This infographic aims to present the current state of affairs of maternity and paternity leave in EU Member States. Most EU countries also have an additional period of parental leave, but parental leave is not covered in this infographic.
With recent news of Jean-Claude Juncker giving six more months to the Council and the Parliament to reach agreement on the maternity leave proposal, the issue of the Maternity Leave Directive has yet again come into focus. Proposed by the EC in 2008 and accepted by the Parliament (with some amendments) in 2010, the directive reached an impasse in the Council more than four years ago and there have been few developments since. The new directive should replace the current 1992 Directive, which sets the minimum period for maternity leave at 14 weeks, with 2 weeks compulsory leave before and/or after confinement and an adequate allowance subject to national legislation. The 2008 proposal set the maternity leave period at 18 weeks with at least 6 weeks compulsory leave after confinement and an allowance amounting to full salary. The Parliament proposed prolonging the maternity leave period to 20 weeks and added 2 weeks of paternity leave under the same conditions as maternity leave.
