Location:
Objective of the practice:
Set some standards to make it easier for people working in the EU to balance paid work and private life, including caring responsibilities.
Subtopics of the practice:
Minimum life standards, working arrangements, caregiving, safeguarding
Geographical scope of the practice:
European
Short summary of the practice:
The Work-Life Balance Directive is an EU law which aims to make it easier for people working in the EU to balance paid work and private life, including caring responsibilities. The directive was formally adopted by the European Parliament and by the Council of the European Union in June 2019.
Detailed information on the practice:
The Work-Life Balance Directive is an EU law which aims to work in a concerted effort towards the balance between paid work and private life, including caring responsibilities. It has the potential to improve the situations of family members of people with intellectual disabilities, and people with intellectual disabilities themselves, to better combine their work with their parental and/or caring responsibilities. The Work-Life Balance Directive introduces, amongst other things, minimum standards for parental leave including paternity leave, carer’s leave, the right to flexible working arrangements for parents and carers, and safeguards against unfair dismissals. Its target is composed of all workers, and it benefits both men and women with caring responsibilities in the labour market and allows for a better share of caring responsibilities between them. The gender balance is thoroughly analysed in the directive and is deeply considered. This initiative takes into account the developments in society over the past decade in order to enable parents and people with caring responsibilities to better balance their work and family lives. The initiative aims at modernising the existing EU legal framework in the area of family-related leaves and flexible working arrangements. The Directive comprises both legislative and non-legislative measures to ease the process of support by Member State for the common goal.
Resources needed:
Results achieved:
The Work-Life balance directive provides some very useful standards and practices for employees with caring responsibilities to better combine these with their work. It does so by creating minimum standards for carer’s leave and by providing flexible working arrangements for carers and parents. Moreover, the Directive applies to all workers, men and women, who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by the law. This gives it a broad coverage over categories of workers that might be in a situation of vulnerability.
Potential for learning:
The Directive gathers in a law several important points regarding work-life balance. This Directive lays down minimum requirements designed to achieve equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work, by facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life for workers who are parents, or carers. Those requirements can become a great starting point for the elaboration of other measures or projects on the same topic, with an additional opportunity of advocating for ulterior steps. Its broad vision can also help researcher to better understand all the layers that impact and are involved in the topic of work-life balance, granting a holistic view. Moreover, the Directive is a great source of the needs at the European level concerning the topic. This initiative benefits individuals, companies and the wider society.
Further information:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L1158
Keywords:
Minimum life standards, working arrangements, caregiving, safeguarding, balance, public-private life
