This article analyses how new legislation introduced in EU Member States is transforming the work–life balance landscape, focusing on three key areas of policy reform.
- Reforms in parental leave and benefits: These policies seek to extend and provide equal leave opportunities for both parents.
- Advancements in work flexibility: This includes measures such as the right to disconnect and flexible working arrangements.
- Measures for workers with care responsibilities: These initiatives support those with care responsibilities, challenging the stereotype that providing care is primarily women's work.
Reforms in parental leave and benefits
Several countries have introduced substantial reforms on parental leave, supporting, in most cases, a more active involvement of fathers in childcare. Austria adopted an interesting approach by reducing the maximum duration of parental leave from 24 to 22 months if taken by only one parent, while maintaining the full 24 months if both parents share the leave. The measure aims to incentivise a faster return of women to work by encouraging shared parental responsibilities and addressing the under use of parental leave.
In Denmark, reform has taken place for parents of twins or two or more children born or adopted at the same time. In such cases, parental leave has been extended by up to 26 additional weeks, starting from birth or adoption, and the leave is to be divided equally between the parents, granting each parent 13 additional weeks. Furthermore, in the Danish industrial sector, paid parental leave has been increased to 36 weeks, with more weeks specifically dedicated to fathers.
In Lithuania, parents of children born after 1 January 2023 are entitled to two months of non-transferable parental leave each, with the parental allowance available until the child is 18 or 24 months old. Specifically, each parent, including adoptive or foster parents, has two non-transferable months, while the remaining amount of parental leave and allowance can be shared between parents and grandparents.
Estonia has implemented a new system of joint parental leave with individual parental benefits. This system includes a portion reserved exclusively for the mother, a portion for the father only and a portion that can be shared between them. Estonia has also introduced the right to 30 consecutive days of parental leave for both parents in the event of the death of a child under three, reflecting a more holistic approach to parental support that considers both everyday needs and crisis situations.
In France, where measures to support work–life balance are already quite advanced, collective agreements can facilitate access to parental leave, which often improve financial conditions. Collective agreements can also include paid leave for sick children, which is typically unpaid, for up to three days, with the possibility of splitting it into half days. In addition, some sectors, such as technical consultancies, engineering consultancies and consultancy firms, have introduced additional paid leave for parents of children in hospital and two days of bereavement leave in the case of spontaneous termination of pregnancy.
The Polish Parliament amended the Labour Code on 8 February 2023, extending parental leave and introducing carer’s leave, in line with the Work–Life Balance Directive. Parents can now take up to 41 weeks of parental leave (43 weeks for multiple births), or up to 65 weeks for children with special needs (67 weeks for multiple births). This leave can be taken all at once or in up to five births, but must be used by the child's sixth birthday. Additionally, each parent has an exclusive right to 9 weeks of non-transferable leave.
In Italy, eligibility for parental leave was extended to cover children up to 12 years old, recognising that work–family balance needs extend beyond the child's early years.
Regarding economic incentives for working parents, support has taken various forms in different countries. In Ireland,payments for people on parental leave were increased from 7 to 9 weeks starting in August 2024, in line with the Work–Life Balance Directive. In Italy, specific incentives have been introduced for working mothers with permanent employment contracts and three or more children, exempting them from social security contributions until the youngest child’s eighteenth birthday, with a cap of €3,000 per year. Lithuania has increased child allowances and introduced a reduced working week of 32 hours for parents of children under three in the public sector.
Greece extended the special maternity protection benefits to all employed and self-employed women. This benefit, granted for nine months following the maternity allowance, allows the mother to take subsidised leave from work with payment at the minimum wage. Additionally, up to seven months of this leave can be transferred to the father.
Advancements in work flexibility
Work flexibility is another central issue to work–life balance. Remote working, or smart working as it is called in some countries, has been increasing steadily, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Working outside the office (at home or elsewhere) offers many advantages to workers, including reduced commute time and flexibility with their own schedule, including in terms of childcare. However, it can also have negative implications for workers’ well-being, including the blurring of boundaries between personal and working life. Some workers report working longer hours outside of normal or contractual hours, which can be particularly challenging for women (see publication by Eurofound and the International Labour Office on Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work).
