European consultation on work-life balance

In February 2016, Make Mothers Matter participated in the public consultation launched by the European Commission on a new initiative to address the challenges of reconciling private and professional life. The aim was to gather views on possible measures to help working parents or carers to better reconcile work and family life.

We asked for the inclusion of the “right to request”: an adjustment of working conditions. This is the right of workers to ask the employer to adapt their working conditions (working remotely, condensed hours etc). The employer is obliged to give due consideration to the request and any rejection must be based on reasons specifically listed in the law. This initiative, adopted in 2003 in the United Kingdom for parents of children under 17 or for those caring for an adult, was extended in 2014 to all employees, due to its success. The European Commission plans to launch this new initiative at the end of 2016.

For more information