COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS AN INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT WORK-LIFE BALANCE FOR WORKING PARENTS AND CARERS
Date: 2017-04-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, EU initiative, European social policy, child care, flexible working hours, gender equality, labour market, leave on social grounds, reintegration into working life, working conditions

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 26.4.2017  COM(2017) 252 final   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS AN INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT WORK-LIFE BALANCE FOR WORKING PARENTS AND CARERS  
 
 
1. INTRODUCTION 

Across  the  European  Union,  women  remain  underrepresented  in  the  labour  market.  The 
economic loss due to the gender employment gap amounts to €370 billion per year1. Women 
are  increasingly  well  qualified  and  more  women  than  men  graduate  from  universities  in 
Europe but many disappear from the labour market due to their responsibilities as parent or as 
carer  of  family  relatives.  Existing  policies  have  not  brought  equal  opportunities  that  allow 
fathers and mothers to work and care together for the welfare of children and society at large.  

In parallel, the workforce in the European Union is shrinking, the population is ageing and the 
demographic curve remains a challenge. Lower participation of women in the labour market 
is linked to a persisting gender pay gap and an increasing pension gap which often leads to 
social exclusion and an increased risk of poverty.  

Taking  action  is  not  only  a  question  of  fairness,  gender  equality  and  optimal  allocation  of 
skills but also a question of countries' fiscal sustainability. It is both a social and an economic 
imperative. 

This  initiative  has  been  developed  to  address  this  challenge.  With  this  initiative,  the 
Commission presents an ambitious set of legislative and non-legislative actions to modernise 
the existing European Union legal and policy framework to support better work-life balance 
for  men  and  women  with  caring  responsibilities  and  a  more  equal  use  of  leave  and flexible 
work arrangements. The current EU legal framework for family-related forms of leaves and 
flexible  working  arrangements  was  set  in  the  1990's2.  Two  decades  later  we  need  to  draw 
lessons  from  the  experience  gained  and  the  lower  than  expected  progress  achieved  in  equal 
treatment of women and men on the labour market, while ensuring that this framework is in 
line with new work patterns and future trends.   

While  addressing  women's  underrepresentation  in  the  labour  market  and  supporting  their 
career progression through modern work life balance policy, this initiative contributes to the 
Treaty-based  objectives  of  equality  between  men  and  women  with  regard  to  labour  market 
opportunities and equal treatment at work. It also helps employers to retain workers, improve 
the motivation and productivity of employees, reduce absenteeism and avoid wasting talent. 
Companies should benefit from a wider talent pool and a more diversified workforce. 

A  modern  work-life  balance  policy  will  contribute  to  improving  employment  rates  and  to 
reducing poverty and social exclusion, in line with EU priorities reflected in the Europe 2020 
targets  and  with  Commission's  priorities  of  jobs  and  growth  outlined  in  President  Juncker's 
political guidelines.  

1    Eurofound (2016) "The Gender Employment Gap: Challenges and Solutions". 
2   The  maternity  leave  Directive  92/85  was  adopted  in  1992  and  was  not  changed  since.  The  parental  leave 

Directive was initially adopted in 1996 and partially amended in substance and improved in 2010. 

2 

 
 
 
                                                 
As  one  of  the  key  deliverables  of  the  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights,  this  initiative 
strengthens  the  social  dimension  of  the  Union3.  It  is  also  part  of  the  implementation  of  the 
Commission’s Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019 and of UN Sustainable 
Development Goal 5 on gender equality.  

This initiative follows the withdrawal in 2015 of the Commission proposal for a revision of 
Directive 92/85/EEC on maternity protection, when the Commission committed to present a 
new initiative taking a broader perspective to improve the lives of working parents and carers.  

1.1. ECONOMIC AND SOCIETAL CONTEXT: CURRENT CHALLENGES 

While  women  across  the  European  Union  are  increasingly  well  qualified  and  tend  to  out-
perform  men  in  terms  of  educational  achievement4  their  participation  in  the  labour  market, 
and  hence  their  economic  independence,  remains  considerably  lower  than  that  of  men.  In 
2015, the average employment rate of women aged 20-64 in the EU was of 64.3 %, compared 
to 75.9% for men (11.6 percentage points gap); the gap reaches an average of 18.1 percentage 
points when considering full-time employment, taking into account the higher prevalence of 
part-time work among women.  

