1. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP Arrangements in cases of maternity/paternity/parental leave and “time-out” Main aims of the module:  to create awareness of the learners about their rights on maternity/paternity/parental leave and “time-out” arrangements provided by national legislation and collective agreements on the basis of EU legislation.  to overview the most common issues faced by those, who are about to take the maternity/paternity/parental leave and/or “time- out”  to analyse case studies of best practices of employees who benefited from family-friendly measures at the workplace. MODULE 1.

2. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP Six partner countries – Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and United Kingdom have diverse and flexible national regulations of maternity/paternity/parental leave and “time-out” aimed at developing the more flexible relationship of parents within the labour market and foster more active men’s involvement in childcare. MODULE 1. There is a broad range of national regulations within the countries differing in payments, duration and entitlement. politics.co.uk

3. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. MATERNITY LEAVE Maternity Leave Maternity leave is a paid or unpaid period of time taken off work by an expectant mother before, at, and after the time that she gives birth to or adopts a child. Maternity leave is a paid or unpaid period of time taken off work by an expectant mother before, at, and after the time that she gives birth to or adopts a child. (http://www.eurofound.europa.eu) The maternity leave in all EU countries is taken universally.  Finland (useful links)  Germany (useful links)  Italy (useful links)  Latvia (useful links)  Lithuania (useful links)  United Kingdom (useful links) Data provided from 12/2009.

4. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. MATERNITY LEAVE: EU DIRECTIVES The issue of leave facilities have always been among Europe’s top priorities for a long time. Directives adapted by European Council ensure that a certain minimum standard is guaranteed within the Member States. Council Directive 92/85/EC Council Directive 92/85/EC from 1992, which introduced the measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (OJ L348/1) http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/employment_and_social_policy/health_hygiene_safety_at_work/c10914_en.htm Amendments to Council Directive 92/85/EEC (texts adopted P7_TA(2010)0373) from 20th of October 2010: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7- TA-2010-0373+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN Maternity leave rapporteur Edite Estrela http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=LT&type=IM- PRESS&reference=20101008FCS86210#title12

5. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. Paternity Leave freelanceadvisor.co.uk The right of the father to time off from work at or around the time of birth of his child. All fathers should think about taking paternity leave which gives them the possibility to be involved in taking care of the newborn child from the moment of the birth. Each EU country should give their citizens possibility to take at least 2 weeks of paternity leave according to amendments to EC Directive 92/85/EEC.

6. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP Amendments to Council Directive 92/85/EEC (texts adopted P7_TA(2010)0373) from 20th of October 2010: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2010- 0373+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN MODULE 1. PATERNITY LEAVE IN PARTNER COUNTRIES: Finland (useful links)Germany Italy Latvia Lithuania United Kingdom (useful links)

7. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. Parental Leave Parental leave is defined as an individual right to leave for men and women workers on the grounds of the birth or adoption of a child to enable them to take care of that child, for at least three months, until a certain age, to be determined by Member States Parental leave is defined as an individual right to leave for men and women workers on the grounds of the birth or adoption of a child to enable them to take care of that child, for at least three months, until a certain age, to be determined by Member States. Parents should be encouraged to share the parental leave between themselves.

8. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. Council Directive 96/34/EC of June 3 1996 http://eurlex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&l g=EN&numdoc=31996L0034&model=guichett PARENTAL LEAVE IN PARTNER COUNTRIES: Finland (useful links)Germany Italy Latvia Lithuania United Kingdom (useful links)

9. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. “Time-out” arrangements Time-out is a period of time taken as an interruption of employment, generally with a view to returning to the same job. It is an abstention from work legitimized by the employer which may be discretionary or compulsory under the law or collective agreement. Time-out can be taken for:  taking care of children,  taking care for elderly or disabled family members in emergency cases  personal development  professional development. doing-alright.army.mod.uk

10. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. “TIME-OUT” EXAMPLES IN PARTNER COUNTRIES JOB ALTERNATION LEAVE – FINLAND’S CAREER BREAK SCHEME  It means that employees who have been employed full-time by the same employer for at least one year can conclude a written agreement with their employer whereby their employment relationship is suspended for a specified period and the employer undertakes to hire, for an equivalent period, an unemployed jobseeker registered with an employment office.  Employees returning from leave are entitled to be taken back into their former job or comparable work. While on such leave employees are not paid by their employer but are entitled to receive a "job-alternation" allowance (vuorottelukorvaus) from the National Pensions Institute or their unemployment benefit society.

11. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. “TIME-OUT” EXAMPLES IN PARTNER COUNTRIES SABBATICAL LEAVE Finland  Uninterrupted period of time off work lasting one or more usually several months, taken in the course of a person's career. Job alternation leave is often understood as sabbatical.  Allows the employee to take an unpaid leave usually because of an unpredicted family reason under an agreement between employer and employee.  The reasons for taking sabbatical leave are personal ones - study, caring for a close relative, the pursuit of interests or maintaining professional skills. Germany  An arrangement whereby working time is reduced by several months or a year under annual working time arrangements in the context of permanent employment relationships.  enables employees to pursue their own interests, participate in vocational or personal educational and training courses or carry on some other activity for personal benefit or charitable purposes. rupertward.cce.uk.net

12. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. However, as facts show, employees don’t use all the possibilities offered them by national legislation for the following main reasons: -are not aware about all the possibilities regarding family leaves and career break offered by the employer -do not evaluate enough all the advantages that family leaves and career break might have to their work and family balance -presume that family leaves and career break can have negative influence to their professional career -fear the negative reaction from their employer and/or colleagues towards their choice to take a leave. The arrangements of leave and “time-out” foreseen by National regulations can be extended by companies, both with regard to the length of the leave as well as to the level of payment to ensure higher satisfaction of employees in their attempts to reconcile work and their commitments to family. businessadvantage.wordpress.com

13. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1.  find information about your rights when taking a leave, consider legislation issues;  evaluate financial issues (problems for fathers with employers, problems for mothers regarding length of maternity leave – can she afford it, problems with sharing a parental leave);  think about organisational issues (including registration issues – where to go if you want to register the birth of child, the name of the child, whom to contact, etc.);  consider issues related with maternity/paternity/parental leaves in case of civil partnership/adopted child/single parent geraldprinting.com ISSUES THAT A PERSON HAS TO BE AWARE AT THE VERY EARLY STAGE OF PLANNING TO TAKE A LEAVE: nextstepinc.org

14. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. contact local municipality, find local support group, contact family centre to be continued (partners - please give suggestions!) WHAT TO DO? We suggest trainers working in family centres who teach future parents how to prepare for the birth of a baby to include the topic of most common issues that usually the future parents face and advise them how to deal with the problems. www2.le.ac.uk !

15. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES focusonthefamilytv.com Practical part of the module includes case studies based on the interviews with the employees who succeeded to solve their work and family reconciliation problems by taking family leave and/or “time-out”. These case studies show the ways how employees may benefit from family-friendly measures at workplaces.

16. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. PRACTICAL EXERCISES: CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES  Case study “Father in parental leave”  Case study “Father in parental leave” (reflection on the basis of the video clip “Gender Balance in Lithuania: Good Practice of Positive Paternity”)  Case study “Parental leave shared by parents”  Case study “Parental leave shared by parents” (Interview No.2 “A father of a newborn baby sharing his parental leave arrangements with his wife”)  Case study “Young father’s experience of paternity leave”  Case study “Young father’s experience of paternity leave” (Interview No. 22 “Young father’s experience of paternity leave”)  Case study “Parental leave shared by father and mother”  Case study “Parental leave shared by father and mother” (Interview No. 5 “Flexible share of parental leave by father and mother”)  Case study “Career break – a way to reconcile work and commitment to mother”  Case study “Career break – a way to reconcile work and commitment to mother” (Interview No. 30 “Career break – a way to reconcile work and commitment to mother”)  Case study “Job alternation leave – a new inspiration to work”  Case study “Job alternation leave – a new inspiration to work” (Interview No. 4 “Job alternation leave – a new inspiration to work”) We suggest to deepen your knowledge on the topic of the module by analysing the following case studies:

17. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES While analysing the presented cases studies, try to reflect yourself on these questions: What is your family situation? What is the situation in your company? What kind of agreement you work with? REMEMBER ….

18. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES Case study “Father in parental leave” Aim: Aim: to create awareness about active parental leave taken by father as a mean to reconcile work and commitments to family Task: Task:to see the video clip “Gender Balance in Lithuania: Good Practice of Positive Paternity” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: Duration:30 min.  Are there practices of parental leave taken by male employees at your workplace?  Would you consider taking/sharing parental leave? What would be your reasons for doing/ not doing it?  What is your opinion about the parental leave shared between the spouses? Do you think it could help to reconcile work and your family life? Questions for reflection:

19. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES Aim: Aim: to create awareness about the benefit of shared parental leave in reconciliation of work and family life. Task: Task:to read the interview “A father of a newborn baby sharing his parental leave arrangements with his wife” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: Duration:30 min. Case study “Parental leave shared by parents”  What is the percentage of men taking the paternity leave in your country/company? How could you comment the numbers?  Do you think it is more political, cultural or institutional levels that impede to create a balance of work-family responsibilities in Finland?  What are your employers’ attitudes towards family-friendly policies?  What kind of measures would you suggest for your manager to promote family friendly working environment in your company and to reach bigger men‘s involvement in child care activities? Questions for reflection:

20. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES Aim: Aim: to create awareness about the benefit of shared parental leave in reconciliation of work and family life. Task: Task:to read the interview “Young father’s experience of paternity leave” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: Duration:30 min. Case study “Young father’s experience of paternity leave”  What are employers’ attitudes towards paternity leave in your company?  What could be the main possible factors/challenges for men being reluctant to take parental leave? How could employer help to solve them?  Do you think is it necessary for your employer to follow the law and develop the culture/climate in the company to promote the values of caring masculinities by investing into HR to apply the values?  Would you consider taking a paternity leave? Think about the reasons of taking/not taking the paternity leave. Questions for reflection:

21. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES Aim: Aim: to raise awareness of the trainees about the benefit of sharing parental leave by father and mother. Task: Task:to read the interview “Flexible share of parental leave by father and mother” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: Duration:30 min. Case study “Parental leave shared by father and mother”  What are the benefits for parents if they share of parental leave in a flexible manner?  Does the employer have any benefit from shared parental leave?  Could this model of using parental leave be applied in your company and in the company of your partner?  What problems might your employer and the employer of your partner see concerning this model?  Are there solutions to these problems? If yes: In which way?  Is there any suitable possibility for sharing the parental leave which you would like your employer to offer you?  How would you talk to your employer (and your partner with his/her employer) suggesting to implement the flexible sharing of parental leave and/or alternative/additional measures? Questions for reflection:

22. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES Aim: Aim: to raise awareness about the possibilities and benefits that the career break may give as a mean to reconcile work and family life. Task: Task:to read the interview “Career break – a way to reconcile work and commitment to mother” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: Duration:30 min. Case study “Career break – a way to reconcile work and commitment to mother”  Would you consider taking the “time-out” from your work for a certain period of time for your situation ?  Do you have collective agreements at your workplace? What does it state for employees willing to take the “time-out”?  What kinds of arrangements are available at your workplace in case of career break due to childcare or care for sick family members?  What are the steps you should make for taking the “time-out”? How you would manage them?  How the “time-out” would help you to solve your problem in reconciliation of work and family life? Questions for reflection:

23. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES Aim: Aim: to raise awareness about the benefit of job alternation leave in professional life Task: Task:to read the interview “Job alternation leave – a new inspiration to work” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: Duration:30 min. Case study “Job alternation leave – a new inspiration to work”  The Finnish job alternation leave is kind of a sabbatical - do you have this system in your country or in your company?  Could this model of a sabbatical leave be applied in your company or in your country?  What would the employer's attitudes towards job alternation leave be in your company? What would your colleagues' attitudes towards the sabbatical leave be?  Would you consider taking a job alternation leave if it were possible in your situation?  What would you consider as the major benefits for yourself from taking a sabbatical? and what would be the major obstacles in your situation?  Do you think that an alternation leave could affect your job satisfaction and give you new inspiration to extend your working career even beyond your retirement age? Questions for reflection:

24. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP MODULE 1. Next steps Suggestions for further self-reading Collection of Best Practices on work and life balance From the Collection of Best Practices on work and life balance www.family-learning.euwww.family-learning.eu): (www.family-learning.eu):www.family-learning.eu

25. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP NEXT STEPS TO DO… You have just completed this training module… CONGRATULATIONS ! What would be your next step? What actions are you going to take? Don’t worry… we have got some hints for you.. what you could DO NEXT… undergroundteacher.blogspot.com

26. FACILITATING FAMILY LEARNING ON WORK & LIFE BALANCE Project No: 502889-LLP-1-2009-1-LT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP CLOSING PART – NEXT STEPS TO DO… START TO THINK ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOU TO DO:  Make a personal plan, set your personal goals;  Discuss the ideas of better reconciliation of work and family life with your family members;  Organise a discussion on reconciliation of work and family life at your workplace (use e-Handbook on DVD or published on www.family-learning.eu);  How could you raise awareness about the family-friendly measures presented in the project at your workplace?  Consider the possibility to discuss work-life balance problems with your employer;  Think how you could use some of the presented good practices to show to your employer (trade union representative, etc.) as an example of family-friendly measures;  Think, who could support you while talking to your employer about your work- family balance problems (representative of trade union, human resource manager, NGOs working in the field, etc.).