Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to review available international research and information on international provisions of parental leave and carers' leave arrangements, as well as any proposed changes for the future. The areas of particular interest are:

• ring-fenced paid parental leave;
• part-time parental leave-taking;
• unpaid carers' leave; and
• general overview information, including
  • leave provisions (if any) for precarious and casual employees;
  • standard duration of paid and unpaid parental leave overseas:
  • findings from existing research evidence on optimal lengths of parental leave, including consideration of WHO and ILO guidelines;
  • any proposals for future development of provisions;
  • interface with flexible working arrangements; and
  • importance of the policy context.

Most countries for which information has been included in this report offer some form of leave, paid and/or unpaid, to employees to be taken at or around the birth of a child. Comparison of provisions is a complex matter because of the variety of different combinations of arrangements involved.

Two major research reports published in the last two years provide the basic information regarding the leave provisions discussed in this report:

• the large cross-national study of leave arrangements in 19 countries undertaken as part of the continuation of the work of the former European Commission Childcare Network (Deven and Moss, 2005); and
• a similar study covering much the same ground (22 countries plus the province of Quebec) undertaken by members of the International Network on Leave Policy and Research, which includes an account of discussions at a seminar of members held in London in November 2005 (Moss and O'Brien, 2006).

In general terms, countries divide up into those where continuous post-natal leave available, including maternity leave, parental leave and childcare leave, comes to around nine to 15 months (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia and the United Kingdom), and those where continuous leave can run up to 3 years (Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Portugal and Spain). Sweden falls roughly in between at around 18 months if the leave available is taken continuously. Currently, Australia provides only unpaid parental leave, and the United States presents a different scenario with no statutory parenting leave available.

The prevalence of parental leave policies among the 23 countries reviewed reflects the dominance of EU member states in the sample. All EU states must provide at least three months leave per parent for childcare purposes, but no payment or flexibility requirements are stipulated. Provisions vary, according to length, basis of entitlement, payment and flexibility of leave conditions and additional employment flexibility. Eligibility is usually based on employment status, or a preceding qualifying period of continuous employment, but not always with the same employer. The basis of entitlement to paid parental leave is fairly evenly divided between countries with family entitlement systems, and those where entitlement is individually based, but a few countries mix individual entitlement to maternity and paternity leave, with a family entitlement to parental leave.

The main opportunities to induce fathers to take leave are paternity leave and parental leave. Payment is now becoming more common, since research has shown fathers are unlikely to take the leave unless it is paid at a rate that provides realistic level of compensation for their lost earnings during leave. Taking some of the paid paternity leave entitlement is now compulsory in Belgium (3 days), Portugal (5 days) and Slovenia (15 days). In most countries paternity leave is non-transferable, so it is lost if not taken. This arrangement adds to the incentive to take the leave, although the incentive is stronger if the leave is paid.

No countries offered statutory maternity leave on an unpaid basis, although some proportions of leave were reported to be unpaid. In Canada and Norway paternity leave is available but unpaid, and parental leave is available but unpaid in Australia, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Unpaid, extended childcare leave is offered in a small number of countries, and extended paid childcare leave is provided in Hungary.

Paid, post-natal leave can be taken part-time in: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (although employers can refuse on business grounds), Germany (employer's agreement needed in SMEs), the Netherlands (where every employee has the right to work part-time of they want to), Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden. In addition, in Hungary part-time work of up to 4 hours a day with no reduction in benefit is permitted after the child reaches 18 months.

The issue of optimal length of leave is complex. The World Health Organisation currently recommends that infants should be breast fed for at least two years with weaning foods added from six months onwards - implying that exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months will provide the most desirable start in life for the young child. But other factors in the child' life such as the presence of the father and the financial stability of the family are also important. Kamerman (in Moss and O'Brien 2006) points out that longer paid maternity leave reduces infant mortality and neo-natal mortality, but unpaid leave does not have the same protective effect. In addition, longer leave improves other health outcomes, as children whose mothers return to work within the first three months after birth receive less health care.

The International Labour Organisation Convention 183 regarding maternity protection at work and Convention 156 on family responsibilities set out clear guidelines for countries to safeguard the interests of workers who are parents and the well-being of their children, by entitling workers to sufficient job-protected leave. But the issue of payment is left to the countries concerned, with the acknowledgement that unpaid leave is likely to be unaffordable for many, and so will defeat the purpose of providing it. The OECD has voiced concerns in recent years regarding the relationship between lengthy leave for family purposes and women's labour market attachment. But it is important to acknowledge the policy context in which leave is situated: people's response to the leave will inevitably be shaped by other elements of the policy context, and not just by the existence of a leave entitlement.

