| 1. |
- de la Porte, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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An examination of ‘instrumental resources’ in earmarked parental leave : The case of the work-life balance directive
- 2023
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In: Journal of European Social Policy. - : Sage Publications. - 0958-9287 .- 1461-7269. ; 33:5, s. 525-539
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article examines factors that could contribute to explaining variation in take-up of leave among fathers in the light of the EU’s Work–Life Balance Directive (WLBD). The WLBD seeks to equalize care responsibilities between fathers and mothers, especially through reserved leave, with high compensation. The article begins with a cross-country overview of take-up of leave among eligible fathers, considering earmarking and the degree of compensation. Our results show variation, which cannot fully be explained by policy design (presence of high compensation with reserved leave for fathers). The article then theorizes that instrumental resources – information and accessible administrative application procedures – could be a missing link to understand the actual shift from de jure to de facto social rights. The article then carries out embedded case studies on these two aspects of instrumental resources, using original qualitative data collected during the implementation of the WLBD. The most striking finding is that countries with similar formal implementation of earmarked paid parental leave, display significant differences in commitment to instrumental resources. Put differently, the WLBD is being implemented differently, not regarding formal social rights, but on instrumental resources. This finding is important because it means that EU-initiated legislation on parental leave, could lead to differences in outcomes, that is, take-up of leave among fathers. The implication of our findings is that decision-makers and policy actors at EU level and in member states, should focus more on instrumental resources in the implementation process. This is particularly important for enhancing the de facto legitimacy of the EU in social policy, given that EU social regulation is increasing via the European Pillar of Social Rights.
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| 2. |
- de la Porte, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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Strengthening European social rights via the work-life balance directive?
- 2022
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Reports (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This deliverable examines the potential of the directive on work-life balance (WLBD) to increase the role of fathers in care, and thereby, to enhance possibilities for mothers to retain and strengthen their link to the labour market. The main instruments through which the directive seeks to lead to enhanced social rights for fathers/second carers are paternity leave (10 days, payable at the level of sick pay), and earmarked parental leave (2 months, with a high level of compensation). These provisions are examined in the national case studies, applying two components of the power resources framework: normative and instrumental resources. Regarding instrumental resources, we focus on easily accessible (digital) application procedures; the development of information targeted at workers, i.ethrough union representatives and/or HR departments; and targeted information campaigns. Concerning normative resources, in three countries that had long leave, but did not previously earmarked paid parental leave (Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland), the planned financial compensation for the new period of reserved leave will be relatively high, which can be conducive to take-up. Thus, the countries that were furthest away from the father-specific provisions pre-directive,are most ambitious regarding implementation of formal social rights. By contrast, for France, where the level of compensation for parental leave is very low, i.e. below the minimum income, changes to the level of compensation have not yet been settled. In Spain and Germany, which have relatively long reserved rights for fathers pre-directive, few changes are planned. However, even in countries with generous formal social rights to formally implement the WLBD, there are significant differences in the instrumental resources devoted to a shift from de jure to de facto use of social rights. Concerning accessible (digital) application procedures, this is extremely important to plan, to incentivize leave among fathers. Denmark is making plans to ensure that all citizens understand and have access to their (new) rights. In the Netherlands, similar efforts are underway, while in Poland, this is currently not being addressed, as the aim of the government is to maintain the status quo in terms of parental leave take-up (mainly by women). In Germany and France, there are, no new resources currently devoted to communicating or simplifying the application procedure. In both countries, it is highly complex, due to separate applications for leave and for financial compensation. The analysis shows that it is important to consider normative with instrumental social rights to understand the dynamics of potential take-up of rights. The deliverable concludes with policy recommendations to reap the benefits of the WLBD for European citizens, focusing on the importance of formal leave rights with high compensation, easily accessible and simple information about leave rights, to be communicated by unions & HR departments, easily accessible (digital) application procedures, clarity of terms related to leave and information campaigns targeted in sectors where take-up is low.
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| 3. |
- de la Porte, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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The EU's work-life balance directive : Institutional change of father-specific leave across member states
- 2023
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In: Social Policy & Administration. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0144-5596 .- 1467-9515. ; 57:4, s. 549-563
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper examines institutional change in father-specific leave - a centre-piece of the EU's work-life balance directive (WLBD) - from the perspective of gradual institutional change. The WLBD, a highly contentious directive, represents a litmus test for the possible impact of the European pillar of social rights (EPSR), on welfare state institutions, which are responsible for the organisation, financing and delivery of social rights in member states. The analysis comprises in-depth case studies in Denmark, Germany, France and Poland, with different combinations of family and parental leave policies prior to the WLBD. The findings reveal that the EU's directive is leading to convergence in paternity leave, but to divergence in parental leave. Our study is important because it shows that even if EU directives in social policy in principle can lead to upwards social convergence across the EU, when they are relatively weak in terms of precise constraint, for instance, for the level of remuneration for leave, this leads to differentiated integration. This could undermine the very purpose of the EPSR, which seeks to improve social rights for all citizens across the EU. Similar dynamics are likely to be present in other areas at the welfare state-labor market nexus, such as minimum wages or platform work, where the EU is also developing regulation under the auspices of the EPSR.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Im, Zhen Jie, et al.
(author)
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European Social Dialogues : Shaping EU Social Policy through Parental Leave Rights
- 2024
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In: Industrial & labor relations review. - : Sage Publications. - 0019-7939 .- 2162-271X. ; , s. 1-31
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The European Social Dialogue (ESD) has served as the platform for European social partners to negotiate parental leave policies at the European Union (EU) level since 1995. The partners’ efforts to revise the regulations in 2015, in response to the European Commission’s broader approach toward European work–life balance policies, failed, however, and the reasons for and implications of this failure remain insufficiently explored. Drawing on existing ESD literature and leveraging the regulator-intermediary-target (RIT) model, the authors develop a typology of policymaking outcomes based on the analysis of three parental leave directives from 1996 to 2019. The findings demonstrate that divergent preferences among European social partners, particularly when juxtaposed against the Commission’s policy objectives and interests, reduced the probability of a successful ESD through which European social partners could generate a framework agreement. Instead of being rule-makers, these conditions relegated European social partners to the role of rule-takers. If this trend continues, it poses a significant challenge to the role and influence of European social partners in EU policymaking.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Ramos Martín, Nuria, et al.
(author)
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Health and safety at work : achievements, shortcomings, and policy options
- 2023
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Reports (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This working paper presents a comparative study on the health and safety conditions workers face in two sectors (construction and PHS/domestic work) and concerning the extent to which workers in these sectors can effectively exercise their social rights concerning OSH. Also, it examines how the main EU acquis on occupational health and safety at work has been transposed and applied and what its impact has been in terms of available power resources for workers in the two sectors. It explains the way the respective Directives foster effective social rights for workers through legislation and collective agreements. The study includes seven EU member states, namely, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Ireland. We combine legal analysis with document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and descriptive statistics from national sources.According to our research, in general terms, the national transposing legislation of the OSH is in conformity with the studied EU OSH Directives. Our research also shows that, in many of the country cases, compliance with the OSH Directives minimum requirements is better in large establishments than in SMEs. However, there are some cases where the national legislation goes beyond the requirements of the EU framework directive. For example, in certain EU Member States domestic workers are included in the definition of ‘worker’ when transposing the Framework Directive, setting a broader personal scope of application than the Directive. But still, the workers in the two sectors face many health and safety problems and lack sufficient power resources to deal with them. Based on our analysis we present a series of policy recommendations that can help to improve this situation and strengthen the power resources of workers in the two sectors.
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| 8. |
- Niemi, MEK, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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