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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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Recent updates

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This report examines the average weekly working hours across Europe in 2021 and 2022. It covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level...

24 October 2023
Publication
Research report
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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...

14 October 2021
Publication
Research report

Eurofound expert(s)

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Jorge Cabrita is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit. He is responsible for formulating, coordinating and managing European-wide research, and promoting the...

Senior research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (14)

This report examines the average weekly working hours across Europe in 2021 and 2022. It covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level, drawing on debates about the reduction of working time and the four-day working week.

24 October 2023

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

14 October 2021

This biennial review charts developments in a range of working time issues in the EU and Norway in 2017–2018. It finds that while the average collectively agreed working week across the EU remains unchanged since 2016 – at 38 hours – there was a slight decrease in the past two years in the 15 Member

03 October 2019

In the context of ongoing negotiations at EU level on adopting a work–life balance package for families and caregivers, Eurofound was requested by the European Commission to provide an update of the available data regarding paternity and parental leave for fathers. This report presents the currently

07 February 2019

This report examines the main trends and milestones characterising the evolution of the most important aspects of collectively agreed working time in the European Union during the first decade of the 21st century. Drawing primarily on information collected by Eurofound across all EU Member States

01 March 2016

The Commission has decided to withdraw its draft Maternity Leave Directive, which has been stuck in the legislative process since 2008. This article describes key developments and explores some of the contradictions that were predicted in the Commission’s 2015 Work Programme and the Better

14 July 2015

The Maternity Leave Directive (92/85/EEC) is concerned with improvements in the safety and health at work of women who are pregnant, have recently given birth or who are breastfeeding. This report finds that nearly all Member States comply with the directive’s provision of granting at least two

13 July 2015

The European Working Time Directive lays down minimum safety and health requirements for the organisation of working time in the EU by, for example, establishing that all workers have the right to a limit to weekly working time of 48 hours.

12 June 2015

The take-up rate of parental and paternity leave among fathers has been increasing in most Member States but it still remains relatively low. Covering all the EU Member States and Norway, this report looks at the most recent trends in terms of take-up of parental and paternity leave, existing

25 February 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on health and well-being in workplaces in the EU during the second quarter of 2014. The new strategic framework on health and safety, work–life balance, patterns of sick leave and initiatives to combat violence and harassment

18 February 2015

Online resources results (102)

Tripartite talks launched on improving health at work

In the state budget bill for 2002, the Swedish government has set out a strategy for 'increased health in working life' ('en ökad hälsa i arbetslivet') in the form of an 11-point programme, first presented in May 2001. The aim of this programme is to give more workers possibilities to remain in or

Agreement reached on sickness absence and an 'inclusive working life'

On 3 October 2001, the social partners and the outgoing Labour Party (Det norske Arbeiderparti, DnA) government concluded an 'agreement of intent' with the view to creating a more 'inclusive working life'. It is hoped that the agreement will help to reduce the utilisation of sickness benefits and

Study examines employment situation of women after taking parental leave

In a recent study, the Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeits- und Berufsforschung, IAB) of the Federal Employment Service (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit) has analysed the effects of the extension of parental leave entitlement to three years in 1992 ('Erziehungsurlaub. Hilfe zur

Law on reconciliation of work and family life examined

In summer 2001, Spain's law on the reconciliation of work and family life has been in force for around 18 months. It lays the basis for sharing family and domestic responsibilities, thus offering an opportunity for progress in equal opportunities for men and women. We examine the law and its effects

Government announces increased paternity leave but abandons independent income for young people

The annual Conference on the Family, held on 11 June 2001, was an opportunity for the French government to announce an extension of paternity leave from three days to two weeks, aimed at promoting greater equality between the sexes. However, the government did not satisfy expectations on the

Parties' industrial relations policies outlined

The incumbent Labour government has triggered a general election to be held on 7 June 2001 - just under 11 months earlier than it was required by law to do so. Here we highlight what the three main UK-wide political parties' election manifestos say on industrial relations issues. The Labour and

Fathers fail to use full parental leave entitlement

Danish men do not fully utilise their rights to take parental leave. Under the various current schemes, a father may take leave for a total period of 66 weeks, including childcare leave of up to 52 weeks. However, under 4% of fathers do so. On average, men take only 2.2 weeks of leave during the

Employers' group forced to retract proposal that women pay for maternity leave

In late 2000, a small Spanish business group, the Circle of Employers, was forced to make a public apology for suggesting that employed women pay the employers' maternity leave costs. Though the proposal was widely condemned as being unconstitutional and inapplicable, as well as socially and

Green paper on parental leave receives mixed reception

On 7 December 2000, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published a green paper entitled Work and parents: competitiveness and choice [1], setting out a range of options for helping working parents balance their family and work responsibilities. Its proposals are currently the subject of a

Economic and Social Council proposes measures to combat glass ceiling for women

In December 2000, France's Economic and Social Council adopted an opinion setting out recommendations on increasing the presence of women in decision-making positions. The Council proposes a number of measures, such as improving the image of women, undertaking positive action and reviewing parental


Blogs results (1)
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Few events challenge the equilibrium between work and life like the arrival of a child. As gender roles continue to change in Europe, supporting the uptake of paternity and parental leave among fathers is fundamental, not just to close the ‘caring gap’ between men and women, but also to provide the

11 October 2018

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