BETA

Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage



2015/2097(INI) Report on the application of Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC
RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead EMPL ARENA Maria (S&D) HETMAN Krzysztof (EPP), GERICKE Arne (ECR), HARKIN Marian (ALDE), PIMENTA LOPES João (GUE/NGL), VANA Monika (Verts/ALE), AGEA Laura (EFD)
Opinion FEMM GARCÍA PÉREZ Iratxe (S&D)
Lead committee dossier: EMPL/8/03516
Legal Basis RoP 052

Activites

  • 2016/05/12 Debate in plenary scheduled
  • 2016/04/05 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
    • A8-0076/2016 summary
  • 2016/03/16 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • 2015/05/21 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading

Documents

  • Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A8-0076/2016
AmendmentsDossier
236 2015/2097(INI)
2016/01/12 FEMM 35 amendments...
source: 575.114
2016/01/29 EMPL 201 amendments...
source: 575.187

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

activities/3/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2016-0226 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0226/2016
activities/3/type
Old
Debate in plenary scheduled
New
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
procedure/stage_reached
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Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
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Procedure completed
activities/2/docs/0/text
  • The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the own-initiative report by Maria ARENA (S&D, BE) on the application of Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC.

    Members recalled that there is little chance of the 75 % employment rate target set in the Europe 2020 strategy being achieved for women (it currently stands at 63.5 %) by 2020. They felt, therefore, that there is a need for proactive policies designed to help women enter and stay in the job market.

    Transposition of the directive: the report stressed that the provisions necessary for the transposition of Directive 2013/62/EU on the application of the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC takes different forms in the various Member States. Accordingly, Members believed that the transposition should comply fully with legislation in force in the area of collective bargaining between social partners. They also felt that classifying the different types of leave at EU level is difficult, since not all Member States have followed the EU’s separate or sequential approach to maternity and parental leave.

    They encouraged the Member States that have not yet done so to provide the Commission within a reasonable time with correspondence tables between the provisions of the directive and the transposition measures. The committee considered it is crucial for Member States to ensure that the necessary inspection resources are in place to verify that legislation protecting parents’ rights is being complied with. The Commission is urged to produce a report on this issue.

    Regretting the fact that there are disparities between the transposition measures of the directive in the field of application (e.g. more protection is provided for in the public sector across the EU than in the private sector) Members recommended that all possible measures be taken to enable the directive to be correctly implemented, in a uniform manner.

    They asked Member States to adopt family-oriented social policies that provide for the application of all the benefits included in the directive in the event of a prolonged stay abroad by parents seeking to complete an international adoption procedure.

    Gender imbalance: the report noted that, more than a decade after the Member States transposed the directive, the gender imbalance in taking parental leaves persists. It stated that the issue of pay during leave is crucial for low-income parents. Members believed that the Commission should propose measures that encourage fathers to take more parental leave. They called on the Commission, to guarantee that family rights assigned by public policies, including parental leave, are equal in terms of individual rights and equally accessible for both parents.

    With regard to income, Members noted that families with children and parents taking a career break to raise them have to bear not only a loss of income but also higher expenditure. They also noted that the flexibility that the Directive grants Member States to define forms of parental leave means that workers on non-standard contracts, such as fixed-term contracts, are not always included.

    Members States were called upon to ensure:

    • that enterprises can plan with certainty, and to pay particular attention to the needs of the smallest and small and medium-sized enterprises in this regard;
    • favourable conditions for the return to work of those who have benefited from parental leave, especially concerning reinstatement to the same post or an equivalent or similar post.

    Towards an effective directive to address the challenges of a work-life balance: Members noted the Commission’s withdrawal of the draft maternity leave directive, and called on the latter to return with an ambitious proposal that will effectively enable a better work-life balance while respecting the principle of subsidiarity. Consideration should be given to a broad non-legislative initiative to promote the reconciliation of work and family life in Member States.

    At the same time, Members called for the social partners, on the basis of the draft implementation report, to acknowledge the failure of the Parental Leave Directive in achieving its objectives in terms of work-life balance, female labour market participation, demographic challenges and men’s share of family tasks, including the care of children and other dependants. They considered, therefore, that more effective measures should be taken to encourage a more equal sharing of family responsibilities between men and women.

    Fair pay and extension of the minimum time period of parental leave: Members stressed that satisfactory parental leave arrangements are closely linked to adequate pay. In this regard, they called on member States, in agreement with the social partners, to reconsider their system of financial compensation for parental leave with a view to reaching a level that would act as an incentive for an adequate and decent level of income replacement. They believed that the promotion of individualisation of the right to leave and of positive action aimed at the promotion of the role of fathers is essential. Members called on the Commission and the social partners to consider offering an appropriate extension of the minimum duration of parental leave from four to at least six months to improve work-life balance.

