Child Care Leave 2.0 – Suggestions for the improvement of the EU Maternity and Parental Leave Directives from a rights perspective
| Published date | 01 April 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X17709751 |
| Date | 01 April 2017 |
| Author | Petra Foubert |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Child Care Leave 2.0 –
Suggestions for the
improvement of the EU
Maternity and Parental
Leave Directives from
a rights perspective
Petra Foubert*
Abstract
In August 2015, the European Commission launched its ‘Roadmap for a new start to address the
challenges of work-life balance faced by working families’. Whilst it now seems quite serious
about setting up a coherent legal framework, with full respect for the equal opportunities for
women and men in the labour market, two elements have remained absent from the debate,
that is the fact that the main focus is still on the nuclear family, and the fact that the gendered
division of care activities remains out of sight. This article intends to draw attention to these
elements, hoping that the Commission could still take them into account with regard to the
revision of the Maternity Leave Directive. The first section provides a critical overview of the
current legislative framework. The second section then presents a number of suggestions for a
new legislative framework that is not detrimental to women workers and that caters for all
sorts of families.
Keywords
Equal Treatment Men-Women, Care Activities, Work-Life Balance, Family, Care Leave
*School of Law, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Corresponding author:
Petra Foubert, School of Law, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
Email: petra.foubert@uhasselt.be
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2017, Vol. 24(2) 245–263
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X17709751
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1. Introduction
In August 2015, the Juncker Commission published its Roadmap for a ‘New start to address the
challenges of work-life balance faced by working families’ (the Roadmap).
1
In this Roadmap, a
package of legislative and non-legislative measures to ‘address the low participation of women in
the labour market by modernizing and adapting the current EU legal and policy framework to
today’s labour market in order to allow for parents with children or those with dependent relatives
to better balance caring and professional responsibilities’ are proposed.
2
The Roadmap also expli-
citly focuses on a more equal distribution of care responsibilities between men and women
workers, which is assumed to have a positive influence on women’s involvement in the labour
market, on women’s economic independence and poverty rates, and finally on birth rates in the EU
Member States.
3
The combination of objectives is interesting, as it previously has been argued that
work-life balance measures and policies that are designed to reduce barriers for working women do
not necessarily lead to greater equality between men and women over the division of paid and
unpaid work. Eventually they may even push women out of the labour market.
It is probably not coincidental that the Commission only launched the Roadmap after it had
announced on 16 December 2014
4
that it would withdraw its 2008 proposal for an amendment to
the 1992 Maternity Leave Directive.
5
Whilst the main reason to take the proposal off the table can
undoubtedly be ascribed to the lack of enthusiasm amongst the Member States,
6
it cannot be denied
that the amendments proposed by the Commission, just like the original Maternity Leave Direc-
tive,
7
were criticized for doing precisely what was mentioned above: protecting women outside of
the workplace by silently reinforcing the premise that it is mothers who should take care of (young)
children.
Although the Commission’s withdrawal came as a disappointment to some,
8
it also has been
argued that it offers an opportunity to start from scratch and reform the Maternity Leave Directive
1. European Commission, ‘Roadmap: New Start to Address the Challenges of Work-Life Balance Faced by Working
Families’, http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/roadmaps/docs/2015_just_012_new_initiative_replacing_maternity_
leave_directive_en.pdf.
2. Ibid., p. 2.
3. Ibid., p. 3.
4. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Commission Work Programme 2015. A New Start, COM(2014) 910
final, p. 3-4 and Annex 2, p. 12.
5. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/85/EEC on the
introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers
who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, COM(2008) 0637 final. For a discussion, see M. Weldon-Johns,
‘EU Work–Family Policies—Challenging Parental Roles or Reinforcing Gendered Stereotypes?’, 19 European Law
Journal (2013), p. 662-681.
6. As one of the main changes to the Maternity Leave Directive proposed by the Commission was a lengthier and better
remunerated maternity leave (see infra), many Member States were opposed to it. This was, among other things, due to
the economic crisis. See Council of the European Union, Summary report of the debate in Council on 1 December
2011, 2008/0193(COD).
7. Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the
safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (tenth
individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC), [1992] OJ L 348/1 (the Maternity
Leave Directive).
8. For some insights, see, for example, the communication on the Eurofound website, Y. Torres-Revenga, ‘Commission
withdraws proposal to extend maternity leave, promising a fresh start – Developments at EU level’, EUROFOUND
246 Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 24(2)
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