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: Nousiainen, Kevat
• Pages: 31-47

31

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)65

5.1 General (legal) context

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

The National Institute for Health and Welfare has carried out surveys and published reports

on work-life balance issues. Studies show that combining work and family life has both

negative and positive aspects. Parents in families with children, who find their demands of

work stressful, and mothers of children under school age often feel they neglect home due

to their employment. In addition, mothers, more often than fathers, feel that family limits

their options in w ork. Many mothers of children under three are on home care leave and

do not feel time pressure caused by employmen t – rather, stress because their income is

very limited. Despite this, combining work with famil y life has also been received

positively. For instance, four of five mothers and two of th ree fathers of children under

school age feel it is good for childcare th at the parent has respite from care work in wo rk

outside the home.66 While flexible work is common in Finland, only approximately 50 % of

families can make use of flexible working hours, and only a small percentage of them could

do telework. Flexible working time was more common among fathers than mothers.67 A

study by Statistics Finland showed that two out of three employed parents of children

under 15 think they have influence over when their work starts and ends, but men thought

so somewhat more than women (71 % men and 63 % women). The majority (58 %) of

such parents worked less than 40 hours per week, but more than half of fathers said they

worked over 40 hours (57 %), 44 % of all such parents worked 35-3 9 hours, and 14 %

worked less than 35 hours.68 Fathers seem to be able to influence their wor king hours

more than mothers, but in practice work longer hours than moth ers. However, even

mothers tend to work relatively long hours.

5.1.2 Other issues

Women in Finland tend to work full-time, and part-time work is not necessarily available

for par ents who wish to shorten t heir working hours. Fixed-term work is common, and

more common among women than men. In 2017, 19 % of women and 13 % of men

worked in fixed-term jobs. Of women between 25 to 34 years of age, that is women in

child-bearing age, 27 % wo rked in fixed-term jobs. Young women are m ore commonly

employed on fixed-term contracts than oth er groups of employees , and the main reason

for this is lack of permanent work.69 The availability of home care leave – a parental right

to remain at home and take care of a child until the child is three – on a flat rate benefit

65 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.

66 Lammi-Taskula, Johanna & Salmi, Minna: Työ, perhe ja hyvinvointi (Work, Family and Welfare) in Lammi-

Taskula, Johanna & Karvonen, Sakari & Ahlström, Salme (ed.): Lapsiperheiden hyvinvointi (Welfare of Child

Families) The National Institute for Health and Welfare TEE004, Helsinki 2009, available at

http://www.julkari.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/80047/0e6f5676-9ccf-4490-8496-

45c7b3acce5f.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

67 Salmi Minna & Lammi-Taskula Johanna, Joustoa työn vai perheen hyväksi? In Pietikäinen Petteri (ed.)

Työstä, jousta, jaksa: Työn ja hyvinvoinnin tulevaisuus (Grind, Be Flexible, Endure: The Future of work and

welfare) Gaudeamus, Helsinki, 2011, 155–183

68 Nieminen, T. (2019) ‘Kumpi joustaa: työ vai perhe?’ (Which is flexible: work or family) Expert articles by

Statistics Finland 2019, http://www.tilastokeskus.fi/tietotrendit/artikkelit/2019/kumpi-joustaa-tyo-vai-

perhe/.

69 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Information on gender equality at work,

https://thl.fi/en/web/sukupuolten-tasa-arvo/tyo/epatyypilliset-tyosuhteet.

32

is often seen as a factor that has a negative impact on working life participation of mothers

of small children. Home care leave is a politically contested form of childcare leave. A

person on home care leave is entitled to return to his/her job, which is seen as an incentive

for discrimination, as such long leave periods may cause the employer problems. The use

of home care leave by parents has declined during the last decade from nearly 90 % to

83 %, and only 10 % of families use the right to home care leave for the whole period. A

shorter home care leave is oft en used in lieu of a longer parental leave, as many parents

consider the present paid family-related leave t oo short. The clear majority of parents on

home care leave are mothers.70

Provision of childcare services is facilitated by a municipality’s legal duty to provide

childcare. The aim of p roviding day care for all children as a general social service was

introduced in an act on day care f or children in the 1970s, an d a subjective right to day

care for all children under school age was adopted in 1996. Children under school age are

entitled to day care even when parents, or one of them, do not work. In 2016, the right

to day care for children whose parents do not work or study a full day was cut to 20 hours

a week, but the present Government programme promises to return to equal rights for all

children. Under the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (540/2018), early childhood

education and care may be provided in early education centres, as family-based day care

or as open early childhood education and care. Municipalities have the obligation to provide

such care for children residing in the municipality, in municipal centres or by procuring

services from private bodies. Parents who do not opt to use the early childhood education

and care place provided by the municipality are entitled to an allowance, enabling them to

provide care at home or in private da y care. Parents may require co mpensation for lost

income if they cannot work due to the lack of childcare they have appli ed for.

5.1.3 Overview of national acts on work-life balance issues

Chapter 4 of the Employment Contracts Act (55/2001) defines family-based leave,

including maternity, parental, paternity and home care leave, and Chapter 9 of the

Sickness Insurance Act (1224/2004) contains provisions on benefits to be paid under those

periods of leave, including leave for ad optive parents. Any amendments to the family-

based leave benefits automatically change the leave periods under the Employment

Contracts Act. The other pieces of legislation on employment, such as the State, Municipal

and Church Employment legislation 71 follow th e provisions of the Employment Contracts

Act. Employers are not legally obliged to pay employees on family-related leave, but many

collective agreements have clauses on pay for some leave periods . Breastfeeding and

safety at work of pregnant employees is regulated under the Occupational Health and

Safety Act 738/2002.

The Act on Pre-School Ed ucation (540/2018) requires municipalities t o arrange day care

as a municipal service, or to buy day care services from other providers. That Act and the

Act on Day Care for Children, which preceded it, gave a child (or their parents) a subjective

right to day care services. In 2016, the child’s right to full-time day care was limited to 20

hours per week if both p arents d id not work or study, and to full day care when both

parents worked . Full-day day care has to be ar ranged if it i s in the best interest of th e

child (Section 12). Not all municipalities limited the right to pre-school education, however,

and access to full day pre-school education in day care thus depends on the occupational

situation of the child’s parents; the child’s particular needs, and the child’s place of

residence. The 20-hour limit of the right to pre-school education for children whose parents

70 Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (2019) Kotihoidon tuen käyttö vähenee edelleen – pienten lasten

äidit entistä useammin töissä (The use of home care leave continues to decline – mothers of small children

work more than previously), THL-blogi 16.1.2020, https://blogi.thl.fi/kotihoidon-tuen-kaytto-vahenee-

edelleen-pienten-lasten-aidit-entista-useammin-toissa/.

71 The Act on state officials (759/1994), the Act on municipal office holders (304/2003) and the Church Act

(1054/1993), Part II, contain provisions on employees of the state, municipal employees and employees of

the Lutheran Church, who hold a public office. The state, municipalities and the Lutheran Church also have

employees working under (private law) employment contracts.