Figure  1:  Gaps  in  employment  rate  (20-64)  and  full-time  equivalent  employment  rate 
between male and female, 2015 

Source: Eurostat, OECD 

3   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/gender-equality-work-life-balance_en.pdf  
4  

In 2015, 43.4% of women (aged 30 – 34) had tertiary education or higher compared to 34% of men. Unless 
stated otherwise statistics come from Eurostat. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
One  of  the  main  drivers  for  the  employment  gap  is  the  unequal  distribution  of  caring 
responsibilities between women and men. The gender employment gap widens substantially 
once families have children, reflecting the difficulty for women to reconcile child-raising and 
care  responsibilities  with  their  work.  In  2015,  the  average  employment  rate  of  women  with 
one child under 6 years of age was 8.8 percentage points lower than that of women without 
young children, and in several Member States this difference is above 30 percentage points5. 
Conversely, parenthood has the opposite effect on the employment rates of men, which was 
12  percentage  points  higher  than  that  of  non-fathers  and  in  some  countries  this  difference 
reached 18 percentage points. Many men report that they would like to work fewer than their 
actual hours and consider this is interfering with family life. In some countries more than 25% 
of  inactive  women  are  inactive  because  of  caring  responsibilities6.  There  are  additional 
discrepancies for women in the 55 to 64 age bracket.7  

Figure 2: Employment impact of parenthood for one child under 6, 2015 

30

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Source: Eurostat 

Inadequate  measures  to  reconcile  work  with  care  responsibilities  tend  to  impact  women 
disproportionately8,  with  many  men  discouraged  from  taking  up  family-related  leaves  and 
flexible  working  arrangements  and  many  women  pushed  to  leave  the  labour  market  or  to 
reduce  their  working  hours.  On  average,  women  in  the  EU  are  far  more  likely  than  men  to 
work part-time (31.3% of women compared to 8.3% of men). 

5  

In a number of countries, the impact of parenthood is particularly high and the employment rate of women 
with  children  under  the  age  of  6  is  more  than  20  percentage  points  lower  than  the  employment  rate  of 
childless women (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia and Finland). 

6   United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Ireland, Hungary 
7   The gender gap in the employment rate for the 55-64 age cohort exceeds  35% in Malta, Greece, Slovenia, 

Croatia, Romania and Luxemburg. 

8   Working women spend on average 22 hours per week in unpaid work, while working men spend fewer than 

10 hours. Eurofound (2015).  

4 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
At the same time, the digital transformation of the economy is reshaping the way people work 
and do business, creating new opportunities for remote work, increased autonomy and flexible 
schedules  which  can  be  used  better  to  reconcile  work  and  family  commitments.  Business 
models  are changing, opening  up opportunities and  new routes into work.  Many sectors are 
undergoing  rapid  change  and  offer  new  opportunities,  with  increased  possibilities  for  self-
employment and new types of activities9, leaving behind the traditional working models.  

In parallel, Europe's working age population is ageing and shrinking. In the future, the impact 
of an ageing population will become even more pronounced10. According to projections, the 
EU  would  move  from  having  four  working-age  people  in  2013  to  only  two  working-age 
persons  by  2060  for  every  person  aged  over  65  years11.  This  may  have  a  disproportionate 
impact  on  women  who  are  currently  more  likely  to  perform  the  primary  role  of  informal 
carers to look after ill or elderly relatives. 

In  sum,  reduced  earnings,  higher  concentration  in  part-time  work  and  career  gaps  linked  to 
caring responsibilities make many women economically more dependent on their partners or 
the state and contribute substantially to the gender pay gap (on average 16% in the EU) and 
gender pension gap (on average 40% in the EU). This results in a higher risk of exposure to 
poverty  and  social  exclusion  for  women,  with  negative  impacts  also  extending  to  their 
children and families.  

This  evidence  on  current  economic  and  societal  challenges  points  at  the  need  to  better-
designed work-life balance policies that facilitate more equal sharing of care responsibilities 
within  couples  and  remove  barriers  to  women's  labour  market  participation  and  career 
advancement.  

1.2.  LEAVES,  FLEXIBLE  WORKING  ARRANGEMENTS,  CARE  FACILITIES  AND 
ECONOMIC DISINCENTIVES 

Several factors need to be considered to improve gender equality in the labour market. Global 
surveys  show  that  both  women  and  men  would  prefer  that  women  work  in  paid  jobs12. 
Evidence  demonstrates  that  the  availability  of  adequate  leave  arrangements  has  a  strong 
influence  on  female  employment.  The  availability  and  use  of  such  arrangements  for  fathers 
(second  parents)  also  has  a  considerable  impact  on  participation  of  women  in  the  labour 

9   At the same  time, they  may also increase precarious part-time work, casual work and blur the boundaries 
between work and  personal  life. See for  example: Eurofound &  ILO (2017) Working  anytime,  anywhere: 
The  effects  on  the  world  of  work.    https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2017/working-
anytime-anywhere-the-effects-on-the-world-of-work  

10   White paper on the future of Europe European Commission COM(2017)2025. 
11   European Commission (2015) The 2015 Ageing Report: Economic and budgetary projections for the 28 EU 

Member States (2013-2060).   

12   Worldwide, a total of 70 per cent of women and a similar 66 per cent of men would prefer that women work 
at paid jobs (combining those who prefer women to only work at paid jobs and those who prefer them to be 
able to work at paid jobs and care for their homes and families). Each of these figures is more than double 
the  percentages  of  those who  would prefer for  women  to  just  stay at  home.  ILO  (2017)  Towards  a  better 
future 
and  men.  World  Gallup  Poll.  
and  work:  Voices 
http://ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_546256/lang--en/index.htm 

for  women 

of  women 

5 

 
 
 
                                                 
market as it alleviates some of the care responsibilities of mothers and thus allows for easier 
return of women to the labour market.  

