Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall is currently supporting several fathers who are suing the Federal Republic of Germany. The fathers are seeking to secure appropriate compensation for the leave they took during the first weeks after the birth of their children. They base their lawsuits on the Federal Republic of Germany’s failure to implement European Union Directive 2019/1158 (Work-Life Balance Directive). According to the Work-Life Balance Directive, member states must introduce a right to at least ten days of paid leave upon the birth of a child for the father or the second parent recognized under national law. To ensure that all fathers can afford to take this leave, it must also be paid. Such paid leave upon the birth of a child has not yet been introduced in Germany.
The Berlin II Regional Court has now dismissed two of these lawsuits. IG Metall continues to support the fathers who wish to appeal to the next level of court.
In accordance with the Work-Life Balance Directive, the majority of EU member states grant fathers a specific right to leave upon the birth of a child. Germany is one of the few EU member states that has not yet granted the second parent special leave upon the birth of a child.
IG Metall advocates for a period of leave for the second parent to be granted shortly after the birth. Parental leave and parental benefits cannot replace this specific entitlement to leave because they do not have to be taken in connection with the birth and do not provide for a separate, paid leave of ten days. Special leave following the birth relieves the mother during the postpartum period—a time critical for her physical and mental health—and significantly strengthens the bond between the child and both parents. An early, equitable division of responsibilities between partners thus has great emotional and health benefits for both parents and the child. It also promotes a fair division of caregiving responsibilities in the child’s later stages of life.
Care work is still performed largely by women—a situation that has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This not only places a greater time and physical burden on women but also exacerbates the so-called “part-time trap,” that is, the involuntary reduction in women’s employment. It is associated with significant financial losses throughout women’s working lives and is a major cause of the gender pay gap—the difference in wages between men and women. Research has shown that the period following the birth of the first child is crucial for a woman’s entire working life.
The coalition agreement calls for a reform of parental benefits to promote greater involvement of the second parent—usually the father—and thus a fair distribution of caregiving and paid work, particularly in connection with the birth of a child. From IG Metall’s perspective, this objective can be achieved by introducing leave for the second parent upon the birth of a child. The federal government must fully implement the Work-Life Balance Directive and introduce this leave provision.
