In its response to the Commission’s consultation of European NGOs on the reconciliation of work and family life, AGE calls for a new type of leave which would allow workers time off to care for dependent family members.
AGE considers that it is necessary to do more to facilitate a life-work balance for older workers and to accommodate their needs as employees with their caring obligations for dependent family members. In particular, there is a need to have comprehensive and complete entitlements to flexible employment arrangements and a specific type of leave that allows time off from employment to care for dependents of any age.
This type of leave would hold a particular resonance for women in late middle age – the so-called sandwich generation – who, while participating in paid employment often take responsibility for the care of their dependent ageing parents as well as their grandchildren.
While AGE welcomes the emphasis placed within the Commission’s new proposal for an active inclusion strategy on facilitating a greater participation in employment, our members believe that a new approach to employment is needed in terms of work organisation, job flexibility, and support for the family needs of citizens throughout their life cycle which includes the provision of informal care for the elderly and other dependants.
Click here to read the full text of the AGE response to the Commission’s consultation on the reconciliation of work and family.
