No C 333/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 12. 83 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive on parental leave and leave for family reasons 
(COM(83) 686 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 24 November 1983) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES,, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 100 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the Commission, in its communication to 
the Council of 9 December 1981 on a new 
Community Action Programme on the promotion of 
equal opportunities for women 1982-1985 (*), 
undertook to take action to promote parental leave 
for family reasons; 
Whereas the Council, in its resolution of 12 July 1982 
on the promotion of equal opportunities for 
women (2), approved the general aims of the 
Commission communication and expressed the will to 
implement the appropriate measures to achieve such 
aims; 
Whereas there are disparities between the Member 
States in national provisions on parental leave and 
leave for family reasons, great enough to affect the 
compatible functioning of the common market; 
whereas it is appropriate to remedy this by an approxi­
mation of laws towards the most advanced provisions 
in the terms of Article 117 of the Treaty, under 
conditions such as will improve the standard of living 
and working conditions of the labour force; 
Whereas it is necessary to ensure respect in this area 
for the principles of equal treatment as laid down in 
Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 
on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to 
employment, vocational training and promotion, and 
working conditions (3), 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
SECTION 1 
General provisions 
Article 1 
For the purpose of this Directive: 
Parental leave shall mean entitlement to leave of a 
given duration to wage-earners, fathers, mothers, 
including staff working in the public sector, conse­
quential upon the birth of a child, during the period 
following the termination of maternity leave, or to 
workers, as defined above, on the adoption of a child 
during the period following its reception in the 
adoptive parents' household, during which period of 
leave the beneficiary takes responsibility for the actual 
care of the child. 
Leave for family reasons shall mean entitlement to 
short periods of leave granted for pressing family 
reasons to workers with family responsibilities. 
Article 2 
1. This Directive is designed to entitle workers to 
parental leave and leave for family reasons under 
harmonized conditions in the Member States. 
2. Provisions for the implementation of this 
Directive ensure that there shall be no discrimination 
whatsoever on grounds of sex whether directly or 
indirectly by reference, in particular, to marital or 
family status. 
(') COM(81) 758 final. 
O OJ No C 186, 21. 7. 1982, p. 3. (») OJ No L 39, 14. 2. 1976, p. 40. 
9.12. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 333/7 
3. This Directive shall be without prejudice to 
^provisions granting paternity leave to a father on the 
birth of a child. 
Article 3 
1. All wage-earners, including staff working in the 
public sector, are entitled to parental leave and leave 
for family reasons. 
2. Part-time workers shall be entitled to parental 
leave and leave for family reasons. Any allowance 
granted or period of insurance credited shall be 
calculated on the same basis as and in proportion to 
those of full-time workers in the same situation. 
SECTION 2 
Parental leave 
Article 4 
1. Parental leave shall be be granted to enable a 
working parent to stay at home in order to take sole 
or principal charge of his or her child. 
2. Parental leave shall constitute a right and not an 
obligation. It shall be granted to a working parent on 
request subject to the following provisions: 
— the workers shall give adequate notice of their 
intention to take parental leave; 
— the workers shall give adequate notice of their 
intention to return to work after parental leave; 
— in no case shall the period of notice required 
exceed two months. 
3. The period of parental leave to which workers 
are entitled shall be at least three months. 
4. The duration of parental leave may be extended 
for the single parent in the case of one-parent families 
or for both parents where the child is handicapped 
and lives at home. 
5. Entitlement to parental leave shall cease when 
the child reaches the age of two years, or five years in 
the case of a handicapped child living in the 
household of the entitled parent, or of an adopted 
child. 
6. A worker's right to parental leave shall not be 
transferable. Article 5 
1. Parental leave shall be accorded as a continuous 
period of either full-time leave or, with the agreement 
of both the individual parent and the employer 
concerned, as part-time leave, the period during 
which leave is taken being extended proportionately. 
2. Where parental leave is taken in part, 
entitlement to the remaining part shall cease. 
3. Parental leave may be made subject to a 
requirement regarding length of service or 
employment, which must not, in any case, exceed one 
year. 
4. Parental leave shall be suspended in the event of 
the illness of the parent on leave, within the 
limitations set in Article 4 (5). 
5. Periods of parental leave or leave for family 
reasons shall not prejudice any entitlements acquired 
or in the process of being acquired. 
6. Periods of parental leave shall be credited in the 
same manner as periods of maternity leave for the 
purposes of periods of insurance as regards sickness, 
unemployment and invalidity benefit and old-age 
pensions. 
7. On termination of the leave, the worker shall 
return to the same job or be assigned to an equivalent 
job. 
Article 6 
1. During parental leave, workers may receive a 
parental leave allowance. 
2. This allowance should be paid from public 
funds, social security systems included. 
Article 7 
Provisions limiting recourse to temporary work shall 
not prevent employers from replacing workers absent 
on parental leave. 
SECTION 3 
Leave for family reasons 
Article 8 
1. Workers shall be entitled to claim a minimum 
number of days leave per annum (to be laid down by 
the Member States) for pressing family reasons. 
2. The following amongst others shall be 
considered as pressing family reasons: 
— illness of a spouse; 
— death of a near relative; 
No C 333/8 ' Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 12.83 
— wedding of a child; 
— illness of a child, or the person caring for the 
child. 
3. The duration of this leave as provided for in 
paragraph 1 may be extended where: 
— the beneficiary is head of a single-parent family; 
— the beneficiary concerned has three or more 
children living at home, under an age limit to be 
determined. 
4. For the purposes of remuneration, social 
security contributions and allowances and pension 
entitlements, periods of leave for family reasons shall 
be assimilated to paid holidays. 
SECTION 4 
Final provisions Article 12 
1. Member States shall introduce the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions necessary in 
order to comply with this Directive and put it into 
effect at the latest by (x). 
2. Member States shall abolish or amend any laws, 
regulations or administrative provisions contrary to 
the provisions of this Directive and shall take the 
measures necessary to ensure that similar provisions 
in collective agreements, individual contracts of 
employment and internal rules of undertakings are 
likewise abolished or amended. 
3. Member States shall immediately inform the 
Commission of measures taken in compliance with 
this Directive. 
4. Member States shall ensure that adequate 
machinery exists to enable measures introduced in 
implementation of this Directive to be enforced 
especially with regard to the principle of equal 
treatment of male and female workers. 
Article 9 
Member States shall introduce into their national 
legal systems such measures as are necessary to enable 
all persons who consider themselves wronged by 
failure to apply this Directive to pursue their claims 
by judicial process, possibly after recourse to other 
competent authorities. 
Article 10 
Member States shall take the necessary measures to 
protect workers against dismissal by the employer as a 
reaction to any steps taken by the worker aimed at 
enforcing compliance with the provisions of this 
Directive. 
Article 11 
This Directive shall be brought to the attention of 
employers and workers, emphasizing the availability 
of parental leave and leave for family reasons to 
working parents of both sexes. Article 13 
1. By (2) at the latest, Member States shall 
transmit to the Commission all relevant information 
to enable the latter to draw up a report on its 
application for submission to the Council and the 
European Parliament. 
2. By (2) at the latest and every three years 
thereafter, the Member States shall transmit infor­
mation to the Commission with respect to progress 
made in the application of this Directive, trends in the 
use of the provisions contained therein and the 
evolution of public childcare facilities and services to 
enable the Commission to draw up a report for the 
Council every three years. 
Article 14 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
(') Date to be inserted, being two years from the date of 
notification. 
(2) Date to be inserted, being three years from notification.