European Standards Regarding Paid Parental Leave in EU States in the Light of Examples of Good Practice for Ukraine

Equality and non-discrimination are key values of EU law, and they are also linked to work-life balance for working parents, which includes minimum EU parental leave requirements. The paper outlines the essential benchmarks for developing EU standards on parental leave, as well as the diversity of national methods of regulating parental leave remuneration in EU Member States in light of the new Directive 2019/1158. Special emphasis is also placed on the examination of parental leave requirements, including the mandatory remuneration for lost income, outlined in the European Social Charter, which has been adopted by more than 40 nations, including all EU members and Ukraine. In March 2024, the European Committee of Social Rights announced its most recent conclusions on the status of parental leave policy in States Parties. In this context, comparative scrutinization of EU and ESC standards is provided in the paper with special attention and analysis of the national regulation of parental leave remuneration in states, which obtained negative conclusions on the issue, including Ukraine. Moreover, the paper analyses both the negative assessments regarding the situation on work-life balance for working parents and compensation of lost income for those who take parental leave in Ukraine given in the ECSR conclusions and the documents of the European Commission regarding the approximation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU acquis. Using examples of good practice in EU countries, particularly the Czech Republic, Poland, and Lithuania, the authors seek to provide ideas for revising Ukrainian national legislation to bring it in line with European provisions on this issue.