March 2019 Maternity and paternity leave in the EU.
The period given differs from one region to another and from one organization to another. In most cases, organizations often create this leave from other benefits such as sick leaves, personal days and vacation time among others.
Maternity leave Introduction At present, almost every country has provisions for maternity leave that provided to the female employees. Most industrialized countries have some form of maternity or parental leave policy that effectively grants employment protection to women around childbirth and in some cases to either parent for an even longer period after childbirth (Puhani and Sonderhof, 2009).
The UK is almost the worst country in Europe for offering decently-paid maternity leave, according to a new study. Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that the UK ranks 22 out of 24.
Therefore, to compare the equality issue between these three countries, the paid parental leave provided in Sweden and Germany helps female labour force to enter and remain at work, whereas female labour force tend to exit the labour force in the United States.
In the United States paid maternity leave is almost unheard of. Only 13 percent of employers offer full benefits for paid maternity leave. In a study conducted in 2015 on American women who had babies and then returned to work, one in four women returned to their jobs less than two weeks after having their baby for fear of losing their job.
This is compared to the US Family Medical Leave Act of 1993. Additionally, the paper notes that only a small percentage of US companies offer paid maternity leave. Next, the paper compares leave benefits between British and American mothers. It also cites an EU plan to increase the amount of leave.
Under the EU legislation in this area, men and women have equal rights of at least 18 weeks' parental leave for each child. There are also rules protecting them against dismissal if they take parental leave, as well as a right to return to the same, or a similar, job.