Does Leave Work?

Abstract

More and more people have to combine work and care responsibilities, and work part-time or use daycare and after-school care facilities to help them do so. The Work and Care Act, which came into force on 1 December 2001, combined all the existing schemes - such as parental and maternity leave - and introduced new schemes, such as paternity leave for fathers after the birth of their child and care leave to nurse sick relatives on a short-term basis. Besides these statutory rights to certain forms of leave, some collective labour agreements and internal company agreements include arrangements for part-time working, leave and childcare. Little is known about employees' need for and use of work-care schemes. More information is needed for the proper evaluation of government policy in this area. Does Leave Work? reports the results of a large-scale representative survey of people in paid employment who were asked about their need for and use of the various schemes, and the factors that influence them.