Activities of Helga STEVENS related to 2017/0085(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Work-life balance for parents and carers (debate) (debate) NL
Amendments (27)
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The current Union legal framework provides limited incentives for men to assume an equal share of caring responsibilities. Lack of paid paternity and parental leave in many Member States contributes to the low take-up of such leave by fathers. The imbalance in the design of work-life balance policies between women and men reinforces gender differences between work and care. Conversely, use of work-life balance arrangements by fathers, such as leave or flexible working arrangements, has been shown to have a positive impact in reducing the relative amount of unpaid family work undertaken by women and leaving them more time for paid employment. Of particularly great importance are high-quality, accessible and affordable facilities for childcare and care for the elderly. They will enable both men and women to reconcile family responsibilities with a professional career.
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The Commission has undertaken a two-stage consultation with the social partners on the challenges related to work- life balance, in line with Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. There was no agreement among social partners to enter into negotiations on those matters, including on the parental leave. It is however important to take action in this area by modernising and adapting the current legal framework, taking into account the outcome of those consultations, as well as of the open public consultation carried out to seek the views of various stakeholders and citizens.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) This Directive should apply to all workers who have employment contracts or other employment relationships. As is currently the case under Clause 2(3) of the Annex to Directive 2010/18/EU, this should include contracts relating to employment or employment relationships of part-time workers, fixed- term contract workers or persons with a contract of employment or employment relationship with a temporary agency.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to provide greater possibility for parents to use parental leave as their children grow up, the right to parental leave should be granted until the child is at least twelve years old. Member States should be able to specify the period of notice to be given by the worker to the employer when applying for parental leave and to decide whether the right to parental leave may be subject to a certain period of service. In view of the growing diversity of contractual arrangements, the sum of successive fixed-term contracts with the same employer should be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the period of service. To balance the needs of workers with those of employers, Member States should also be able to decide whether they define if the employer may be allowed to postpone the granting of parental leave under certain circumstances. In such cases, the employer should provide justification for the postponement. Given that flexibility makes it more likely that second parents, in particular fathers, will take up their entitlement to such leave, workers should be able to request to take parental leave on a full-time or part-time basis or in other flexible forms. It should be up to the employer whether or not to accept such a request for parental leave in other flexible forms than full-time. Member States should also assess if the conditions and detailed arrangements of parental leave should be adapted to the specific needs of parents in particularly disadvantaged situations, particularly where children are suffering from serious medical conditions or disabilities. Member States should take the specificity of SMEs into account when planning the above-mentioned arrangements.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In order to provide greater opportunities to remain in the work force for men and women carrying of elderly family member and/or other relatives in need of care, workers with a seriously ill or dependant relative should have the right to take time off from work in the form of carers' leave to take care of that relative. To prevent abuse of that rightthis end, Member States should institute appropriate leave systems, tailored to the needs of their people. To prevent abuse, proof of the serious illness or dependency may be required prior to granting of the leave.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) To increase the incentives for workers with children and caring responsibilities, men in particular, to take the periods of leave provided for in this Directive, they should have the right to an adequate allowance while on leave. The level of the allowance should be at least equivalent to what the worker concerned would receive in case of sick leave. Member States should take into account the importance of the continuity of the entitlements to social security, including healthcare.
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) In accordance with Directive 2010/18/EU Member States are required to define the status of the employment contract or employment relationship for the period of parental leave. In accordance with the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the employment relationship between the worker and his employer is therefore maintained during the period of leave and, as a result, the beneficiary of such leave, remains, during that period, a worker for the purposes of Union law. When defining the status of employment contract or employment relationship during the period of the leaves covered by this Directive, including as regards entitlements to social security, the Member States should therefore ensure that the employment relationship is maintained.
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In order to encourage working parents and carers to remain in the work force, those workers should be able to adaptsk for their working schedules to be adapted to their personal needs and preferences. Working parents and carers should therefore be able to request flexible working arrangements, meaning the possibility for workers to adjust their working patterns, including through the use of remote working arrangements, flexible working schedules, or a reduction in working hours, for caring purposes. In order to address. In order to balance the needs of workers and employers, it should be possible for Member States to limit the duration of flexible working arrangements, including a reduction in working hours. While working part-time has been shown to be useful in allowing some women to remain in the labour market after having children, long periods of reduced working hours may lead to lower social security contributions translating into reduced or non-existing pension entitlements. The ultimate decision as to whether or not to accept a worker’s request for flexible working arrangements should lie with the employer, Specific circumstances underlying the need for flexible working arrangements can change. Workers should therefore not only have the right to return to their original working patterns at the end of a given agreed period, but should also be able to request to do so at any time where a change in the underlying circumstances so requireMember States should always take the specificity of SMEs into account when planning the above-mentioned arrangements.
