Parental leave can lead to greater job security. [39] Studies differ on how it helps people return to work after a break. Some studies show that if a parent is absent for more than a year after the birth of a child, it reduces the likelihood that the parent will return. [39] Other studies on shorter vacation periods show that parents no longer have to leave their jobs to care for their children, resulting in increased job returns. [40] In the post-reform period, a number of new regulations were introduced to protect women`s employment and reproductive rights in the new market economy. The Labour Code, adopted in 1995, guarantees women and men equal labour rights, and employers do not dismiss women workers or reduce their wages for reasons related to marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave or breastfeeding. [121] The Employment Contracts Act, passed in 2008, introduced the provision prohibiting employers from unilaterally terminating employment contracts with pregnant workers, giving birth and caring for a baby after birth. For example, female employees are entitled to protected maternity leave at work under labour law and the Employment Contracts Act. [122] Parental leave can be taken in different forms: On 1 December 2016, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted the “Law reforming family leave 7060”. [201] As a result of this new reform, fathers and mothers can now take leave together. [202] The first leave must be taken immediately after the maternity leave and the second leave can be taken before the child reaches the age of 6.
[202] This new reform offers much more flexibility. Employees usually have to dismiss their employer before parental leave – local regulations determine the length of this notice period. In general, the impact of parental leave is an improvement in antenatal and postnatal care, including a reduction in infant mortality. [38] The impact of parental leave on the labour market includes increased employment, wage changes, and fluctuations in the rate of worker return. Holiday laws can also affect birth rates. [39] Parental leave policies do not appear to have had a significant impact on the gender pay gap, which has remained relatively constant since the late 1980s despite the increasing introduction of parental leave measures. [41] The neoclassical model of labour markets predicts that if the cost of hiring women of childbearing age is expected to increase (either because the employer is obliged to pay for maternity leave or because she will be absent from work on public leave), the “demand” for women in the labour market will decrease. Although gender discrimination is illegal, with no recourse, the neoclassical model would predict “statistical discrimination” against the hiring of women of childbearing age.
[16] [17] To counter this, some countries have introduced measures to increase paternity leave rates in order to distribute the impact of costs across the labour market more equitably. [18] Some of the most generous parental leave entitlements are found in the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania and Slovakia, where parents can take up to three years of job-protected leave.