Some countries are trying to tackle this issue by introducing regulations on the right to disconnect. In Belgium, for example, companies with at least 20 employees are required to include provisions on the right to disconnect in their collective agreements. Bulgaria has proposed the introduction of the right to disconnect specifically for remote workers, while Croatia implemented it in January 2023, granting employees the right to disconnect during rest periods.
In Slovenia, social partners can establish specific rules regarding the right to disconnect through sectoral collective agreements. In the absence of such agreements, employers can define the rules with the participation of employees or their representatives.
Luxembourg has also introduced the right to disconnect, with sanctions for breaches set to come into force in 2026. The right can be introduced through collective agreements or company-level technical measures.
In Italy, there is currently no right to disconnect law is under discussion. However, smart working is covered by second level agreements, with some agreements allowing for high percentages of remote work.
Czechia introduced new regulations on remote work, requiring a written agreement for remote work arrangements. Pregnant employees, or those with children up to 9 years old, can request remote work and employers must provide a justification if such a request is refused. In addition, remote workers may receive a lump sum reimbursement for fixed expenses, unless agreed with the employer.
Romania is also facilitating the use of remote work for employees with children up to the age of 11 by allowing them to work from home for four days a month. Only one parent can benefit from this measure.
In Malta, new policies on modern working methods have been introduced in the public service, including flexible working hours and remote working. These measures allow employees to work up to 20% of their weekly hours remotely without needing to provide a justification, representing a significant step forward in flexibility within the public sector.
Measures for workers with care responsibilities
The Work–Life Balance Directive defines carers' leave as leave for workers providing personal care or support to a relative or a person living in the same household who needs significant care or support due to a serious medical reason. According to this definition, carers are entitled to five working days of leave per year.
In response to this, some EU countries have implemented innovative measures. For instance, Slovenia introduced up to five days of care leave per year for employees caring for a family member or household member with a serious health condition. Additionally, employers are required to support a better work–life balance for these individuals, including the option for reduced working hours.
In February 2023, Poland amended its Labour Code so that employees are entitled to take up to five days of unpaid leave per year to care for a family or household member with significant medical needs, and up to two days of unpaid leave for urgent family matters caused by illness or accidents.
Romania has also made changes by introducing the right of employees to suspend their individual employment contracts while working as foster parents, carers to severely disabled persons or as professional full-time carers. In Italy, employees with disabilities and those with care responsibilities have access to an additional three days of paid leave per month.
Criticisms to work–life balance policies
Despite reform of work–life balance policies across the EU, certain challenges remain.
Firstly, most of the measures implemented in various countries focus primarily on childcare as the central aspect of personal life to be balanced with work. Yet, with low birth rates and an ageing population across the EU, new care needs are emerging, such as elderly care, individual care (such as medical prevention, psychological support or other services) and partners’ care (caring responsibilities towards partners or cohabitants, and not limited to individuals who are married or have family links).
Secondly, while the aim is to balance work and personal life, these measures predominantly address care duties. Rarely do such measures allow individuals the space and time – alongside their employment – to pursue passions and interests, including acquiring new competences and skills not immediately related to their current job.
Finally, despite the will to promote gender equality, only a few countries are introducing measures that actively support the role of fathers in childcare. Such measures are crucial, as many scholars consider them to be the most effective way to encourage greater and more active participation of mothers in the labour market.
Conclusion
Recent work–life balance policies in Europe reflect a growing commitment to improving workers' well-being and creating more inclusive and flexible working environments. The introduction of extended parental leave, the right to disconnect and flexible working arrangements all go in the direction of supporting a more equal distribution of care responsibilities between women and men, as well as a better balance between work and personal lives.
However, these reforms focus only on care duties, rather than taking into account other aspects of personal lives that are important to individuals. In addition, the measures introduced do not actively support the role of fathers in childcare.
Looking ahead, promoting dialogue between governments, employers and trade unions remains crucial to ensuring work–life balance policies are more responsive to the needs of a changing workforce. These policies must take into consideration intergenerational needs and the diversity of family structures.
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