PARENTAL LEAVE AND CARERS LEAVE: INTERNATIONAL PROVISION AND RESEARCH
Appendix 4: Paid and unpaid leave access and uptake
|
Reported access to parental leave |
Uptake by women |
Uptake by men |
Carers' leave: access and uptake |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 36 - 39% of women report having access to paid maternity leave via collective agreements and/or insurance; no data for men re paternity leave; nearly 60% of employed workers say they or others have access to parental leave (no data whether paid by employer). | No good data | No good data | Approx. 70% of employed persons have access (but not self-employed or many casual workers) n.b. women (83%) more likely than men to report access to permanent PT work than men (61%) |
| Austria | Obligatory to take maternity leave, and almost all women eligible; men's use of their 1-2 days is part of wider eligibility to use that time for other private or urgent family reasons | Take-up of maternity leave approx. same as birth rate; since new childcare benefit, only data on benefit uptake available, not use of leave | Parental leave for fathers introduced in 1990. At first, take-up 0.6 - 2%. Since new childcare benefit, take-up risen to 2.8% | Very low take-up for family hospice leave- only 470 persons in 2003. No info on take-up of leave for sick deps. |
| Belgium | All women and all men entitled to maternity and paternity leave; 12 mths employment to qualify for parental leave; Profile of users of parental leave shows mostly women - only about 14 % are fathers. 50% take it as reduced hours (1 day p. wk) | No systematic data on those women who do not take up maternity leave | Large majority of men use the extended paternity leave (10 days); about 5 % use only the 3 days funded at 100% (rather than the 82% for the other 7 days ) | Time credit system provides all workers with basic right to take 1 year of partly paid leave for care or break. No data on take-up |
| Canada | 39% of employed women not eligible for parental leave - eg self-employed, not prev. employed etc. 52% of mothers take 9-12 months off work; the median time at home with benefits rose from 6 mths in 2000, to 10 mths in 2001. 25% took less than 9mths off. From 00-01, the % of women returning to work after paid leave rose from 8% to 47%. | Following law change in 2000, the % of all new mothers receiving paid maternity or parental benefits rose from 54% in 2000 to 61% in 2001. Avge. paid leave time for women 30 weeks | Since extension of paid parental leave time from 10 to 35 wks, fathers' uptake has risen from 3% to 10% - maybe extra time means mothers more willing to share the time. Avge. paid leave time for men 13.8 wks | No data on take-up. Eligibility for leave to care for deps on 40% less pay depends on having worked 600 hours in last 52 wks since last Employment Insurance claim |
| Czech Rep | Equal access to parental leave introduced in 2001 | Nearly all mothers take maternity leave, and almost all parental leave is taken by women | No statutory leave entitlement to paternity leave. Despite equal access to parental leave, the number of men receiving parental benefit compared with women has stayed negligible (1.45%) | No data on care for sick children |
| Denmark | Paid maternity and paternity, and parental leave for almost all workers and some beneficiaries. No info on parents who don't take leave because ineligible; but research shows 20% of self-employed mothers aged 30-40 did not take leave | Nearly all mothers take up maternity leave: data combines all 3 leaves. On average, mothers take 351 days | Data for all 3 leaves combined: on average, fathers take 25 days although might take annual leave as well. Only 30% of self-employed fathers took parental leave | No data on care for sick children |
| Estonia | No good data on take-up of parental leave, but research study shows that over 80% of women take parental leave | Maternity leave is obligatory - 100% take-up | 14% of fathers take paternity leave | In 2004, 19% of people receiving benefit to look after a sick child were men. This proportion has risen by about 1% per year |
| Finland | Paid maternity, paternity and parental leave for all parents resident in Finland for 180 days prior to the birth. | Almost all mothers use paid maternity leave | Approx 66% of fathers take paternity leave, with avge. of 14 days (of the 18). Only 4% took the bonus time (12 days) assoc with taking the last 2 wks of paternity leave | No data |
| France | Paid maternity and paternity leave available to all employees and self-employed workers. Parental leave after that till child is 3; payment depends on no of children and length of prior employment, but is reduced if parent works part-time. Mothers in demanding work conditions more likely to take the paid parental leave with the childrearing benefit they are eligible for. | Almost all mothers use paid maternity leave, but women in high-status employment take less. In practice, women make up 98 - 99% of parents taking parental leave. | About 66% of eligible fathers took paternity leave in 2003, but few took parental leave. | No data re sick children - employers not required to provide it. Long childrearing leave exists in effect, but is called parental leave - see column 1 |