Availability of flexible working arrangements – such as telework, flexitime, reduced working 
hours or job sharing – also plays an important role.  

Childcare  and  long-term  care,  are  important  tools  to  remove  obstacles  to  employment, 
especially for women13. The availability, accessibility and affordability of care infrastructure 
are crucial elements to allow parents and carers to stay on or join the labour market.  

Tax-benefit  disincentives  can  also  discourage  second-earners14,  most  often  women,  from 
entering  the  labour  market  or  working  additional  hours.  When  coupled  with  high  costs  for 
childcare and long-term care services, high tax rates and reduced benefits for second earners 
in a household can magnify the financial disincentives for women to stay or enter into work.15 

1.3. THE EU APPROACH  

The EU addresses issues related to gender equality in the labour market and promoting work-
life  balance  through  legal  provisions16,  the  European  Semester  of  policy  coordination17,  EU 
funding and policy guidance18. In a rapidly changing environment, more needs to be done.   

To modernise the existing legal framework, the Commission is proposing a directive on work-
life  balance  which  will  preserve  existing  rights  and  build  on  them  with  improved  and  new 
rights  for  both  women  and  men.  The  proposal  fully  respects  the  individual  freedom  of 
workers and families and does not prevent Member States from providing for higher standards 
where  desired.  This  initiative  also  proposes  new  measures  aimed  at  strengthening  the 
application  of  the  Maternity  leave  Directive  while  leaving  the  rights  granted  under  its 
provisions intact. 

13   Brilli,  Y.,  Del  Boca,  D.  &  Pronzato,  C.D.  (2016)  Does  childcare  availability  play  a  role  in  maternal 
employment and children's development? Evidence from Italy. Review of Economics of the Household 14: 
27-51. FP 7 Project Families and Societies. 

14   Commission Recommendation: Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage (2013) http://eur-

lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32013H0112 

15   European Commission (2015) Secondary earners and fiscal policies in Europe.  
16   See Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on 
parental  leave  concluded  by  Business  Europe,  UEAPME,  CEEP  and  ETUC  and  repealing  Directive  96/34/EC 
(OJ L 68, 18.3.2010); Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the 
implementation  of  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  and  equal  treatment  of  men  and  women  in  matters  of 
employment and occupation (recast) (OJ L 204, 26.7.2006), 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) (OJ L 348, 28.11.1992), Council Directive 97/81/EC of 15 December 
1997 concerning the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC (OJ 
L 14, of 20.01.1998) and to the 2008 Commission proposal for a revision of Directive 92/85/EEC on maternity 
protection (quoted above). 
17   For more information, please see https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/european-semester_en  
18   Already in 1992, the Council gave a Recommendation on child care (92/241/EEC, OJ L 123,   
08/05/1992). 

6 

 
 
 
                                                 
The  Commission  is  proposing  non-legislative  measures  to  address  lack  of  sufficient  or 
adequate care services or to tackle economic disincentives to work for second earners. It aims 
to  assist  Member  States  in  their  national  reforms  and  promote  a  change  of  mind-sets  at 
organizational and societal level. 

Evidence  shows  that  legal  developments  on  maternity  and  parental  leave  at  national  level 
have to a large extent been triggered by EU legislation. Building on the existing acquis, and 
limiting  the  burden  on  businesses  (and  notably  on  SMEs),  further  minimum  legal 
requirements on work-life balance arrangements will help to provide a level-playing field for 
companies  and  workers.  Only  EU  level  action  will  address  differences  between  existing 
national  legal  provisions,  ensure  that  Member  States  move  in  the  same  direction  and  foster 
equality  between  men  and  women  regarding  labour  market  opportunities.  The  EU-added 
value  in  modernising  its  acquis  is  to  ensure  a  minimum  level  of  equal  protection  for  EU 
citizens, men and women, across the EU.  

The combined legislative and non-legislative measures set up a modern policy framework that 
seeks to: 

1.  increase  female  participation  in  the  labour  market  and  reduce  the  gender  gap, 
including pay and pension gaps; 

2. give workers more opportunities and choice to balance their professional and care 
responsibilities by updating and modernising the current legal and policy framework, 
with particular attention to the role of men; 

3.  support  Member  States'  modern  family  policies  including  to  address  demographic 
and societal challenges;  

4.  address  shortcomings 
disincentives to work for second earners. 

in  care  services  facilities  and  eliminate  economic 

The preparation of the initiative has been informed by an extensive consultation process and 
an  impact  assessment  of  a  potential  range  of  legislative  and  non-legislative  measures.  The 
Commission  completed  a  two-stage  consultation  with  the  European  social  partners  in  2015 
and 201619. There was no agreement among social partners to enter into direct negotiations on 
the issues raised during the consultations. An open public consultation was also carried out to 
seek the views of citizens and other stakeholders. The Council held a discussion on work-life 
balance  in  December  2015  and  the  European  Parliament  adopted  a  Report  on  Creating 

19    Between November 2015 and January 2016, the social partners were first invited to give their views on the 
possible direction of EU action. A second-stage consultation was conducted from July to September 2016, in 
which social partners provided their views on a range of possible EU-level measures. 

