Pregnancy, maternity, and leave related to work-life balance for workers (Directive 92/85, relevant provisions of Directives 2006/54, 2010/18 and 2019/1158)

• Author: Thomasberger, Martina
• Pages: 24-37

24

5 Pregnancy, maternity, and leave related to work-life balance for workers

(Directive 92/85, relevant provisions of Direct ives 2006/54, 2010/18 and

2019/1158)56

5.1 General (legal) context

5.1.1 Surveys and reports on the practical difficulties lin ked to work-life balance

One recent survey confirmed earlier findings that Austrian workers are generally satisfied

with their labour market status, but at the same time consider the working hours and the

demands at the workplace to be too high.57

One of the conclusions reached in an older survey from 2014 on the conditions, effects,

and availability of childcare at company level was that employees with small chil dren

consider the existence of childcare facilities at their workplace an important factor in their

employment decisions. Another result from this survey was that employees with children

under 12 years of age prefer flexible working time arrangements .58

5.1.2 Other issues

Austria has a comparably high rate of female participation in the workfo rce with a rate of

part-time female workers between the ages of 15 and 64 of over 50 %, especially in rural

areas. Decisions for working part time are influenced by education level, number of

children and amount of disposab le household income.59 Part-time work contributes to a

large extent to the high gender pay gap and gender pension gap.

5.1.3 Overview of national acts on work-life balance issues

Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz)

Fathers’ Parental Leave Act (Väterkarenzgesetz)

Paternity Leave Act (Familienzeitbonusgesetz)60

Additionally, regulations on force majeure lea ve and carer’s leave provisions for seriously

ill relatives are regulated wit hin the scope of labour legislation conce rning additional paid

holidays (Urlaubsgesetz) and carer’s leave for terminally ill patients, or seriously sick

children, or care-dependent relatives as well as corresponding modification of working

contracts (Arbeitsvertragrechtsanpassungsgesetz).

5.1.4 Political and societal debate and pending legislative proposals

The current Government has not committed to extending specific work-life balance

policies.

56 See Masselot, A. (2018), Family leave: enforcement of the protection against dismissal and unfavourable

treatment, European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination, available at

https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/4808-family-leave-enforcement-of-the-protection-against-

dismissal-and-unfavourable-treatment-pdf-962-kb and McColgan, A. (2015), Measures to address the

challenges of work-life balance in the EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, European

network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination, available at

https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/3631-reconciliation.

57 https://kontrast.at/work-life-balance-studie-2019/.

58 https://www.femtech.at/sites/default/files/Studie_Vereinbarkeit_Beruf_Familie_2014.pdf.

59 https://www.addendum.org/feminismus/teilzeit/.

60

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung/Bundesnormen/10008464/MSchG%2c%20Fassung%20vom%2

030.04.2019.pdf,

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung/Bundesnormen/10008674/VKG%2c%20Fassung%20vom%203

0.04.2019.pdf,

https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung/Bundesnormen/20009586/FamZeitbG%2c%20Fassung%20vo

m%2030.04.2019.pdf.