Brussels, 21/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the beginning of August the European Commission published a roadmap setting out policy options to help workers and employees find a satisfactory work-life balance. This new initiative aims to counterbalance the negative effects stemming from the Commission's decision to withdraw its 2008 proposal on maternity leave, the Commission states in a press release (see EUROPE 11348).
The initiative aims to allow parents with children or workers with dependant relatives to better balance caring and professional responsibilities, by modernising the current EU legal and policy framework and adapting it to today's labour market. This is no longer suited to today's realities and does not sufficiently encourage both parents, particularly women, to lead a professionally active life.
In its roadmap, the Commission puts forward ideas for a new approach. It proposes, for example, the possibility of adopting a communication reviewing the policies that could be implemented to set more flexible working hours in the workplace. It also involves envisaging more and better host infrastructures for children and dependent relatives, so as to ease the load for the workers and employees concerned. (Isabelle Lamberty)