7 

 
 
 
                                                 
Labour  Market  Conditions  Favourable  to  Work-Life  Balance20and  a  Resolution  on  a 
European Pillar of Social Rights21 . 

Successful  results  depend  on  the  commitment  of  many  players  including  national 
governments, regions, local authorities, social partners, individual businesses and employees. 
In  particular,  the  social  dialogue  will  have  a  key  role  to  play  in  ensuring  this  initiative  on 
work-life balance is successfully developed and implemented. 

2.  PRIORITY AREAS FOR ACTION 

This  initiative  puts  forward  a  package  of  measures  which  mutually  reinforce  each  other.  In 
addition to the benefits for workers and their families, the combination of the legal and policy 
measures will strongly benefit companies and the wider society.  

The  Commission's  impact  assessment  has  examined  the  estimated  costs  and  benefits  of  the 
proposed  measures  on  individuals,  businesses  –  especially  microbusinesses  –  and  the  wider 
society  between  2015–  2055.  The  analysis  showed  that,  while  the  costs  of  the  proposed 
measures, mainly due to lost production, processing applications and replacement costs, arise 
in the short- to medium-term, in a longer perspective the package represents a limited cost for 
companies,  which  should  not  overburden  employers,  including  those  of  micro-businesses22. 
As the combination of measures proposed should have positive effects on the fiscal position 
of  Member  States,  the  limited  costs  on  companies  can  be  compensated  by  targeted 
interventions  at  national  level  to  promote  a  modern  work-life  balance  policy,  while  fully 
preserving  the  competitiveness  of  businesses.  Higher  employment  rates  will  also  help  to 
address  the  challenge  of  demographic  ageing  and  contribute  to  Member  States'  financial 
stability. 

2.1  IMPROVING  THE  DESIGN  AND  GENDER-BALANCED  TAKE-UP  OF  FAMILY-

RELATED LEAVES AND FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS 

EU  legislation  requires  Member  States  to  provide  for  maternity  leave  and  parental  leave. 
Member  States  can  provide  for  further  measures  to  facilitate  work-life  balance,  improve 
female labour market participation and more equal gender share of care. The type and content 
of the measures taken by Member States vary considerably. 

The  EU  legislative  framework  on  equality  between  men  and  women  with  regard  to  labour 
market  opportunities  and  treatment  at  work  and  working  conditions  does  not  sufficiently 

20   2016/2017 

(INI) 

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A8-

2016-0253+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN  

21   http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2017-

0010+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN  

22  Commission SWD Impact assessment accompanying the Communication "A new start to support work-life 

balance for parents and carers".  

8 

 
 
 
                                                 
support  parents  and  workers  with  care  responsibilities  and  its  design  does  not  encourage  a 
gender-balanced take-up of available entitlements23.  

The  Parental  Leave  Directive24  provides  for  an  individual  right  to  four  months  of  parental 
leave for each parent to take care of a child until he or she is eight  years old. One month is 
non-transferable  between  parents  and  the  Directive  does  not  foresee  obligatory  monetary 
compensation. This encourages mostly second-earners in the household (most often women) 
to take parental leave and does not sufficiently provide incentives for men. Evidence shows 
the  positive  impact  of  adequate  compensation  on  the  take  up  of  leave  by  fathers'  (second 
parent)25,    the  value  of  flexible  take-up  (piece-meal  or  part-time)  and  of  making  it  non-
transferable between the parents.  

The proposed Directive preserves the fundamental elements of the Parental Leave Directive 
and maintains existing rights, including the length of leave and the individual entitlement for 
each  parent.  It  introduces  payment  at  sick  pay  level  and  increased  flexibility  for  taking 
parental leave, including by extending the age of the child from eight to twelve years where a 
parent may take parental leave. Four months will be non-transferable between parents.  There 
are currently no specific EU-level provisions on entitlement to paternity leave26. Introducing 
such  an  entitlement  could  have  a  sizeable  impact  on  the  sharing  of  care  responsibilities 
between  women  and  men.  Fathers'  involvement  in  childcare    gives  higher  life  satisfaction, 
physical and mental health of caring fathers and  higher cognitive and behavioural outcomes 
for children27. Fathers who take paternity leave after the birth of the child are more likely to 
contribute  to  the  upbringing  of  their  child  and  to  subsequently  use  their  parental  leave 
entitlements. The proposed work-life balance Directive introduces 10 days of paternity leave 
paid at sick level. 

