Family-related leave entitlements in Europe vary from nation to another, reflecting the diverse legal frameworks and cultural norms within the continent. However, most European legislations require employers to participate in these entitlements regardless of the employees' contracts.
Such family-related entitlements include parental leave, paternity leave, carer's leave, and maternity leave. This blog will focus on the Paternity and Carer's leaves' regulations across 19 European countries. Both carer's and paternity's leaves' rules vary per country in terms of duration, eligibility, and entitlements.
Paternity and carer's leaves are policies that reshape traditional family care dynamics, not only recognising the role of fathers and caregivers but also promoting gender equality, encouraging active involvement in childcare.
Paternity leaves offer fathers and non-birthing parents the opportunity to take time off work after childbirth, enabling them to bond with their newborn, to participate in childcare, and to support their partners.
On the other hand, Carer's leave allows employees to take time off work to care for a dependent family member who is ill, disabled, or in need of assistance due to age or other reasons.
In Austria, employed fathers are allowed one month of unpaid paternity leave until the child is 2 years old.
In case an immediate family member requires help, employees are allowed up to 6 months of unpaid leave to provide care.
In Belgium, employed fathers are given 20 days of paid paternity leave, either in a row or split up into 40 half days. Additionally, the employees get paid full salary during the first 3 days, then their public health insurance covers 82% of their salary during the remainder.
In case an immediate family member requires help, there are two options:
In Croatia, employed fathers are allowed ten days -fully paid- paternity leave per child until the child is 6 months old. The Croatian government is responsible for paying this amount.
Named under special event leaves, Croatia does not offer carer's leave; however, the law entitles employees to seven days -fully paid- leave annually for significant events.
In the Czech Republic, employed fathers are allowed paternity leave of two weeks during the first 6 weeks of childbirth, paid at 70% and eligible if 270 days of Social Security Contributions had been made in the previous 2 years. Additionally, mothers may transfer time off their maternity leave to the father once the child is seven months old.
Employees are allowed nine days of carer's leave to care for a child under ten years old or a sick immediate family member; such leave is paid at 60% rate.
In Finland, employed fathers are allowed 54 days of paternity leave, 18 days of which are allowed to be simultaneous with the mother's leave. The whole 54-day period is capped when the child becomes two years old.
Under mutual agreements with employers, employees have the right to take unpaid leave to care for a family member in need.
In France, employed fathers are given 25 leave days, following the initial 3 working days post-birth; four of which are required to be taken following the initial leave period. The remaining 21 days must be used within 6 months of birth, and if split, a minimum of 5 days should be consecutive.
In Germany, employed parents are allowed 36 months of unpaid leave with certain rules:
The carer's leave also follows certain criteria:
In Hungary, employed fathers are allowed 10 days of paid paternity leave within the initial 2 months of the child's birth.
There are no specific criteria in Hungary for the exact durations, yet a request for unpaid leave must be put in writing at least 15 days before leave is planned. Urgent leaves are only approved under those conditions:
In Ireland, employed fathers are allowed 2 weeks of paternity leave, used within the initial six months of the child's birth.
Note: If the employee has contributed enough PRSI to the Social Protection Department previously, he/she may qualify to be paid by the department during this leave.
5 Days time off work can be taken anytime within 12 consecutive months period to provide care to child emergencies.
In Italy, employed fathers may receive 10 fully paid paternity leave days within the initial five months of the child's birth.
Under the employer's discretion, employees may take leave under family emergency circumstances to provide care.
In the Netherlands, employed fathers are allowed to have 1 week full paid leave within the initial 4 weeks of the child's birth, used in one block or split over the duration.
Note: partners are eligible for extended partner leave for up to 5 weeks within the initial 6 months of childbirth. This extended time is unpaid, yet employees may claim 70% of their official pay from the UWV.
Employees in the Netherlands are permitted short-term care if immediate family or other dependents are ill. Such leave must adhere to the following conditions:
In the United Kingdom, employed fathers are allowed up to two weeks of paternity leave, which can be split into two separate weeks, over 52 week period from child's birth.
Additionally, 1 week of unpaid carer's leave is given to the employees to care for dependent ones during emergencies.
In Portugal, employed fathers must take a minimum of 28 days of paternity leave within the initial 6 weeks of childbirth. Five days must be consumed immediately after birth. This leave is paid for by Social Security if the employee meets requirements.
Employees in Portugal are allowed:
In Poland, employed fathers may take up to two weeks of paternity leave. This leave is paid for by the Social Security Institute and can be split into 2 separate weeks.
Employees in Poland are allowed:
In Spain, employed fathers are allowed paternity leave of 16 weeks, paid for by the social security system and used within the initial 12 months of the child's birth; six weeks, however, must be used immediately after the child's birth.
Note: Extension to the paternity leave may be applied for and may last for as long as the child is under 3 years old, yet it is unpaid, and the employer may hold the exact position for a maximum of 1 year.
In case an immediate family member becomes ill, employees are allowed to take two days' leave. Otherwise, employees may always request an unpaid absence of up to five years for personal circumstances.
In Slovenia, employed fathers are allowed 30 days of paternity leave, fully paid, yet cannot exceed 2.5 times the average wages.
No specifics on general carers' leaves, yet Slovenia provides parents leave of 130 days each to care for a child, and such leave may be transferred to the second partner.
In Sweden, employed parents are entitled to parental leave of 240 days each, eligible to transfer; however, one parent can transfer more than 150 days to the other. Only up to 30 days can be taken simultaneously by both parents.
Note: a total of 384 days must be used by both parents until the child is 4 years old, after that, the remaining 96 days may be used before the child turns 12.
In Switzerland, employed partners are allowed paternity leave of 2 weeks, paid for by the mandatory loss of earnings insurance.
Employees may take 14 paid weeks of carer's leave to care for an ill child, eligible under the provision of medical proof.
In Norway, employed parents are allowed to share 12 months leave, 12 of which can be taken before the child's birth, and 6 must be taken immediately after birth.
Paternity and carer's leave across Europe demonstrates the continent's commitment to supporting families, yet the various regulations and cultural values also matter. From extensive paid benefits in nations such as Sweden and Spain to unpaid leaves in Germany and Austria, such regulations require organisations to support caregiving.
If you hire employees across several European nations and need to manage not only local expectations, but also payroll, benefits and employment contracts, then that is where we can come in.
Amongst other services, EuroDev's EOR partnership offers these benefits, without the need to set up a local entity.
Contact our HR experts to get tailored support for your needs.
Written by Sven Brands, HR Outsourcing International Account Manager at EuroDev.