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) Workers exercising their rights to take leave or to request flexible working arrangements provided for in this Directive should enjoy protection from dismissal and any preparations for a possible dismissal on the grounds that they applied for, or have taken such leave or have exercised the right to request such flexible working arrangementswho use leave schemes or flexible working arrangements should enjoy protection from dismissal for having used them. Where workers consider that they have been dismissed on those grounds, they should be able to ask the employer to provide duly substantiated grounds for the dismissal.
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
Amendment 243 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) This Directive lays down minimum requirements, thus giving the Member States the option of introducing or maintaining more favourable provisions. Rights acquired under the existing legal framework should continue to apply, unless more favourable provisions are introduced by this Directive. The implementation of this Directive cannot be used to reduce existing rights set out in existing Union legislation in this field nor can it constitute valid grounds for reducing the general level of protection afforded to workers in the field covered by this DirectiveHowever, rights that have been acquired should not be reversed.
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) This Directive should avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings. Member States are therefore invited to assess thoroughly in advance and to monitor the impact of their transposition act on SMEs in order to make sure that SMEs are not disproportionately affected, with specific attention for micro- and small enterprises and for administrative burden.
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Amendment 271 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
This Directive applies to all workers, men and women, who have an employment contract or employment relationship.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) “carer" means a worker providing personal care or support to a relative in case of a serious illness, disability or dependency of a relative;
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) “flexible working arrangements” means the possibility for workers to adjust their working patterns, including through the use of remote working arrangements, flexible working schedules, or a reduction inn adjustment of working hours.
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
4. Member States may make the right to parental leave subject to a period of work qualification or a length of service qualification which shall not exceed one yearof reasonable duration. In the case of successive fixed-term contracts, within the meaning of Council Directive 1999/70/EC21, with the same employer, the sum of those contracts shall be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the qualifying period. __________________ 21 Council Directive of 28 June 1999 concerning the framework agreement on fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP (OJ L 175, 10.7.1999, p.43).
Amendment 443 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 5
Article 5 – paragraph 5
5. Member States may define the circumstances in which an employer, following consultation in accordance with national law, collective agreements and/or practice, may be allowed to postpone the granting of parental leave by a reasonable period of time on the grounds that it would seriously disrupt the good functioning of the establishment. In doing so, they shall take particular account of the specific character of SMEs. Employers shall justify any postponement of parental leave in writing.
Amendment 473 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Member States shall take the necessary measures to einsure that workers have the right to carers' leave of at least five working days per year, per worktitute suitable systems providing for leave that can be taken for purposes of caring. In doing so, each Member. Such right may be subject to appropriate substantiation of the medical condition of the worker's relativetate shall act in accordance with its own needs and traditions, taking account of all the existing leave systems.
Amendment 515 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
In accordance with national circumstances, such as national law, collective agreements and/or practice, and taking into account the powers delegated to social partners, Member States shall ensure that workers exercising the rights to leave referred to in Article 4, 5 or 6 will receive a payment or an adequate allowance at least equivalent to what the worker concerned would receive in case of sick leave.
Amendment 562 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Amendment 574 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that, at the end of leave referred to in Article 4, 5 or 6, workers are entitled to return to their jobs or to equivalent posts on equivalent terms and conditions which are no less favourable to them, and to benefit from any improvement in working conditions to which they would have been entitled during their absence.
Amendment 583 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 3
Article 10 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall define the status of the employment contract or employment relationship for the period of leave referred to in Article 4, 5 or 6, including as regards entitlements to social security, while ensuring that the employment relationship is maintained during that period.
Amendment 596 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Member States shall take the necessary measures to prohibit less favourable treatment ofdiscrimination against workers on the ground that they have applied for, or have taken, leave referred to in Article 4, 5 or 6, or on the ground that they have exercised their right to flexible working arrangements referred to in Article 9.
Amendment 605 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to prohibit the dismissal and all preparations for dismissal of workers, on the grounds that they have applied for, or have taken, leave referred to in Article 4, 5 or 6, or have exercised the right to requestmade use of any of the flexible working arrangements referred to in Article 9.
Amendment 616 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. Workers who consider that they have been dismissed on the grounds that they have applied for, or have taken, leave referred to in Article 4, 5 or 6 or of exercising the right to requestmade use of any of the flexible working arrangements referred to in Article 9 may request the employer to provide duly substantiated grounds for the dismissal. The employer shall provide those grounds in writing.
Amendment 619 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 3
Article 12 – paragraph 3