The  lack  of  adequate  leave  to  provide  care  of  other  dependent  relatives  exacerbates  the 
unequal sharing of care responsibilities28.  No EU-level minimum standards exist for workers 
with dependent relatives, except for a limited right under the Parental Leave Directive to take 
time  off  on  grounds  of  force  majeure  for  urgent  and  unexpected  family  reasons29.  The 
proposed directive introduces such  an individual entitlement of 5 days  per year paid at sick 

23  See for example: OECD (2016) Dare to Share – Deutschlands Weg zur Partnerschaftlichkeit in Familie und 
Beruf.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264263420-de;  "The  role  of  men  in  gender  Equality  –  European 
strategies and insights (DG JUST study of Dec. 2012)" 

24   Council Directive 2010/18/EU. 
25   See for example: Castro-García, C. & Pazos-Moran, M. (2016) Parental leave policy and gender equality in 
Europe. Feminist Economics, 22 (3); Duvander, A-Z & Johansson, M. (2012) What are the effects of reforms 
promoting fathers’ parental leave use? Journal of European Social Policy, 22 (3).   

26   Except  for  the  provisions  of  Directive  2006/54/EC  on  dismissal  protection  in  case  such  leave  exists  in 

Member States. 

27   Huerta,  M.  et  al.  (2013)  Fathers'  Leave,  Fathers'  Involvement  and  Child  Development:  Are  they  Related? 
Evidence from Four OECD Countries, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 140; 
OECD (2016) Parental Leave: Where are the Fathers? Policy Brief 3/2016. 

28   It  is  difficult  for  working-age  carers  to  combine  paid  work  with  caring  duties  and  therefore  carers  may 
choose to reduce working hours or quit paid work. Caring may also cause burnout and stress.  OECD (2011) 
Help Wanted? Providing and Paying for Long-Term Care. OECD Health Policy Studies. 

29   Clause 7 of Directive 2010/18/EU which stipulates rules on time off from work on grounds of force majeure. 

9 

 
 
 
                                                 
pay  level  to  contribute  to  a  better  reconciliation  of  work  and  caring  responsibilities  and  to 
improve talent retention, in particular of women, on the labour market. 

Protection  against  dismissal  and  unfavourable  treatment  is  provided  under  EU  law 
through the Maternity Leave Directive30, the Part-time Work Directive31, the Gender Equality 
Directive32, the Directive on equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity 
in  a  self-employed  capacity33    and  the  Parental  Leave  Directive.  The  protection  has  been 
reinforced  by  the  case-law  of  the  European  Court  of  Justice.  Unfavourable  treatment  of 
women when they become pregnant and for women and men due to take leave is still being 
reported  in  many  Member  States34.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  better  inform  workers  and 
support them in the exercise of their rights to ensure that they are able to enforce them more 
effectively at the national level35.  

The availability of flexible working arrangements can prevent workers from taking on jobs 
below  their  full  professional  potential  and  skills  level  or  dropping  out  of  the  labour  market 
when  taking  on  caring  responsibilities36.  Despite  the  new  working  trends  and  technological 
developments, the majority of employees in Europe still have fixed working schedules and do 
not  fully  embrace  flexible  working  arrangements  like  remote  working,  flexible  working 
schedules, and reduced working hours (part-time work). The proposed Directive complements 
the  current  EU  aquis  in  the  Parental  leave  and  Part-time  work  Directives  by  introducing  a 
right to request flexible working arrangements for workers with children or other dependent 
relatives.    This  can  significantly  help  to  improve  workers'  work-life  balance  with  a  positive 
impact on women's participation in the labour market37. 

30    Council Directive 92/85/EEC. 
31    Council Directive 97/81/EC. 
32    Directive 2006/54/EC. 
33    Directive 2010/41/EU. 
34    Equinet  (2016)  Responses  from  Gender  Equality  Working  Group  on  Gender-Related  Discrimination; 
European Network of Legal Experts in the Field of Gender Equality (2012) Fighting Discrimination on the 
Grounds  of  Pregnancy,  Maternity  and  Parenthood;  UK  Equality  and  Human  Rights  Commission  (2016) 
Pregnancy and Maternity-Related Discrimination and Disadvantage. 

35   The Commission will notably support the enforcement of the existing Directive 92/85/EEC (Maternity Leave 

Directive). 

36   Plantenga, J., Remery, C. and EU expert Group on Gender and Employment (2010) Flexible working time 

arrangements and gender equality. A comparative review of 30 European countries.  

37      To  promote  work-life  balance,  it  is  important  that  flexibility  is  employee-friendly,  i.e.  employees  can 
maintain  control  over  certain  dimensions  of  employment  such  as  working  hours.  See  for  example: 
Eurofound 
balance. 
to 
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/articles/working-conditions-industrial-
relations/policies-to-improve-work-life-balance-0   

work-life 

improve 

Policies 

(2015) 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The Commission will take: 

LEGISLATIVE ACTION 

  Propose a Directive improving work life balance of parents and carers that preserves 
and  builds  on  existing  rights  in  particular  under  the  Parental  Leave  Directive.  The 
following new rights are proposed: 
−  possibility  for  flexible  uptake  (piecemeal  and  part-time)  of  the  4  months 
entitlement to parental leave paid at sick pay level; the 4 months entitlement can 
be taken up until the child reaches the age of 12 and cannot be transferred between 
parents;  

−  an entitlement to 10 working days of paternity leave when a child is born, paid at 

sick pay level; 

−  an entitlement to 5 days of leave paid at sick pay level per year per worker to take 

care of seriously ill or dependent relatives;  

−  a  right  to  request  flexible  working  arrangements  for  parents of  children up  to  12 

years old and workers with caring responsibilities.  