    The committee went to on to call for:

    • an EU directive on a minimum two-week paternity leave;
    • an increase in the age of the child for which parental leave can be taken, and also the possibility of parental leave for parents of children with disabilities or long-term illnesses should be extended beyond the statutory age of the child provided for in the directive;
    • tackling the many obstacles to the return to work after a period of long parental leave;
    • the exchange of best practices between Member States in the area of work-life balance, paying particular attention to policies that help mothers to enter, stay in and return to the job market;
    • raising parents’ awareness of the benefits of participation in early childhood education and care programmes for their children and themselves;
    • adapting the design and eligibility criteria of high-quality, inclusive early childhood education and care services to increasingly diverse working patterns;
    • policies for overcoming stereotyped gender roles and ensuring the promotion of a gender-balanced work-life balance.

    Lastly, Members called on the Commission, where appropriate, to incorporate workplace gender equality objectives into the European Semester for economic policy coordination, so as to enable the targets of the Europe 2020 strategy to be met and to gauge the positive influence of EU initiatives on improving work-life balance.

activities/2/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2016-0076&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0076/2016
activities/3/date
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2016-05-09T00:00:00
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2016-05-12T00:00:00
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activities/0/committees/0/shadows/3
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GUE/NGL
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PIMENTA LOPES João
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/3
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GUE/NGL
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PIMENTA LOPES João
committees/0/shadows/3
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PIMENTA LOPES João
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2016-04-05T00:00:00
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Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
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2016-04-27T00:00:00
New
2016-05-09T00:00:00
activities/1/committees
  • body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: HETMAN Krzysztof group: ECR name: GERICKE Arne group: ALDE name: HARKIN Marian group: Verts/ALE name: VANA Monika group: EFD name: AGEA Laura responsible: True committee: EMPL date: 2015-06-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs rapporteur: group: S&D name: ARENA Maria
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: FEMM date: 2014-11-06T00:00:00 committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality rapporteur: group: S&D name: GARCÍA PÉREZ Iratxe
activities/1/type
Old
Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 150
activities/2/date
Old
2016-04-11T00:00:00
New
2016-04-27T00:00:00
activities/0/committees/0/shadows/3
group
GUE/NGL
name
ZUBER Inês Cristina
committees/0/shadows/3
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GUE/NGL
name
ZUBER Inês Cristina
activities/2
date
2016-04-11T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
activities/0/committees/0/shadows/2
group
ALDE
name
HARKIN Marian
committees/0/shadows/2
group
ALDE
name
HARKIN Marian
activities/0/committees/0/shadows/1
group
ECR
name
GERICKE Arne
activities/0/committees/0/shadows/3
group
Verts/ALE
name
VANA Monika
activities/1
date
2016-03-16T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees/0/shadows/1
group
ECR
name
GERICKE Arne
committees/0/shadows/3
group
Verts/ALE
name
VANA Monika
activities/0/committees/0/shadows/1
group
GUE/NGL
name
ZUBER Inês Cristina
committees/0/shadows/1
group
GUE/NGL
name
ZUBER Inês Cristina
activities/0/committees/0/shadows/0
group
EPP
name
HETMAN Krzysztof
committees/0/shadows/0
group
EPP
name
HETMAN Krzysztof
activities/0/committees/0/date
2015-06-05T00:00:00
activities/0/committees/0/rapporteur
  • group: S&D name: ARENA Maria
committees/0/date
2015-06-05T00:00:00
committees/0/rapporteur
  • group: S&D name: ARENA Maria
activities/0/committees/0/shadows
  • group: EFD name: AGEA Laura
committees/0/shadows
  • group: EFD name: AGEA Laura
activities
  • date: 2015-05-21T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL body: EP responsible: False committee: FEMM date: 2014-11-06T00:00:00 committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality rapporteur: group: S&D name: GARCÍA PÉREZ Iratxe
committees
  • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: FEMM date: 2014-11-06T00:00:00 committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality rapporteur: group: S&D name: GARCÍA PÉREZ Iratxe
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/social/ title: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
procedure
dossier_of_the_committee
EMPL/8/03516
reference
2015/2097(INI)
title
Report on the application of Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC
legal_basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
stage_reached
Awaiting committee decision
subtype
Implementation
type
INI - Own-initiative procedure
subject
4.10.02 Family policy, family law, parental leave