COFACE’s Polish member, Fundacja Share The Care supported the creation of a comprehensive study assessing the maturity of Polish organisations in managing diversity and inclusion (D&I). Conducted between January and March 2024, the study assessed 77 companies and organisations, primarily large enterprises, representing a wide range of industries.
Resilience is a term that has been gaining more and more attention in policy discourses. The latest research coming from the European research project ‘rEUsilience’ , with COFACE as an internal partner, analyses social policy provision in six European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Sweden, Poland, and the UK) to assess to what extent policy systems in these countries support families to be resilient.
In Sweden, new parental leave has been extended to grandparents and friends. New rules now allow parents to transfer up to 45 days of their paid leave to someone who isn’t the child’s legal guardian – such as a relative or a friend – as long as the person is insured for parental allowance.
COFACE’s Belgian member, Ligue des Familles, is on a mission to secure better pay for parental leave, recognizing it as a critical support for parents. However, the current financial compensation is far from adequate, discouraging many parents from taking this important leave.
Ligue des familles, a Belgian member of COFACE Families Europe, advocates for an increase in the minimum number of annual leave days per year.
Parents need their annual leave to meet the essential need for balance between family life and work. According to their latest Barometer 2022 (Ipsos data), 70% of parents find it difficult to work full-time while having children.
Alfred Trendl, President of the Catholic Family Association Austria (KFÖ), expressed both approval and concern regarding the government’s implementation of the EU directive aimed at strengthening work-life balance and partnership. While applauding the doubling of the family time bonus to 1,480 euros per month, Trendl voiced criticism of the government’s decision to cut two months of leave for families where only one parent takes parental leave. He argued that this infringes upon parental choice in childcare arrangements.
On 23rd of March 2023, the President of Poland signed the bill implementing the work-life balance directive in Poland and the new regulation came into force on 26th of April 2023. This marks, two years of advocacy work led by Share the Care foundation coming to an end.
Becoming a parent can be very joyful, but it can also be stressful. A study by Amy Heshmati, Helena Honkaniemi and Sol P. Juárez (Stockholm University) shows that mental health disorders during the post-natal period are common morbidity, but parental leave might help alleviate symptoms by preventing or reducing stress.
Families around Europe live the same difficulties. They should unite in a same demand: parental leave for working parents during the confinement.