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

1.  Continue the monitoring of transposition of EU legislation and pursue and launch 
infringement procedures when necessary. Ensure better implementation of legislation 
and promote compliance, in particular through: 

-        financial  support,  within  the  Rights,  Equality  and  Citizenship  Programme  for  
(trans)national  projects  aiming  at  better  enforcement  of  EU  law  on  work-life 
balance, including information campaigns;  

-      launch  of  a  specific  study  on  enforcement  of  dismissal  protection  and     

unfavourable  treatment  by  the  European  network  of  legal  experts  in  gender 
equality to assess the situation in Member States;  

-        a  seminar,  in  cooperation  with  the  European  Network  of  Equality  Bodies 
(EQUINET),  on  capacity  building  activities  for  equality  bodies  and  other 
respective  labor  market  supervisory  bodies  (Network  of  Labor  Inspectorates, 
SLIC) in Member States, with a focus on dismissal protection.         

2.    Continue  monitoring  the  design  and  the  gender  balanced  take-up  of  family-      
related  leaves  and  flexible  working  arrangements  as  part  of  the  European 
Semester and in the annual report on gender equality. 

3.    Improve  the  collection  of  EU-level  data  by  Eurostat  on  the  take-up  of  family-
related  leaves  and  flexible  working  arrangements  by  women  and  men,  in 
cooperation  with  employment  policy  committees  (SPC,  EMCO)  and 
in 
coordination with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).   

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.  Provide funding: 

-          Under the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) fund new 
pilot  schemes    addressed  to  employers  for  the  development  of  innovative 
working  arrangements  such  as 
flexible  working 
arrangements (through existing resources). 

leaves  and 

family 

-          Ensure, together with Member States, that the European Social Fund and other 
structural and Investment Funds are supporting adequately work-life balance 
measures. 

5.      Share  best  practices  with  social  partners  and  Member  States  through  seminars 

under   the Mutual Learning programme on: 

− 
− 

− 

− 

gender-balanced uptake of family leaves and flexible working arrrangements, 
initiatives  such  as  labels  and  certifications  for  employers  with  good  work-life 
balance practices, 
transition  between 
smooth 
breastfeeding facilities at the workplace), 
crediting of family-related leave periods in the pension system. 

leaves  and  employment 

(e.g.provision  of 

2.2  IMPROVING  THE  QUALITY,  AFFORDABILITY  AND  ACCESS  TO  CHILDCARE 

AND LONG-TERM CARE  

In  25  Member  States,  the  demand  for  childcare  places  is  higher  than  the  available  supply, 
especially for children below 3 years of age38. Lack of formal care services for children and 
other  dependants  can  lead  workers  with  dependants,  in  particular  women,  to  reduce  their 
working hours or drop out of the labour market. Although the EU set the Barcelona targets in 
2002  to  improve  the  provision  of  formal  childcare  arrangements  by  201039,  a  majority  of 
Member States have still not achieved them. The EU average is 3 percentage points below the 
33% target for children aged from 0 to 3 years and 7 percentage points under the 90 % target 
for children aged from 3 to the school age40.  

In many cases, early childhood education and care entitlement are limited to a part-time place. 
School  hours  and  school  holidays  are  often 
incompatible  with  parents’  full-time 
employment41. 

38   Eurydice (2014) Policy Brief Early Childhood Education and Care. 
39   Presidency 
European 

Council, 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/71025.pdf 

Conclusions, 

Barcelona 

March 

2002. 

40   No EU level benchmarks exist  in the fields of out-of-school care and long-term care services. 
41   This  illustrates  the  importance  of  out-of-school  services.  These  services  provide  a  range  of  activities  to 
children  in  pre-schools  and  primary  schools  before,  between  (lunch)  and  after  school  hours,  as  well  as 
during  school  holidays.  Charting  the  provision  of  out-of-school  services  is  a  complicated  exercise,  it 
nevertheless  appears  that  the  variation  in  out-of-school  services  is  rather  large  –  partly  as  a  result  of 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Increasing  the  availability  of  early  childhood  education  and  care,  out-of-school  care  and 
provision  of  long-term  care  services  (including home-based  services)  for  dependant  persons 
will  create  more  possibilities  for  women  to  enter  or  stay  in  employment,  have  a  positive 
impact on children’s development and help to reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion 
for children42. Investing in early childhood education and good-quality care is also recognised 
as  an  effective  social  investment  to  address  inequality  and  the  challenges  faced  by 
disadvantaged  children43.  Investing  in  the  care  sector  also  has  important  potential  in  job 
creation44.  Similarly,  in  addition  to  its  employment  effects,  the  expansion  of  long-term  care 
services  can  have  a  positive  impact  on  the  well-being  and  health  of  the  carers  and  their 
dependants  and  lower  the  physical  and  psychological  burdens  of  elderly  care  that  are 
becoming more prevalent with an ageing population45.  

