Exploring the uptake of paternity and parental leave in view of the new EU work-life balance directive (2019)

Abstract

The aim of this quantitative research study is to explore the perception that Maltese fathers have with regards to the uptake of paternity and parental leave according to the new EU Work-life Balance Directive (2019). The study is built around Acker’s (1990) theoretical framework of the “ideal worker”, to see whether this has been internalized by the fathers. The study also seeks to understand what hinders father from taking up such leave and under which conditions are they likely to take up such leave. To reach the main objective of this study an online questionnaire using google forms was distributed amongst male employees, irrelevant of their employment status working in Church schools which was disseminated with the help of the head of schools. The data collected was then analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Most of the respondents had quite a clear knowledge of the paternity and parental leave which is currently available in Malta, however, most of them did not have any knowledge of the new leave proposed in the EU Work-life Balance Directive (2019) and which needs to come into force by August 2022. Although most of the participants believe that the upbringing and caring of children should be a shared responsibility among parents, they still do not believe that they should change their working hours or employment to spend more time with their children. Some of the fathers believe that the uptake of such leave will have a negative impact on their career, since they will have less time for training, might lose track of work and will eventually end up leaving a negative impact on their employer which might affect their career progression. This research has shown that there is still much to be done to ensure that fathers participate more in their children’s lives. Uptake of parental leave needs to be tackled not only on a personal level or family level, but also on a national level through awareness raising campaigns which need to show the impact that the uptake of such leave has on the bonding between the fathers and the children, and the cementing of the relationship between partners. Such a campaign needs to underline that the responsibility, upbringing and caring of the children should equally involve both parents.