Promoting parental and paternity leave among fathers / Eurofound News, March 2015

The take-up rate of paternity and parental leave by fathers in the EU is still relatively low, although it has increased in recent years, according to new research from Eurofound. Most EU Member States provide for paternity and parental leave, although systems vary greatly in the duration of leave and the amount of compensation offered. The main factors influencing take-up are the level of compensation, the flexibility of the system, the availability of information, and the extent to which men are concerned that they may be isolating themselves from the labour market if they take leave. On 26 February, Eurofound presented its findings on paternity and parental leave to the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), as part of an exchange of views on the maternity leave directive. More detail on the findings is available in the report Promoting uptake of parental and paternity leave among fathers in the European Union.