| Germany | Paid maternity leave 14 wks available to all women employees including part-time but excluding self-employed; no paternity leave; parental leave entitlement per family until child is 3, with pay via means-tested Childrearing Benefit. Current flat-rate will become earnings-related at 67% in 2008. Take-up of CB 92.4% in 2003, but 14.2% of households with newborns were not eligible for leave and another 12.6% did not take the leave they were entitled to. | There is 100% take-up of maternity leave, as it is prohibited to work for 8 weeks after the birth. Take-up of parental leave tends to follow unemployment rates. High unemployment means lower eligibility levels and take-up higher among public sector and larger firms (over 50 empl.) | No statutory entitlement to paternity leave. In 2003, 4.9% of fathers took parental leave and received Childrearing Benefit. | Longer leave for childrearing is termed parental leave; no long leave for career breaks |
| Greece | Individual entitlement of 3.5 months of unpaid parental leave per parent | No info | No info | No info |
| Hungary | See Appendix 2 for complex eligibility details. It is thought that the 3rd year of GYED - paid at the lower rate of GYES, plus the career implications of prolonged absence from work result in many taking shorter leave than they are eligible for - many children start child care by age 2 | No data. It is thought almost all eligible women take maternity leave, and that mothers with higher education and better jobs take shorter periods of parental leave | No statutory paternity leave. | Uptake of leave to care for sick children est. as 3% of all paid sick leave, in 2003. No data on prolonged child upbringing leave. |
|
Iceland |
Eligibility for 4mths (1mth before birth and 3 after) paid maternity leave for all women economically active prior to birth - FT empl receive higher rate than PT or students. No stat. paternity leave, but 6mths additional paid parental leave incl. 3mths for father only + 3mths to share. Also 3mths p.a. for each parent unpaid childcare/career break leave until child is 8. | In 2003, 99% of women applying for leave used the 3mths available. 91% of mothers took some period of parental leave. 59% of women taking leave took it in one uninterrupted spell | In 2003, leave was taken by 84 fathers for every 100 mothers taking leave. Fathers took 1/3 of all days of leave taken by parents - avge. 94 days cf. 182 for mothers. Overall, 16% of fathers took some parental leave; 20% took less than their ring-fenced 3mths; 17% in two + spells | No info |
|
Ireland |
Est in 2001 that almost 7% of employees in the 655 orgs surveyed were eligible for parental leave that year, and est. that 20% had taken the leave |
No info on take-up of maternity leave. 2001 survey est. 84% of parental leave taken by women. |
No entitlement to statutory paternity leave. 2001 survey est. 16% of parental leave taken by men. | See Appx X for details - a few days re sick children, and up to 65 wks for empl with 12 mths service for more serious problems. In 2001 29% of employees took short leave. No data on take-up for longer. |
|
Italy |
20 weeks compulsory leave (incl. at least 8 wks before birth) for all women employees paid at 70% of earnings (100% in public sector). Plus, for all parents except domestic workers and home helps 6 mths parental leave for each parent before child is 8. Self-employed workers generally entitled to 3mths. Double for twins etc. Individual entitlement (so father entitled even if mother is not) but total leave per family cannot exceed 10 mths. Paid at 30% of earnings if child under 3; unpaid (except for very low income) for children aged 3-8. | Maternity leave is compulsory. No info on take-up of parental leave | No stat right to paternity leave but if mother dies, severely incapacitated or leaves child, father can take 12 wks leave with conditions same as maternity leave. No info on take-up. Plus 6 mths parental leave for fathers before child is 8, paid when child under 3 at 30% of earnings. Extra month if father has taken the 12 wks because mother absent. No info on take-up | Unpaid time off to care for deps. unlimited for children under 3; 5 days per parent for children aged 3-8 |
|
Netherlands |