The five main categories of policy context in which leave policies appear to operate are:

• maternal and child health
• well-being of pre-school children
• income security in families with children
• labour market attachment for mothers
• gender equity within families, and in the labour market.

Very many countries are now strengthening their statutory leave policies, with the state intervening increasingly to regulate the labour market and increase social benefits for parents taking leave. In nearly all cases, the direction of the change is toward increasing the scope and flexibility of leave entitlements, and many focus on extending fathers' rights.

Policies associated with prioritising maternal and child health are associated with maternity leave that is compulsory for all or some of its duration. A number of countries also make a spell of leave before the birth compulsory as well as afterwards. In addition, multiple births are the focus of policies in many countries that double the leave entitlements (i.e. the paid duration) for twins and triple it for triplets, in recognition of the far higher level of pressure on parents associated with a multiple birth.

The policy instruments associated with prioritising the well-being of children include those associated with maternal and child health, plus provision of publicly-funded childcare places for all children, from as early in their lives as their mothers might need or wish to return to their jobs, or payments to enable parents to provide pre-school care themselves, if not using publicly-funded care.

Prioritising income security for families entails the provision either of paid, job-protected leave for all workers, or payments to all parents at the birth of a child, regardless of their employment circumstances, or both, plus income support for parents with particularly high caring responsibilities associated with having a child or a close family member with a serious illness or disability.

The policies associated with maintaining women's labour market attachment are those that focus on maximising the level of job-protection for those on leave, no matter which parent takes it, or in what circumstances, or for how long. Modes of flexibility practised among the 23 countries include taking leave in blocks of time over a longer period, say until the child is three (so that the actual duration of leave is still around nine months to a year); returning to work part-time while receiving the leave payments part-time; having the option to take a shorter leave at a higher rate, or a longer leave at a lower rate; permitting both parents to take their parental leave at the same time, whether paid or not; being able to postpone the leave until a later time before the child reaches a certain age; being able to transfer the leave to another person such as a grandparent in cases where a parent is incapacitated; and having the right to request part-time work arrangements when they return to work, either permanently or for a set period. A further aspect of leave policies to assist parents to care for their children after they reach school age are annual or blocks of job-protected childcare leaves (often unpaid) of anything from a few days a year, to up to 13 weeks for each parent as in Iceland, until the child is eight, during which parents can attend important events involving their child, or care for them during school holidays.

Increasing demands for gender equity in many countries have been a factor in designing leave policies that distribute entitlements equally between parents. Provisions mostly in the Nordic countries have provided the greatest opportunities for gender equity: for example, in Iceland, each parent now has an individual entitlement to three months' paid leave that is non-transferable to the other parent. Eligibility includes all parents who have been economically active before the birth. A further three months of paid leave is available as a family entitlement, for the parents to distribute between themselves. Thus a high profile aspect of this policy is gender equity between the parents regarding the entitlement to leave, with the underlying focus that whoever takes the leave available via the family entitlement, the state safeguards up to nine continuous months of parental care for the child.

At a general level, this review of leave provisions in other countries suggests that in order to maximise outcomes over the range of competing policy objectives, leave policies will be most beneficial to children and parents (with consequent benefits for the economy) if they incorporate:

• Enough time to safeguard maternal health following the birth, and continuity of parental care to promote child health and well-being, facilitating exclusive breastfeeding at until the age of six months, then continuing in the child's life till at least one year and preferably two;
• A substantial level of income replacement during leave to encourage take-up, to protect families from either the potentially negative effects of economic hardship from re-entry to employment of the parent providing most of the care, at a time when the child is still very young;
• Ring-fenced paid leave for fathers - paternity leave and particularly parental leave - to encourage participation of fathers in the lives of their young children as well as alleviating gender inequity in the division of unpaid work in the household as well as in the labour market;
• Flexibility so that parents can choose what mix of leave and work arrangements will suit their family best;
• Building a stronger association between extended periods of exclusive care for young children with the status of being on leave from the labour market (if not from an individual employer), rather than with the status of being outside the workforce;
• ensuring a seamless continuity of affordable leave and care arrangements until the child reaches school age, so that there is always a leave option for parents or a publicly-funded care option for the child during the first five years.