A4-0005/97

Resolution on the situation of the assisting spouses of the self-employed

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the Council Directive 86/613/EEC of 11 December 1986 on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity, and on the protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and motherhood ((OJ L 359, 19.12.1986, p. 56.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 25 June 1993 on the assessment of women's unwaged work ((OJ C 194, 19.7.1993, p. 389.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 21 January 1994 on the situation of women in agriculture ((OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 210.)),

- having regard to the report from the Commission on the implementation of Directive 86/613/EEC (COM(94)0163),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights (A4-0005/97),

A. whereas the number of women and men in the role of assisting spouse is hard to determine given the lack of registration of such a status, but whereas it is certainly many million across the European Union,

B. whereas the role of assisting spouses is often perceived both in law and in general attitudes as a conjugal duty given free of charge,

C. whereas assisting spouses in most Member States are not formally recognized, are therefore invisible, and in practice often worse off than atypical workers,

D. whereas Directive 86/613/EEC mentioned above has been ineffective in achieving its aim of giving assisting spouses a clearly defined professional status and establishing their social security entitlements,

E. whereas this is in part due to the complexity surrounding the legal status of assisting spouses which involves Member States' fiscal law, matrimonial law, social security law, labour law and company law,

F. whereas there is a need for more binding EU legislation laying down a framework providing minimum guarantees for assisting spouses within which Member States should choose the most appropriate way to adapt their systems,

G. whereas assisting spouses who are only eligible for derived rights to social protection through their spouses' contributions are very vulnerable, especially in the event of divorce, default by the company or business or the death of the self-employed worker,

H. whereas the status of assisting spouses differs from sector to sector even in the same Member State and whereas women and men assisting their spouses in the liberal professions are frequently not covered by provisions protecting spouses in other sectors,

I. whereas take-up has been low for voluntary contributory social security schemes even where this has been made possible,

J. whereas the low take-up of voluntary schemes is as much due to traditional attitudes as to legal and regulatory barriers,

1. Regrets that the weak wording of Directive 86/613/EEC mentioned above has led to little progress for assisting spouses of self-employed workers in terms of recognition of their work and adequate social protection;

2. Welcomes the Commission's intention to hold round tables with interested organizations to discuss the needs of assisting spouses and to make a proposal for an amended directive in 1997, but notes that this should have happened some years ago if the requirements of Directive 86/613/EEC were to be met;

3. Calls for the amended directive to be more binding on Member States than was the case with 86/613/EEC as this is the only way to ensure such legislation achieves its aims;

4. Takes the view that the amended directive could apply not only to assisting spouses but also to assisting live-in partners in other long-term forms of cohabitation in Member States that recognize contracts of this kind;

5. Calls on the amended directive to include:

- compulsory registration of assisting spouses so that they are no longer invisible workers;

- the obligation on Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that assisting spouses are able to take out insurance cover for health care, retirement pensions, maternity benefit and replacement services and invalidity benefit;

- the same conditions for access to vocational training for assisting spouses as exist for self-employed workers;

- the right for assisting spouses to represent their company and/or to vote and stand for election to the appropriate professional organizations, except in instances where membership of these bodies requires a diploma or professional qualification which the assisting spouse does not possess;

6. Calls on Member States to establish a legal status for assisting spouses, enabling them to choose between the status of employed spouse, partner spouse or collaborating spouse, on the assumption that in the latter two cases the person concerned must, even if unpaid, be registered and therefore eligible for social protection;

7. Believes that contributions for assisting spouses to social security schemes should be compulsory where these are required for self-employed workers;

8. Recognizes the fears of small, family enterprises faced with additional costs if contributions are made compulsory for assisting spouses;

9. Stresses therefore the need for flexibility and believes there should be options for the calculation of contributions on the basis of company income, or on a flat-rate basis;

10. Recommends that Member States make provision in their fiscal systems for tax incentives should family businesses opt to take out social security cover for the assisting spouse, and considers that all contributions for assisting spouses, whether voluntary or compulsory, should be tax deductible against the income of the company or business;

11. Recognizes the need for more information concerning the impact of tax systems on persons assisting in the business, in particular with regard to the consequences of declaring as business expenditure the remuneration actually paid to the spouse, on the two conditions that this is the normal remuneration for necessary services actually rendered and that all the legally required deductions and contributions have been made;

12. Recognizes the special importance of these measures in rural areas and points out that a large number of farmers' wives are in this situation;

13. Calls on Member States which have not already done so to take the necessary measures to ensure that assisting spouses who have worked for many years in the family enterprise are not disadvantaged in terms of inheritance or succession rights or in the event of divorce;

14. Considers that Member States which have not already done so should take steps to include in qualifying periods for social security benefits time taken off for the care of children and other relatives in order to prevent any discrimination against those that bear the responsibility for looking after family members;

15. Calls on professional bodies in the sectors concerned with self-employed workers to take up the cause of assisting spouses and to liaise with the organizations of assisting spouses at Member State and European level;

16. Considers that greater coordination is needed between on the one hand government departments concerned with equal opportunities, SMEs and the self-employed and on the other hand assisting spouses' organizations and other NGOs promoting equal treatment and opportunity for men and women in order to further the protection of assisting spouses;

17. Urges government departments and professional bodies in particular to raise awareness of both the risks of not taking out insurance cover for assisting spouses and the options open to them;

18. Calls on the Member States, in cooperation with organizations representing women, those in the professions and independent entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized undertakings to organize campaigns to inform the women concerned and their spouses about their legal status and all the possible voluntary provisions on the basis of company law, matrimonial property law and inheritance law which could improve their legal situation;

19. Calls on Member States to isolate assisting spouses in statistical data on the self-employed in order to show the value of their work to family enterprises and to make it clear how many assisting spouses are working in each sector;

20. Calls on the Commission, in preparing the next report on social protection in Europe, to devote a separate chapter to assisting spouses;

21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.