Work Life Balance and Leaves
Work Life Balance
Work Life Balance consists of the implementation of working arrangements and policies which assist workers in combining employment with other aspects of their lives. Congress was part of the Framework Committee of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Innovation, which has since been disbanded. Some of the work is now contained on the Department's website
Research on leave practices and options available to union members
Congress has been committed to a detailed review of the effectiveness of leave schemes for sometime. Very limited up-to-date research has been carried out in Ireland regarding the uptake and availability of leave options (including parental leave), flexible work arrangements and life long learning options from the perspective of union members. In order to counter this lack of data and to inform our participation in the promised review of the various leave schemes in the Republic of Ireland, we commissioned a questionnaire survey of union members to find out more about workers' experiences and aspirations regarding flexible working arrangements and leave options. This survey was carried out by Nexus Research with the support of ICTU's Equality Committee and member unions. This report represents the outcome of this research. A significant challenge currently facing workplaces relates to how to keep people in their current employment. In this context, the focus of the research is on how the availability and use of flexible work arrangements and leave options has allowed employees to maintain their employability and career progression in a way that would otherwise not be possible.
This research was funded through the Workplace Innovation Fund, which is designed to help improve productivity and performance through greater levels of employee involvement and engagement. It is managed by Enterprise Ireland.
The market cannot deliver...
While Congress commends the good work done by the National Framework Committee and acknowledge those workplaces with policies that facilitate greater choice and flexibility, unfortunately they remain in the minority. Read on
"Go for it Dads" Belgian campaign
The Belgian pressure group Femmes Prévoyantes Socialistes (FPS) has launched a campaign to encourage fathers to take more parental leave. Belgium has relatively generous allocations of paternal and parental leave, but fathers are still not using as much of their entitlements as they could.
Congress Toolkit
See copy of our Family Friendly toolkit and training manual
Work Life balance in the current crisis
A presentation by Paul Cullen, Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and Chair of the National Framework Committee on Worklife Balance.
Eurofound on Work life Balance
Read more here about comparative situation across the EU.