Last Friday (1 August) news broke that the Court of Justice of the European Union had fined Ireland €1.5m for the incomplete transposition of the directive on work-life balance into Irish law.
We were 18 months late fully transposing its requirements, partly because the pandemic had more or less brought the legislative process to a standstill but mostly because of a decision to transpose the directive in a miscellaneous bill (included along with other very welcomed albeit additional provisions, such as improved breastfeeding breaks, new domestic violence leave and a right to request remote work. Wrangling over the latter being the main culprit for the delay/ €1.5m fine).
All 27 Member States were given three years, until August 2022, to bring their national law up to new EU minimum standards on four family-friendly employment rights:
- Two weeks paid paternity leave for new dads within their baby’s first six months.
- Nine weeks paid parent’s leave for both parents within their baby’s first two years.
- Up to 5 days a year unpaid care leave to provide care to a relative or housemate.
- A right to request a flexible working arrangement (e.g. part-time hours, school term-time work, compressed hours, spilt shifts, remote work) for caring purposes.
The 2019 work-life balance directive builds on previous EU directives intended to address the employment gap between mothers and men; underrepresentation of women in senior roles; and the gender pay gap, through helping working parents and carers strike a better balance between their job and family's care needs.
Delays in transposing EU directives into Irish law on time, usually two or three years following publication, have cost us over €13m in late fines since 2020. Not an insignificant sum.
Infringement proceedings against Ireland for transposition delays or transposing directives incorrectly are not unusual (fortunately, few end in fines). In July 2024, the number of infringement actions open stood at 46 - a record low!
The last government established a Seanad Select Committee to scrutinise the transposition of EU directives into Irish law, including holding ministers and departments accountable for unnecessary delays in transposing directives. The new government has not re-established this Committee. I can think of 13 million good reasons why they ought to reconsider.
Dr Laura Bambrick, Social Policy and Employment Affairs Officer.