To  allow  parents  to  participate  in  employment,  the  number  of  available  places  but  also  the 
quality,  accessibility  and  affordability  of  services  (insufficient  capacity,  regional  variation, 
distance,  opening  hours,  eligibility  criteria)  needs  to  be  considered.    Childcare  should  be 
integrated with other social services46, such as health and employment services, to better reach 
disadvantaged families and children47.  

Equality  between  women  and  men,  including  reconciliation  of  work  and  family  life  and 
improved  access  to  quality  social  services  is  an  investment  priority  of  the  European  Social 
Fund  (ESF)48.  ESF  together  with  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)49  and 
the  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI)50  provide  opportunities  for  Member 
States  to  improve  their  social  and  childcare  infrastructures  and  address  variable  levels  of 
provisions. These funds should be exploited to support the provision of accessible, affordable 
and  quality  formal  care  services.  In  addition,  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 

differences in the educational system. The development of more detailed harmonised data on out-of-school 
services may be extremely helpful in order to monitor and assess the provision of these services. 
 http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/documents/130910_egge_out_of_school_en.pdf 

42   An estimated 26.9% of children in the EU-28 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2015. Eurostat 

(2017)http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/Children_at_risk_of_poverty_or_social_exclusion  

43   Commission Recommendation: Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage (2013) http://eur-

lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32013H0112  

44   International  Trade  Union  Confederation  (2016)  Investing  in  the  Care  Economy.  https://www.ituc-

csi.org/investing-in-the-care-economy-a  

45   European  Social  Policy  Network  (2016)  Work-life  balance  measures  for  persons  of  working  age  with 

dependent relatives in Europe – Synthesis report. 

46   OECD (2016) Who uses childcare? Background brief on inequalities in the use of formal early childhood 
children. 

education 
http://www.oecd.org/els/family/Who_uses_childcare-Backgrounder_inequalities_formal_ECEC.pdf  

(ECEC) 

among 

young 

very 

care 

and 

47   To provide information to the parents on the benefits of good-quality early childhood education and care for 

children's overall development, cognitive skills and health is also needed. 

48   EUR 1.5 billion have been allocated to the investment priority 'equality between women and men' which is 

broader than work-life balance. 

49   ERDF supports investments in early childhood education and care infrastructure of EUR 1.3 billion in the 

2014-2020 programming period. 

50   The  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI)  is  helping  to  finance  infrastructure  and  innovation 
projects  as  well  as  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs).  Private  care  services  could  get  funding 
under this latter category, "the SME window". 

13 

 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
Development  (EAFRD)51  and  the  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  (EMFF)52  enable 
access to basic services and could be further utilized. 

The  European  Semester  is  an  essential  instrument  for  the  EU  to  address  the  economic 
challenges  Europe  faces,  including  employment  friendly  and  accessible  care  services  for 
parents  and  others  who  need  to  look  after  dependent  relatives.  This  policy  dialogue  is 
important in itself but it also provides the evidence basis used to guide EU funding.  

The Commission will take: 

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

6.  Guidance and monitoring: 

-    Continue  guidance  to  Member  States  on  employment  friendly  and  accessible 
care services and monitor their provision in the European Semester and the annual 
report on gender equality. 

-    Further support Member States in providing high quality early childhood education 
and care and step up efforts to help them learn from each other and identify what 
works best. 

7.  Targets and data collection: 

-      Revise  the  existing  Education  and  Training  2020  target  on  early  childhood 

education and care.  

-     Improve the EU level data collection on availability, affordability and quality of 
care  services,  particularly  on  formal  long-term  and  out-of  school  care  services, 
with the view to explore possibilities of developing benchmarks at EU level. 

8.  Provide funding: 

-        Develop  a  tailored  approach  with  Member  States  to  encourage  the  use  of  the 
finance  social 
European  Fund 
infrastructure,  notably  of  child  and  long-term  care  services;  including  through 
Public-Private Partnerships. 

for  Strategic  Investment 

(EFSI) 

to 

-      Continue  to  develop  the  provision  of  accessible,  affordable  and  quality 
childcare,  out-of-school  and  long-term  care  services,  including  by  using 
support  from 
light  of  country-specific 
recommendations  and  in  case  of  insufficient  funding  earmarked  to  address  the 
relevant challenges identified in the European semester, request Member States 
to  review  the  programming  of  European  Structural  and  Investment  funds 
(ESIF)53.  

the  ERDF;  In 

the  ESF  and 

51   EAFRD can support investment in basic services including childcare facilities and elderly care facilities.  
52   Care  services  may  also  be  supported  by  the  EMFF  through  community  lead  local  development  measures 

(Fisheries Local Action Groups). 

