*Update 26.08.2025 here’s the new link with instructions on how to encode those TWA days [1], note that even Blue Book trainees can have 5 days. [2]*
Original article: Generation 2004 is glad to announce that from now on, you can combine any type of leave – including parental leave – with teleworking from outside the place of employment, or teleworking from anywhere (TWA). We particularly thank Mr Quest, the Director-General of HR for his positive reply to our long-standing request
to make sure that the flexibility allowed by the Decision on Working Time and Hybrid Working (WTHW [3]) is applied in practice, in particular as regards the compatibility of TWA with parental leave, an issue we’ve been highlighting for some time [4].
We are very glad that HR has now found a workable solution and removed the inexplicable restrictions applied to the 10 TWA days (WTHW Article 11). Originally the potential to combine TWA with with parental leave/time credit leave [5] or end-of year days was unrealised. Now: “(f)rom now on, 10 days of teleworking outside the place of employment may be implemented as up to 20 half-days, regardless of the type of work pattern (full-time or part-time, including part-time parental leave).”
We believe this decision on this matter goes in the direction of implementing the flexibility based on trust [6] that is at the core of the Decision, while allowing parents to better balance childcare and work. This in turn is key to provide equal career prospects regardless of gender or parenthood and foster equality of chances and gender equality for all staff.
So, if you are still planning your summer break, be aware of this possibility, which widens the range of flexible solution that can be implemented to make our life easier as parents.
To build on this positive momentum and further improve the situation for parents, we took this chance also to remind HR of another related issue that we mentioned in our note, namely the promised additional 5 days of leave for parents [7] intended to go some way to addressing the imbalance in care work between men and women and catch up with best practice in many Member States [8].
Those promised 5 days remain, to date, unavailable. We had requested to increase the number of available days to 20 already back in 2022 [9] and we remain convinced that this would help break gender stereotypes and encourage a fairer sharing of caring responsibilities. Many fathers contacted us over time to request this, thus demonstrating that change is ongoing. Therefore, a gentle nudge with less restrictive rules would help keep the momentum and achieve measurable results.
‘Women and men shall have equal access to special leaves of absence in order to fulfil their caring responsibilities and be encouraged to use them in a balanced way.’ (point 9, The European Pillar of Social Rights in 20 principles [10])
Given that almost 3 years have passed since the former Director General of HR promised to give at least 5 additional days of leave for parents [7], Generation 2004 is convinced that it is time to give the Commission more forward-looking rules on this matter, to reflect a more contemporary idea of family. Increasing the number of days for paternity leave – ideally up to 20 as we had originally requested and without the need to combine them with a month of parental leave, as originally proposed– would again foster equality of chances and gender equality for all staff.
For reference: the Commission provides 143% of the legal minimum for maternity leave (Commission Decision of 16.12.2013 on leave [11]) but the bare minimum for paternity leave: the (unintended?) consequence here is that this disparity reinforces the idea of the mother as the default parent. Compare that to the flexibility available elsewhere in the EU: Finland and Spain offer 19 and 16 weeks respectively (as of March 2023 [12]) and 13 of the 27 Member States pay 100% of the salary during paternity leave [12].
‘Member States should set the payment or allowance for the minimum non-transferable period of parental leave guaranteed under this Directive at an adequate level. When setting the level of the payment or allowance provided for the minimum non-transferable period of parental leave, Member States should take into account that the take-up of parental leave often results in a loss of income for the family and that first earners in a family are able to make use of their right to parental leave only if it is sufficiently well remunerated, with a view to allowing for a decent living standard.’ (Recital 31, Directive (EU)2019/1158 [13])
We thank again Mr Quest for his positive reply to our request on parental leave and TWA, and we truly hope together we can improve the existing rules to help families reconcile work and private life. A modern organization that wants to attract and retain talent needs flexible rules that are not stuck in the past. We are convinced the internal rules for staff should reflect the more advanced practices of Member States and the policies and the values the Commission itself is spreading to its Member States.
As always, we would love to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us [14].
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Other article on the same topic:
Teleworking and Wellbeing: Time to put Human Care First! | Generation 2004 [15]