opportunities to participate in the labour market under equal conditions;

• whether the parents have equal conditions to combine parenthood with studies;

• what incentives might be used to reduce current disparities between the amount of parental leave taken by mothers and fathers;

• the effects of the current rule whereby each parent must take at least two months of the leave, and the implications of a longer minimum period of leave for each parent; and

• whether the current rules are adapted to modern conditions and new concepts of the family.

The principle that parental benefits should compensate for the parents' loss of income is to be retained.

Parental leave was introduced in 1974 and the Parental Leave Act (Föräldraledighetslagen, 1995:584) has been amended several times since. Parental leave runs for 480 days, of which 390 days are paid at the same rate as for sick pay - ie 80% of normal pay (up to a ceiling). Parents each have a legal right to take 50% of the leave, but one parent can transfer some of their entitlement to the other. However, 60 days of the leave may not be transferred. This part of the leave is called the 'mother months' and 'father months' respectively.

A public discussion about parental leave and its alleged deficiencies has been going on for some time, primarily involving the trade union confederations and the Equality Opportunities Ombudsman (Jämställdhetsombudsmannen, JämO). In March 2004, the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation, TCO) presented its annual 'daddy index', an indicator that TCO has calculated since 2002 to measure women's and men's use of parental leave. When both parents share the leave equally, the index stands at 100. The average 'daddy index' for 2003 stood at 26.1 - ie women used much more leave than men. The index stood at 21.9 in 2001, and 25.8 in 2002. The latest survey from the National Insurance Board (Riksförsäkringsverket, RFV) finds that fathers took 15.3% of all parental leave days in 2003 (compared with 15.6% in 2002, 14.0% in 2001).

With the aim of enhancing equality between parents, during spring 2004 TCO, the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen, LO) and the Confederation of Professional Associations (Svenska Akademikers Centralorganisation, SACO) called for the upper earnings limit for calculating parental leave benefit to be raised, in order to make it more attractive for fathers to take the leave and prevent families from losing too much income. Another demand is that the legal obligation to share the parental leave should be toughened. TCO, for example, wants parental leave to be shared equally between the two parents, while LO wants fathers compulsorily to take at least 30% of the leave. JämO has also called for an obligatory 50/50 sharing of the leave.

The new commission will present its report by 1 September 2005.