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Leave

For workers, leave arrangements have a direct impact on quality of life, work-life balance and the overall sustainability of working life. The main leave entitlements of importance to workers are annual leave, maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave and sick leave, so that the worker can recover from being ill. The European Pillar of Social Rights encourages gender-balanced use of family-related leave and flexible working arrangements. Women and men shall have equal access to special leaves of absence in order to fulfil their caring responsibilities towards both children and ageing parents.

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Article

16 September 2024

Work–life balance: Policy developments

Barbara De Micheli,

Alessandro Smilari

In recent years, work–life balance has become a central theme in labour policies across Europe. While EU Member States have adopted different approaches, the common aim is to promote a more inclusive working environment. A major driving force behind these policies was the Work–Life Balance Directive. Implemented in August 2022, the directive’s key provisions include a minimum of four months of parental leave per parent, ten days of paid paternity leave, five days of carer’s leave and provisions for flexible working arrangements. By 2023, many Member States had implemented the directive by introducing new policies or updating existing ones. While these policies show a commitment to improving workers' well-being and gender equality, they also face criticisms for their narrow focus on childcare and uneven promotion of fathers' roles. They often emphasise only certain aspects of personal life related to care duties. Policies that address diverse care needs and support holistic work–life balance are needed for a continually evolving workforce.

Rapport de recherche

24 October 2023

Working time in 2021–2022

Maria Cantero Guerrero,

Jorge Cabrita

The most important changes in the regulation of working time in Europe in 2021 and 2022 were related to the transposition of two European directives: the Work–life Balance Directive and the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive. The reduction of working time and more specifically the four-day working week have been increasingly debated in many EU Member States. In 2022, the average collectively agreed working week in the EU stood at 38.1 hours. Of the sectors analysed, agreed working hours were shortest in public administration, at around 37.7 hours – still longer than the overall average – and longest in the retail sector, at 38.5 hours. The average collectively agreed paid annual leave entitlement stood at 24.3 days in the EU, and was higher in the Member States that were part of the EU prior to its 2004 enlargement (EU14), at 25.3 days, than in the other Member States, at only 20.9 days. If working collectively agreed hours, full-time workers in the EU27 would have worked, on average, 1,726 hours in 2022, with an average of 1,698 hours in the EU14 and 1,822 hours in the other Member States.

Rapport de recherche

14 October 2021

Working time in 2019–2020

Jorge Cabrita,

Tina Weber

The most relevant changes in working time regulation in Europe in 2019 and 2020 addressed challenges arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most focused on short-time working schemes, on approaches to teleworking for those able to work from home and on regulations to ensure the safe provision of essential services. In 2020, the average collectively agreed working week in the EU stood at 37.8 hours. Across the sectors analysed in the report, the collectively agreed normal working week was shortest in public administration (38 hours) and longest in transport (39.2 hours). Paid annual leave entitlement (taking into account those set through collective bargaining) stood at an average of 24.5 days across the EU. Key topics for discussion in all Member States during the COVID-19 pandemic included dealing with the impact of changes in working hours on different groups of workers and the role of working time in supporting economic recovery and job creation.

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Jorge Cabrita

Senior research manager

Working life research

Jorge Cabrita est responsable principal de la recherche au sein de l’unité Vie Professionnelle. Il est responsable de la formulation, de la coordination et de la gestion de la recherche à l’échelle européenne, ainsi que de la promotion de la diffusion des résultats dans les domaines des conditions de travail et des relations industrielles. Ses principaux domaines de recherche incluent les conditions de travail et la qualité de l’emploi, le temps de travail et l’équilibre vie professionnelle–vie privée, la santé et le bien-être des travailleurs, l’égalité des sexes et les impacts socioéconomiques de la transition vers une économie climatiquement neutre. Il dirige actuellement des recherches sur l’évolution du temps de travail ainsi que sur le dialogue social et la négociation collective pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Auparavant, il a travaillé comme chercheur au Centre d’Études sur l’Intervention Sociale et au Centre de Recherche sur l’Économie Portugaise de l’École d’Économie de Lisbonne, ainsi qu’en tant que formateur et consultant dans les domaines de la gestion stratégique, de la communication organisationnelle, du leadership et du travail d’équipe. Il est titulaire d’une licence en économie et d’un master en systèmes socio-organisationnels de l’activité économique de la Lisbonne School of Economics.

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