Update on possible work/life balance negotiations at cross-sectoral level

(October 2016) In response to the latest European Commission consultation the ETUC has said that it is willing to negotiate with employer organisations on work-life balance and specifically to improve the current parental leave agreement. The ETUC would also be ready to negotiate an agreement on paternity leave, as this was one of the matters that we proposed to address in the context of the autonomous work programme of the EU social partners 2015 - 2017.

(August 2016) The European Commission has launched a second-stage consultation with the social partners on potential European level action to improve work-life balance. This could be in relation to maternity leave rights, paternity and/or parental leave as well as carers' leave. More rights to flexible working might also be part of the equation. The Commission has given the European social partners until the end of August to decided whether or not they wish to negotiate on any of these. Read more at DG Employment.

After the surge in remote working as a result of the pandemic, trade unions in Ireland, Russia and Spain have welcomed new initiatives, including legislation and collective agreements, that regulate telework. Research by the Eurofound research agency also looks into the negative and positive implications of telework for workers’ autonomy and work-life balance raising again the challenges to ensure that workers have control over their working time and underlining the importance of current discussions at European level on the right to disconnect.