The divergence of paternity leave across EU countries is surprising: a study for 2023

Meglepő eltérések az apasági szabályozás intézményében az Európai Unió országai között: egy 2023-as tanulmány

Abstract

Paternity leave is a relatively modern element of parental leave, the form and organization of which depends on the individual preferences of each government and reflects the socio-economic, cultural and political situation in a given country. Although the European Union as a whole represents a unifying element in a number of national economic application issues, significant differences can be identified in the
setting of paternity leave. The description of these disparities is the subject of this paper. The synthesis and analysis of the institute of paternity leave in the 27 EU countries is methodologically a surprisingly difficult topic, which has not yet been treated analogously and can be considered very interesting due to the trend of gender equality in the upbringing of children. The aim of the paper is a descriptive analysis of the legislative anchoring of the institute of paternity leave in the 27 countries of the European Union and the subsequent comparison of the length of paternity leave and the financial amount of the state contribution for 2023. However, research on the legislative data was very difficult.

The concept of "paternity leave" is not the same in all the countries examined. It was necessary to look for and verify similar social benefits that were identical to the institute of paternity leave. The language barrier was also related to this problem. Nevertheless, it was possible to identify the necessary data on paternity leave and to make a subsequent comparison. Discussion on the topic is difficult due to the review
nature of the article. As already mentioned, a study of this kind has not yet been published. So far, the studies published on the topic of paternity leave have related to psychosocial factors and the importance of the father's participation in the care and strengthening of emotional ties after birth and in the subsequent period. In the theoretical part of the paper, the authors also present the opinions of foreign authors who deal with the importance of the father's presence in postnatal care and thus emphasize its quantitative and qualitative importance in subsequent upbringing. The use of paternity leave in the EU countries is also depending on the amount of the state support, which varies. This is one of the major obstacles to taking paternity leave. The results of the survey showed that some countries (e.g. Spain) support the institute of paternity leave much more and the paternity leave allowance financially is not reduced from the total salary. The length of paternity leave must also be taken into account, along with the amount of the allowance. A gender-balanced relationship between father and mother in the upbringing and care of a newly born child can be observed in Finland, where the length of maternity and paternity leave is identical. The third position belongs to Bulgaria. The period of paternity leave can be interrupted in all three countries, and the age at which it is mandatory to take paternity leave is also among the more flexible ones.

The cross-country comparisons showed a wide dispersion of partial parameters of the paternity system in the individual EU countries, both in the length of paternity leave and in the amount of the contribution that fathers take as part of paternity leave. At the same time, similarities were found in both examined factors, which could be an inspiration for the eventual unification and modification of this social policy instrument throughout the EU.