The Work-life Balance Directive

Going back to work after having a baby is an important and common concern among women. This issue has been addressed by the European Parliament in Directive (EU) No. 19/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2019/1158 of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers, known as the “Work-life Balance Directive” (the “Directive”).

What is its main objective?

The main objective of the Directive is to support and complement the activities of the Member States concerning equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work. It introduces more flexibility in the current rules of granting parental leave and carers’ leave and encourages fathers to share child-bearing responsibilities.

What will its implementation lead to?

The solutions proposed by the Directive are family-friendly policies that aim to encourage employees to have children. It is stated in the introduction to the Directive that work-life balance remains a considerable challenge for many parents and workers with caring responsibilities, in particular because of the increasing prevalence of extended working hours and changing work schedules, which has a negative impact on women’s employment.

Are the provisions of the Directive already in force in Poland?

We need to wait a little longer. The deadline by which the Member States have to implement the Directive into national law is 2 August 2022. In the Polish legislation, the Labour Code will undoubtedly be amended, but the Polish government has not yet published a bill incorporating the assumptions of the Directive.

What facilities for parents does the Directive provide for?

The Directive addresses issues such as: paternity leave, parental leave, time off from work on the grounds of force majeure, the rules for granting payments or allowances, flexible working arrangements and protection against adverse treatment or consequences connected with exercising those rights.

It is worth mentioning that the Labour Code does already offer more advantageous rules than the proposals resulting from the Directive in some of these areas.

Which of the proposed regulations warrant special attention?

Let’s start with paternity leave. In this area the regulations are as follows. Fathers or, where and insofar as recognised by national law, equivalent second parents, have the right to paternity leave of ten working days to be taken around the birth of the worker’s child. The Member States may determine whether to allow paternity leave to be taken partly before or only after the birth of the child, and whether to allow such leave to be taken in flexible ways.

Under the rules provided for in the Polish Labour Code, a father is entitled to up to two weeks of paternity leave, to be used before the child turns 24 months. Paternity leave may be used on a one-off basis or in two week-long parts. This clearly shows that Polish law is more advantageous than the Directive in this respect.

Carers’ leave

The Directive introduces carers’ leave – up to five working days per year – in order to provide personal care or support to a relative, or to a person who lives in the same household as the worker and who is in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason.

Currently, the Labour Code dictates that an employee with at least one child of up to 14 years is entitled to take paid time off from work of 16 hours, or two days, in a calendar year.

Time off from work on grounds of force majeure

The Member States should take the necessary measures to ensure that every worker has the right to time off from work on grounds of force majeure for urgent family reasons, in the event of illness or an accident requiring the immediate attendance of the worker, whereas the Directive does not impose any obligation on employers to provide for any payment or any other allowance for such time off.

Under Polish law, similar solutions are included in the catalogue of reasons for absenteeism specified in §1 of the Regulation on the Manner of Excusing Absences from Work and Granting Leave to Employees.

Flexible working arrangements

Pursuant to Article 9 of the Directive, the Member States must take the necessary measures to ensure that workers with children up to a specified age, which must be at least eight years, as well as carers, have the right to request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes. The duration of such flexible working arrangements may be subject to a reasonable limitation.

Granting the right to request flexible working arrangements may be subject to a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification, not exceeding six months.

And what about parental leave?

Every employee should be individually entitled to parental leave of four months, to be taken before the child reaches a specified age, at least up to the age of eight. Two months of parental leave cannot be transferred to the other parent. Granting the right to parental leave may be subject to a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification, not exceeding one year.

Under the current provisions of the Labour Code, the entire period of parental leave (32 or 34 weeks) may be used by one parent until the child turns six.