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Fifteen A social right? Access to leave and its relation to parents’ labour market position

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Abstract

There is limited knowledge about eligibility for leave in general, and about leave rights of parents less securely attached to the labour market in particular. Consequently, social inequalities in access to leave rights remain hidden, which may be particularly pronounced in countries where stable employment is a principal condition to exercise leave rights. In this chapter, we develop an innovative conceptual framework based on the social rights literature, which takes into account how access to Parental Leave benefits is granted (in-) dependent of labour market position. Four ideal types are presented: the universal parenthood model, the selective parenthood model, the universal adult-worker model, and the selective adult-worker model. Finally, we illustrate these types with three country case examples of Parental Leave systems.

Abstract

There is limited knowledge about eligibility for leave in general, and about leave rights of parents less securely attached to the labour market in particular. Consequently, social inequalities in access to leave rights remain hidden, which may be particularly pronounced in countries where stable employment is a principal condition to exercise leave rights. In this chapter, we develop an innovative conceptual framework based on the social rights literature, which takes into account how access to Parental Leave benefits is granted (in-) dependent of labour market position. Four ideal types are presented: the universal parenthood model, the selective parenthood model, the universal adult-worker model, and the selective adult-worker model. Finally, we illustrate these types with three country case examples of Parental Leave systems.

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents iii
  3. List of figures and tables v
  4. List of abbreviations vii
  5. Notes on contributors ix
  6. Acknowledgements xiii
  7. Introduction: much work still to do 1
  8. Recent developments and the politics of leave policy
  9. Spain: leave policy in times of economic crisis 21
  10. Poland: leave policy and the process and goals of a major reform 39
  11. United Kingdom: leave policy and an attempt to take a new path 57
  12. Israel: leave policy, familialism and the neoliberal welfare state 75
  13. Japan: leave policy and attempts to increase fathers’ take-up 91
  14. China: leave and population policies 111
  15. Mexico: leave policy, co-responsibility in childcare and informal employment 129
  16. United States: leave policy, failure and potential 147
  17. Some current issues in leave policy
  18. What do people want? Leave policy preferences in different countries 167
  19. Gender equality: Parental Leave design and evaluating its effects on fathers’ participation 187
  20. Flexibility: some consequences for fathers’ caregiving 205
  21. The workplace: challenges for fathers and their use of leave 223
  22. Care-work policies: conceptualizing leave within a broader framework 241
  23. A social right? Access to leave and its relation to parents’ labour market position 261
  24. Future directions for leave policy
  25. Universal Basic Income: what could it mean for gender equality in care work? 283
  26. The time credit system: the panacea for a life course approach? 299
  27. Towards a multi-active society: daring to imagine a new work–life regime 315
  28. Re-imagining Parental Leave: a conceptual ‘thought experiment’ 333
  29. Parental Leave and beyond: recent international developments, current issues and future directions 353
  30. Index 371
Parental Leave and Beyond
This chapter is in the book Parental Leave and Beyond
https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447338796-019

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents iii
  3. List of figures and tables v
  4. List of abbreviations vii
  5. Notes on contributors ix
  6. Acknowledgements xiii
  7. Introduction: much work still to do 1
  8. Recent developments and the politics of leave policy
  9. Spain: leave policy in times of economic crisis 21
  10. Poland: leave policy and the process and goals of a major reform 39
  11. United Kingdom: leave policy and an attempt to take a new path 57
  12. Israel: leave policy, familialism and the neoliberal welfare state 75
  13. Japan: leave policy and attempts to increase fathers’ take-up 91
  14. China: leave and population policies 111
  15. Mexico: leave policy, co-responsibility in childcare and informal employment 129
  16. United States: leave policy, failure and potential 147
  17. Some current issues in leave policy
  18. What do people want? Leave policy preferences in different countries 167
  19. Gender equality: Parental Leave design and evaluating its effects on fathers’ participation 187
  20. Flexibility: some consequences for fathers’ caregiving 205
  21. The workplace: challenges for fathers and their use of leave 223
  22. Care-work policies: conceptualizing leave within a broader framework 241
  23. A social right? Access to leave and its relation to parents’ labour market position 261
  24. Future directions for leave policy
  25. Universal Basic Income: what could it mean for gender equality in care work? 283
  26. The time credit system: the panacea for a life course approach? 299
  27. Towards a multi-active society: daring to imagine a new work–life regime 315
  28. Re-imagining Parental Leave: a conceptual ‘thought experiment’ 333
  29. Parental Leave and beyond: recent international developments, current issues and future directions 353
  30. Index 371
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