European Law Report - Work-life balance
Much is currently being done at an EU level in order to ensure that the possibility of juggling work, family and private life for men and women alike becomes a reality. The European Parliament has recently followed on the footsteps of the European...
Much is currently being done at an EU level in order to ensure that the possibility of juggling work, family and private life for men and women alike becomes a reality. The European Parliament has recently followed on the footsteps of the European Commission by adopting a report which calls for more action in ensuring a work-life balance.
Following the recent adoption by the Commission of a package of measures with the specific objective of improving the work-life balance for all Europeans, Parliament decided that it too ought to make its voice heard. We must admit that the Commission's proposals already go a long way in seeking to ensure the re-integration of women within the workforce specifically by providing for a longer period of maternity leave and ensuring that women can exercise a wider discretion in deciding when to take such leave. Furthermore, the Commission has also made it clear that the provision of childcare in all member states is at the top of its agenda, hotly followed by other related issues such as paternal leave and adoption leave.
On the same note, MEPs have now adopted a report calling for more action on this front. They urged the Council and the member states alike to remain true to the commitments that they undertook in the Barcelona European Council of 2002 and to introduce by 2010 childcare for 90 per cent of children aged between three and the mandatory school age and for at least 33 per cent of children under three. The European Parliament also called on the Commission to legislate further in this field, specifically by proposing a new law which would provide for specific rights and safeguards in relation to the reconciliation of working and family life where there are dependant family members. Member states have also been urged to cater for flexible working hours for parents and flexible times for childcare institutions to help both women and men to combine work and family life more successfully.
MEPs insisted that much is still left to be done insofar as not only maternity leave but also paternity and parental leave are concerned.
The value of the work of those persons who devote their time and skills to caring for dependent persons ought too to be given its due recognition. To this end, MEPs concluded that such persons ought to be given individual rights, particularly regarding social security and pensions.
Juggling work, family and private life is no easy task, as anyone who has tried his hand at it can vouch.
Concrete action therefore needs to be taken at all levels in order to ensure that all EU citizens feel that they are in a position to take up the challenge.
Dr Vella Cardona is a practising lawyer and a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property, consumer protection and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.
Following the recent adoption by the Commission of a package of measures with the specific objective of improving the work-life balance for all Europeans, Parliament decided that it too ought to make its voice heard. We must admit that the Commission's proposals already go a long way in seeking to ensure the re-integration of women within the workforce specifically by providing for a longer period of maternity leave and ensuring that women can exercise a wider discretion in deciding when to take such leave. Furthermore, the Commission has also made it clear that the provision of childcare in all member states is at the top of its agenda, hotly followed by other related issues such as paternal leave and adoption leave.
On the same note, MEPs have now adopted a report calling for more action on this front. They urged the Council and the member states alike to remain true to the commitments that they undertook in the Barcelona European Council of 2002 and to introduce by 2010 childcare for 90 per cent of children aged between three and the mandatory school age and for at least 33 per cent of children under three. The European Parliament also called on the Commission to legislate further in this field, specifically by proposing a new law which would provide for specific rights and safeguards in relation to the reconciliation of working and family life where there are dependant family members. Member states have also been urged to cater for flexible working hours for parents and flexible times for childcare institutions to help both women and men to combine work and family life more successfully.
MEPs insisted that much is still left to be done insofar as not only maternity leave but also paternity and parental leave are concerned.
The value of the work of those persons who devote their time and skills to caring for dependent persons ought too to be given its due recognition. To this end, MEPs concluded that such persons ought to be given individual rights, particularly regarding social security and pensions.
Juggling work, family and private life is no easy task, as anyone who has tried his hand at it can vouch.
Concrete action therefore needs to be taken at all levels in order to ensure that all EU citizens feel that they are in a position to take up the challenge.
Dr Vella Cardona is a practising lawyer and a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property, consumer protection and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.