In early August 2019, a new directive of the European Parliament and the Council on work-life balance for parents and family caregivers entered into force.
Prof. Dr. Katharina Dahm, director of the Master’s program in Business Law—Labor Law & Human Resources Management, gave a lecture in August at Heinrich Heine University (HHU) on the changes introduced by the directive and examined whether there is a need to implement it into German law. Among other things, she concluded that the new ten-day paternity leave to be granted upon the birth of a child, as provided for in Article 4 of Directive 2010/18/EU, is not yet provided for under German law. Member states must implement the new directive by August 2, 2022. Prof. Dr. Katharina Dahm proposes, for this purpose, extending postnatal maternity leave to all parents: either for two weeks, as required by the new directive, or progressively up to eight weeks, in order to prevent discrimination in hiring and to seriously pursue the goal of gender equality.
Prof. Katharina Dahm delivered the lecture as part of the 2021–2022 public lecture series: Work-Life Balance in Japan and Germany – Labor Law and Family Policy Aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, organized by the Institute for Modern Japan at HHU in cooperation with the German-Japanese Society for Labor Law e.V., on the topic: “The European Legal Framework—EU Directives on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Family Caregivers”
A recording of the lecture is available in the HHU media library.
