Vauvasta vaariin – Työn ja perheen yhteensovittamisen lainsäädännölliset mallit

Abstrakti

Care from cradle to grave: Regulatory models for work-life balance

There has been an active debate on parental leave throughout the 21st Century. The EU Work-life Balance Directive 2019, which superseded the parental leave Directive, changed the debate as it extends work-life balance to caring situations other than those involving young children. In addition to the European Union, also other international organisations, such as ILO, the UN, and the Council of Europe, have paid attention to the adjustment of working conditions to accommodate care. This article analyses the regulatory models that can be distinguished in the international documents, especially within ILO and the EU, as well as in the national regulations in Finland and Sweden. Based on previous research, the authors outlined three regulatory models: A maternity-protection model, an equality-in-working-life model, and a model aimed at transforming the role of the parent/caregiver. The model of maternity protection is present in the ILO convention that, for example, requires breastfeeding breaks at work. Finland has not ratified this but, instead, maternity protection has been merged with  long parental leave, which is supposed to enhance breastfeeding. The model of equality in working life is the dominant approach in the EU and national equality laws. In line with this model, the extension of fathers' quotas of parental leave is the main tool for promoting equality. EU regulation has also emphasised the flexibility of parental leave, but steps in this direction are still cautious in the Work-life Balance Directive. The model under preparation by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Health in Finland also increases flexibility. The model for transforming the gender roles of parents is most advanced in Sweden, where parental leave is gender-neutral and allows flexible parental leave on a parttime basis or at different times. There are no big differences in the duration of the subsidised parental leave in EU regulation and the national laws in Finland and Sweden, but Finland's long home care leave and Sweden's extensive rights to reduced working hours and absence from work due to childcare go beyond EU regulation. In all systems, the opportunity and the right of workers to care for their elderly parents and other adult dependants are limited. This article calls for a broad discussion on the relationship of work and care in Europe with an ageing population.