Parental leave in Belgium and in Europe

Transcription

1 Parental leave in Belgium and in Europe Leila Maron & Síle O'Dorchai Department of Applied Economics, Université Libre de Bruxelles (DULBEA) Article: Maron, Leila, Danièle Meulders and Síle O Dorchai (2008) Parental leave in Belgium, Brussels Economic Review / Cahiers Economiques de Bruxelles, Vol. 51, n 2/3, Summer-Autumn.

2 Introduction (1) Parental leave, together with the promotion of childcare services, is at the heart of the mechanisms recommended by the European Union to enable parents to balance their work and home life. European directive 96/34/EC, adopted in 1996 (which entered into force in 1998): (+) requires the European countries to provide for the introduction of parental leave of a minimum of three months (-) gender bias and negative effects on employment of mothers 2

3 Introduction (2) Parental leave is taken more often and for longer by mothers across the board. This inequality in the taking of parental leave can be explained in part by the persistent inequalities between men and women on the labour market, and it has the effect of entrenching and exacerbating such inequalities in the private arena (reinforcing stereotypes and traditional roles and inequalities in the division of labour). 3

4 Gender bias and characteristics of parental leave Duration The longer the period of leave, the more likely it is to impose a professional penalty on those taking it. Allowances A low rate of allowances, paid at a flat rate, makes leave less attractive to the partner with the higher income. Retention of entitlements Essential aspect: guaranteed return to work Social protection: entitlement to and amount of pension Individualization/non-transferability, quotas If the entitlement is not individual and in the absence of quotas, mothers take almost all the leave. Flexibility The more flexible the system, the more likely it is to be used by fathers. 4

5 The mechanism in Belgium and in Europe Duration of parental leave 3 months in Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, until the child turns 3 in Austria, Germany, Spain, Estonia, France and Lithuania In Belgium (+): 3 months, shorter duration less likely to generate negative effects on subsequent career 5

6 The mechanism in Belgium and in Europe Allowances paid for parental leave None in Spain, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom Flat rate in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia Proportional to wage in Italy, Germany, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, Estonia and Slovenia In Belgium (+): weak spot in the Belgian system, because flat rate and low amount (741,40 net/month) 6

7 The mechanism in Belgium and in Europe Retention of entitlements Guaranteed return to work and protection of social rights in the majority of countries In Belgium (+): retention of insured entitlements 7

8 The mechanism in Belgium and in Europe Individualization non-transferability Individual system: Benelux, Englishspeaking and Mediterranean countries and Czech Republic In Belgium (+): individual system. No carry-over of leave from the father to the mother is possible 8

9 The mechanism in Belgium and in Europe Flexibility Age limit for the child: from 3 (in Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania and the Czech Republic) to 8 (in Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and the Netherlands) and up to 12 in Belgium Breakdown + part-time vary widely from country to country In Belgium (+): possible both to break down the parental leave and to take it in the form of reduced service 9

10 The mechanism in Belgium and in Europe Categorisation of countries into 4 groups: Italy, Sweden, Slovenia, Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, Portugal: individual leave for the father, short duration, flexible and well protected leave Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Denmark, Finland: flexibility of the system, replacement rate between 50% and 100% of salary, no fraction of the leave reserved for the father (except in Germany) Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic: long leave, less flexible, family entitlement, replacement rate between 40% and 70% of salary United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, Netherlands, Greece, France and Spain: allowance is zero or between 10% and 20% of salary, partial protection of entitlements 10

11 A few figures about parental leave in Belgium (1) Trend in the number of people using parental leave Women form by far the majority of people taking parental leave, even if the percentage accounted for by fathers increases over the period (Onem, 2008) m Persons aged under M F M F M F M F private sector pubic public sector education total 11

12 A few figures about parental leave in Belgium (2) Number of people using parental leave per arrangement Men and women most commonly choose to cut their hours by 1/5 (Onem, 2008) M F M F M F M F public sector education total M F M F M F M F complete private interruption sector of full-time jobpublic sector complete education interruption of part-time job total reduction in service of 1/5 complete interruption of full-time job reduction in service of 1/2 complete interruption of part-time job reduction in service 1/5 reduction in service 1/2 12

13 A few figures about parental leave in Belgium (3) Main reasons why parental leave is not taken by fathers (Eurobarometer, 2004) It did not exist 51 For some other reason 13.3 Parental leave is more for women 13.2 I can t afford it 8.5 Another family member cares for my children 7.8 My wife /My partner does not work 4.4 My wife /My partner has taken /will take the whole of the parental leave

14 A few figures about parental leave in Belgium (4) Reasons which would encourage fathers to take parental leave (Eurobarometer, 2004) Higher pay 38.9 Better guarantees of retaining your job and career prospects 27.9 Better information about the possibilities of taking parental leave 25.4 The option to take parental leave in several blocks or in the form of part-time work 25.1 A more receptive attitude to parental leave on the part of bosses or colleagues at work 20.4 Better guarantees in terms of social protection 15.3 Special provisions in the employment contract,, collective bargaining or legislation 12.7 Nothing ' would encourage fathers 2.7 Other reason

15 Conclusion Strongly negative gender bias because of the low percentage of men present in these mechanisms Negative characteristics long duration, low pay, transferability, loss of social entitlements, rigidity Dangerous policy that constitutes an employment trap for women at odds with policies designed to develop care structures 15

16 Síle O Dorchai Sile.odorchai@ulb.ac.be Leila Maron Leila.Maron@mutsoc.be PEPSI site 16