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Social Legislation from the EU
A brief list of some key Directives that have improved working and
social conditions for European Citizens
The full listing of economic & social policies are to be found at http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s02300.htm
The EU parental leave
agreement and Directive 97/75/EC (96/34/EC extends the provisions in
the UK)
Key Points
- male and female workers to have individual entitlement to
parental leave on the grounds of the birth or adoption of a child,
enabling them to take care of the child for at least three months;
- the
conditions of access to, and procedures for applying, parental leave to
be defined by law and/or collective agreement in the Member States,
subject to compliance with the minimum requirements of the agreement;
- the
Member States and/or social partners to take the necessary measures to
protect workers against dismissal on the grounds of an application for,
or the taking of, parental leave;
- workers to have the right to
return to the same job at the end of parental leave or, if that is not
possible, to an equivalent or similar job consistent with their
employment contract or relationship;
- the maintenance of rights
acquired or in the process of being acquired by the worker on the date
on which parental leave starts; at the end of the period of leave,
those rights will apply;
- the Member States and/or the social
partners to take the necessary measures to allow workers to take time
off from work, in accordance with national legislation, collective
agreements and/or practice, for unforeseeable reasons arising from a
family emergency in the event of sickness or accident making the
immediate presence of the worker indispensable.
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/1998/01/study/tn9801201s.html
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10911.htm
The
EU Working Time Directive Directive 2003/88/EC
The 1993 Working Time
Directive
(93/104/EC) was a major step forward, setting a 48-hour maximum working
week and laying down requirements for rest and leave periods.
<>The Directive’s main objective is to promote health and
safety at work, given the clear evidence that people who work long
hours run higher risks of illness and accidents. It binds all 25 Member
States of the EU. The ETUC
regards this legislation not only as a basic cornerstone of workers’
well being, but also as an indispensable feature of the social
dimension of the internal market, especially in light of enlargement.
Key Points:
- Maximum weekly working time of 48 hours on average, including
overtime
- At least four weeks’ paid annual leave
- A minimum rest period of 11 hours in each 24, and one day in each
week
- A rest break if the working day is longer than six hours
- A maximum of eight hours’ night work, on average, in each 24.
http://www.etuc.org/a/504
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10418.htm
Part-time working Directive
97/81/EC ( 98/23/EC extends the Directive to the
UK)
Key Point:
The purpose of the agreement is to eliminate discrimination against
part-time workers, and to improve the quality of part-time work. It
also aims to
facilitate the development of part-time work on a voluntary basis and
to contribute to the flexible organisation of working time in a manner
which takes into account the needs of employers and workers.
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10416.htm
Equal
pay Directive 75/117/EEC
| The
Directive prohibits all discrimination on the grounds of sex in
relation to pay. It offers recourse to judicial process for persons
disadvantaged by a failure to comply with this principle and protects
complainants against the employer's reaction. It also calls upon the
Member States to eradicate any discrimination laid down in national
laws, regulations or administrative provisions and to inform workers of
measures taken in application of the Directive. |
Key Point:
The principle of equal
pay entails, for the same work or for work to which equal value is
attributed, the elimination of all discrimination on grounds of sex
with regard to all aspects and conditions of remuneration. Where a job
classification system is used for determining pay, it must be based on
the same criteria for both men and women.