All women employees (not self-employed) entitled to 16 wks maternity leave paid at 100% of max rate for sickness benefit. Must take the 4wks prior to birth. Paternity leave of 2 days paid at 100% by employers for all partners of women giving birth. Unpaid parental leave for all employees with one continuous year with same employer, of 13x usual hrs of work per wk. Can be taken for longer at lower rate of leave hours, or shorter at higher rate. No long carers' leave. The main mechanism for employees to reconcile their work and family responsibilities is via the opportunities to reduce working hours under the Working Time Adjustment Act. | Since women not allowed to work for the 4wks preceding birth, and further 12 weeks are fully paid, it is expected that take-up of maternity leave is 100%. Of mothers eligible for parental leave, 42% in 2004 took an avge of 8 mths, at avge 12 hours a week (incl PT). Uptake of parental leave higher among women, PT workers, those with higher educ, and in the public sector. | Recent survey in 2004 found that 90% of men entitled to paternity leave took some sort of leave; 51% had taken paternity leave but most had taken holidays or other leave accrued in lieu of pay. | All employees eligible for up to 10days' p.a. for sick child - but employer can refuse if serious bus. reason; plus 'reasonable' amt of time of a few days can be taken for urgent domestic problem. Both paid at 100% by employer. Leave to care for sick child used by only 9% in 2004; and the emergency leave by 5%. Many used holidays, or time in lieu of pay. |
|
Norway |
Mothers employed in 6 of previous 10 mths eligible for 9 wks maternity leave (3 before, 6 after) paid at 100% up to high max. Non-empl. mothers get flat payment. Fathers eligible for 2 wks paid paternity leave at birth, then 4 wks unpaid daddy days quota (part of the family parental leave entitlement) which they lose of they do not take - may be paid via collective agreement. Evidence that some employers view the daddy days as an extn. of maternity leave, so not very supportive for fathers to take it. Parental leave 39 wks + the daddy days; paid as maternity leave; can be taken part-time while working; can be extended out to 40 wks with lower payment. | 75% of mothers have the right to and use maternity and parental leave - 2003 data. | Before the daddy days (which they will lose if they do not take) were added in 1990s, only around 4% took leave - then rose to 70% by 1997 and 89% in 2003. But the fathers' quota is only 7.7% of the entitlement. Only 15% of fathers take more than the quota - assoc with higher ed. of mothers. High use assoc. with higher ed. of fathers, and lower use assoc. with longer working hours and managerial positions. | Each parent of child under 12 has right to 10 days leave when child is sick - 15 if 2 children. 20-30 days p.a. for single parents. Extended leave on sickness benefit rate for severely ill/disabled children, till 18 years. |
|
Portugal |
Eligibility for 120 days maternity leave at 100% of earnings (or 150 days at 80%): all women employees with a record of 6mths continuous or intermittent contributions to social security plus self-employed who contribute. Same eligibility criteria for paid paternity leave (20 days incl 5 oblig.) and for unpaid parental leave of 3mths per parent before child is 6. Adopting parent has right to 100 days leave, consecutive. Carers' leave up to 15 days unpaid leave p.a. to care for spouse, older child or co-resident relative | Estimated that about 33% of mothers not eligible for paid maternity leave. No info on take-up of parental leave, but as it is unpaid it is thought to be very low. | 5 day compulsory paternity leave from 1999, seems to be boosting use of the other 15 days - in 2003 30-40% of eligible fathers took some paternity leave and proportion of fathers sharing some maternity leave entitlement reached about 12% of maternal leave beneficiaries. | Up to 30 days per year per family, paid at 65% of minimum wage, to care for sick child under 10, or no age limit for chronically sick or disabled children. Also parents entitled to 4 hours each school term to go to the school, until child turns 18 |
|
Slovenia |
Equal access to the 260 days, each half transferable to the other parent | All insured mothers take maternity leave. All mothers take parental leave. | Around 2/3 of fathers now take up to 15 days of paid paternity leave. Research suggests low rate of payment inhibits further take-up. In 2003, only 2.3% of fathers took parental leave | No |
|
Spain |
16 wks maternity leave, must take 6 after the birth; can transfer any of the other 10 to father; eligibility for all employees to unpaid leave but payment depends on eligibility for the maternity leave benefit: eg having been making social security contributions over at least 180 days in the previous 5 yrs incl. at the time of the birth. Paternity leave of 2-4 days at birth, paid at 100% of earnings (but no pay for self-employed). Parental leave unpaid until child is 3 for all workers; some regions have improved rights. Unpaid Carers' leave of up to 1 yr to care for ill, old etc close relative; or reduction in working time | In 2002 maternity leave benefit covered around 54% of births - same figure as female employment rate for 25-54 age group. Fathers share some maternity leave in about 1% of cases. Take-up rate improving. Only 24% mothers eligible for parental leave - of all workers, about 18% were self-employed, 2% family workers and 32% on temporary contracts. Main users of parental leave are women | Most fathers are eligible for paternity leave, except for about 20% who are self-employed. No info on take-up rates as payments are made directly by employers | 2 days' leave per worker to care for seriously sick child under 6 or other family reasons, paid for by employer. 4 days if travel involved. Re careers' leave: in 2002 there were only 126 users of time off to care for adult relatives in all Spain, but many take the working time reduction opportunity instead. |