53 ESIF include ESF, ERDF, EARDF, EMFF and Cohesion Fund 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
-     Explore the potential of addressing these concerns in the preparation of the post-
2020  EU  funding  programmes,  in  particular  drawing  lessons  from  preparatory 
actions in this field. 

2.3  ADDRESSING  ECONOMIC  DISINCENTIVES  FOR  PARENTS  AND  CARERS  TO 
WORK 

Member  States'  tax  and  benefits  systems  vary  in  terms  of  the  financial  incentives  or 
disincentives  for  second  earners  to  enter  employment  or  work  more  hours,  for  example 
through  joint  taxation  systems,  transferable  tax  credits  or  deductions  for  single  earner 
households.  Across  the  EU,  women  account  for  vast  majority  of  second  income  earners  (or 
those earning less in the couple). Only a minority of countries allow for significant deductions 
of  out-of  pocket  childcare  expenses  via  tax  credits  or  in  other  forms54.  Among  secondary 
earners, women with young children are at the highest risk of labour market exclusion55.  

This  initiative  aims  to  help  Member  States  to  remove  economic  disincentives  that  hinder 
women's participation and outcomes in the labour market.  

The Commission will take: 

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

9.   Guidance and monitoring: 

      -  Continue to identify country-specific obstacles resulting from tax-benefit systems  
and monitor progress in addressing them in particular through EU economic policy 
coordination  in  the  European  Semester  and  provide  Commission's  guidance  in 
the appropriate form. 

 -    Share  best  practices  with  social  partners  and  Member  States  through  a  seminar   
under the Mutual Learning Programme on addressing economic dis/incentives that 
discourage second earners from working (more). 

10.  Improve  EU  level  data  collection  on  economic  disincentives  for  second  earners; 
develop  and  use  benchmarks  at  EU  level  on  work  disincentives  for  second  earners 
created by tax-benefit systems in the context of the European Semester. 

54   Bettio, F., Verashchagina, A. and EU Expert Group on Gender and Employment (2009) Fiscal system and 

female employment in Europe. http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=5545&langId=en 

55   European  Commission 

(2015) 

Secondary 

earners 

and 

fiscal 

policies 

in 

Europe. 

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/documents/150511_secondary_earners_en.pdf  

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
3.  CONCLUSION – THE WAY FORWARD 

The 21st Century European way of life should allow for a good balance between family and 
professional  commitments  and  provide  equal  opportunities  for  women  and  men  in  the 
workplace  and  at  home.  EU  and  national  legislation  and  policies  should  help  employees  to 
reconcile  work  and  family,  help  companies  to  retain  talent,  promote  flexibility  of  both 
employers  and  employees,  promote  equal  opportunities,  generate  economic  growth  and 
benefit society as a whole, including children and those dependent on family care.  

With  a  broad  set  of  complementary  legislative  and  policy  actions,  this  ambitious  package 
seeks to  modernise the way in  which work-life balance policies  are designed and to  deliver 
measures that will improve the daily lives of many parents and carers.  

One  of  the  key  goals  of  this  initiative  is  to  enhance  the  existing  parental  leave  scheme,  by 
facilitating  uptake  by  women  and  men  with  new  measures  on  payment,  flexibility  and  non-
transferability.  In  addition,  the  introduction  of  carers'  leave  and  paternity  leave  will  help 
workers  to  balance  their  personal  and  professional  lives.  The  use  of  flexible  working 
arrangements is also promoted and non-legislative measures provide for more and better care 
facilities,  as  one  of  the  essential  parts  of  the  work-life  balance  initiative.  To  back-up  these 
actions, financial instruments will be mobilised and where appropriate,  existing resources of 
the  EU  budget  will  be  re-oriented  towards  priority  investments  contributing  to  the 
implementation of this initiative. 

The  Commission  will  also  raise  political  awareness  on  the  critical  importance  of  work-life 
balance  policies  for  Europe's  jobs  and  growth  prospects  and  will  continue  to  work  with 
Member States to design the best work-life balance policies for their national context. There 
will be close Commission monitoring of work-life balance policies in Member States. Regular 
reviewing of a set of work-life balance policy indicators will provide feedback and  inform the 
preparations of the European Semester and gender equality policies at EU and national levels.  

The success of this initiative will require a shared commitment. The Commission invites the 
European Parliament and the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the 
Committee  of  the  Regions  to  endorse  this  Communication  and  to  actively  support  its 
implementation, in close cooperation with social partners and all other relevant stakeholders 
at  European,  national  and  local  level.  The  co-legislators  are  encouraged  to  reach  a  swift 
agreement  on  the  legislative  measures  proposed  in  the  package.  The  Commission  invites  
Members States, Social Partners, and each relevant actor to step up their efforts in providing 
better work-life balance policies and allow for improved well-being of our European society. 

16