The scope of the proposed Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on work-life balance for parents and carers repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU

6.12.2017

Question for written answer P-007525-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz (PPE)

The Commission’s proposal on work-life balance in its article on the scope introduces a new harmonised EU-level definition of entitlements to parental and paternity leave rights. The Council Directive 2010/18/EU on implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave defines the scope as follows: ‘this agreement applies to all workers, men and women, who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by the law, collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State’. In contrast, the proposal for a directive of the Parliament and of the Council on work-life balance for parents and carers proposes a new scope with no reference to practices already established in the Member States, ‘this directive applies to all workers, men and women, who have an employment contract or employment relationship’.

1. What is the legal basis for the modification of the scope and the harmonisation of the entitlements to parental and paternity leave rights as well as the exclusion of the ‘collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State’?

2. What are the legal implications of the new scope, and do the ‘collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State’ become invalid as factors which define employment and employment contracts?