|
Sweden |
No maternity leave. Access for both parents to 480 days' paid parental leave, with 60 mother-only and 60 father-only. Payment level depends on eligibility i.e. employment status - much higher pay 80% of earnings for employed; 20 euros a day for not employed. Can be taken at any time until child is 8. Each parent also entitled to take unpaid leave until child is 18mths. All employed fathers entitled to additional paid paternity leave of 10 days around the birth. All employees can apply for childcare leave (free year) - conditions apply re length of employment etc. | No entitlement to maternity leave. Data shows that mothers take most of the parental leave days in any one year, but men's proportion increasing. Most leave taken before child is 2. | Around 40% of fathers use some parental leave during child's 1st year. In 1987 fathers took about 7% of the total parental leave days - now up to 18.7% at end of 2004. In 2003, fathers used 36% of the leave for sick children. Fathers with more education take more parental leave as do fathers with partners with higher educ and income. | Family entitlement to 60 days per child p.a. to care for sick children under 12, and for those 12-15 with Dr cert. Paid at 80% of earnings. |
|
United Kingdom |
OML: 26 wks at flat- rate of 100 pounds a week for all women employees; plus a further AML of 20 wks at same rate, plus 6 wks at 90% of avge earnings, for women employees with 26 wks continuous service with present employer up to 15 weeks before due date. None for self-employed, but may qual for 26 wks at the flat rate payment. Same 26wks at the flat rate for 1 (only) adoptive parent, + another 26 wks unpaid. Paternity leave of 2 wks at the same flat rate payment for male emp'ees with the same 26 wks of work. Parental leave of 13 wks per child per parent up until 5th birthday for male employees with the same 26 wks work record. Can take max of 4 wks per year in one block or multiples of 1 week. 18 wks for parents of disabled children. No long childcare leave |
All women entitled to OML; in 2002 85% were entitled to AML. 75% of those entitled to AML did not use full entitlement, mostly for financial reasons - pay rate too low. Not good data on take-up of parental leave available since system changed in 2003-04 |
According to reports from employers, only 19% of fathers took the statutory paid paternity leave when first introduced. But a 2002 survey showed that 95% of fathers took time off work when their baby was born - most as annual leave. But when fully-paid leave was provided by employer, take-up was almost universal. Not good data on take-up of parental leave. |
Employees may take a 'reasonable time' off (undefined) to deal with unexpected emergencies, eg to care for dep. who is ill/injured; sudden breakdown of childcare arrangements; or incident involving employee's child during school hours. Plus, right to request flexible working arrangements |
|
USA |
No stat right to maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, or long childcare leave, but federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides for 12 weeks leave in each 12 mth period for a variety of reasons, including childbirth. Unpaid, may be taken in one block or several. Eligibility covers all employees working for a covered employer and who have worked for that employer for at least 1250 hours over the preceding 1 mths. 5 states provide partial payment. California the only state with comprehensive paid family leave law, where since 2004 all workers are covered by Temporary Disability Insurance with up to 6 wks partially paid (55-60%) leave up to a max following childbirth, adoption, placement of foster child, serious sickness, or the obligation to care for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse or domestic partner. Funded by employee contributions. | Because of qualifying conditions, only about 58% of workers in private firms are eligible for FMLA, with lower coverage for wage workers, workers with young children and welfare recipient workers. About 80% of working parents between aged 18-54 have access to some paid leave via statutory provision, collective agreements or individual workplace policies. But as FMLA does not provide payment, workers who are eligible do not often take it. | ||
Sources: Country notes published in Moss and O'Brien (2006:54), and in Deven and Moss (2005).