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EU social partners last year reached an agreement to increase minimum parental leave from three to four months, in rules that would be applicable to all employees across Europe.



In the meeting on March 9, the Council of Ministers adopted a directive designed to improve work-life balance and encourage fathers to take leave after the birth of a child.



Parents will be allowed take four months each and transfer months between them to allow one parent to take up to seven months off. At least one month cannot be transferred to the other parent, a move seen as a boost to gender equality. Other new elements include the clarification that people with fixed-term contracts, part-time workers and temporary agency contractors are also covered.



Text of the agreement here;

http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=2999&langId=en