The Commission’s withdrawal of the Maternity Leave Directive which had not made any legislative progress since 2008, paved the way for an innovative and comprehensive outlook on tackling the lack of female representation in employment. Such approach centres around the Work-Life Balance Initiative which constitutes one of the outcomes of the European Pillar of Social Rights. Whilst considering the changes in society over the years, this initiative ensures a fairer division of responsibilities between males and females, with the aim of supporting working parents and carers.

As part of the process of modernising the existing regulatory framework, the Work-Life Balance Directive (Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers) was introduced and became part of EU law in August 2019. This Directive, as stated in Article 2, is applicable to all workers and Member States have three years to transpose it into their national legislation. As encompassed in Article 1, the Directive is “designed to achieve equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work through facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life for working parents and carers.” This objective is fulfilled by legislative action with respect to family-related leaves, including as stated in Article 1(a), “paternity leave, parental leave and carers’ leave”, and as laid down in Article 1(b), “flexible working arrangements for workers who are parents, or carers.”

The Directive’s pinnacle legislative measure which prior to this Directive was not granted under EU Law, is the introduction of a 10-day paternity leave for fathers or equivalent second parents to be availed of at the moment of birth of their child. Payment of such leave must be made, at minimum, on the same level as sick leave. Moreover, as observed in Article 4, the right to paternity leave “shall not be made subject to a period of work qualification or a length of service qualification” and shall “be granted irrespective of marital or family status as defined in national law”. This right emphasises the EU’s focus on encouraing fathers to take an active role in the care of their children, whilst also securing a healthy division of responsibilities between mothers and fathers to ensure an equal playing field in the labour market. In Malta, at present, in line with the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations, a father is only allowed one working day as birth leave.

Article 5 of this Directive bolsters the right to four months of parental leave. This was already in existence yet in virtue of this Directive, two out of the four months of parental leave cannot be transferred from one parent to another and will be compensated. Unlike paternity leave, Member States are entitled to subject the right to parental leave to “a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification, which shall not exceed one year.” Article 5(6) permits flexibility in making use of parental leave and in this case, the employer must take into consideration “the needs of both the employer and the worker.” This reflects the humane element of the law which is not merely based on objective criteria but must cater also for the personal needs of whom it intends to protect. This element of flexibility is of utmost importance to the extent that if the employer does not comply with the employees’ requests, reasons for the refusal must be provided. The refusal must be done in writing within a reasonable period.