On Wednesday, the National Council decided on changes to care leave and parental leave. In the future, people who live in the same household but are not related will be able to take time off work to provide care.
Close family members who do not live in the same household as the person being cared for can also use care leave. Another change that the Social Committee has now decided on concerns parental leave. The full 24 months can only be used if the second parent takes at least two months of parental leave. If only one parent, such as the mother, goes on maternity leave, the duration is shortened to 22 months. There is an exception for single parents. In addition, the family time bonus is doubled to 47.82 euros per day.
Government: More father involvement
While the government talked about a measure for more father participation, criticism came from the SPÖ and FPÖ. Petra Wimmer (SPÖ) warned that women’s maternity leave would be taken away if their partners did not want to go on maternity leave. The FPÖ said that children under the age of two are not yet ready to be placed in a care facility. The change was decided with the votes of the ÖVP, the Greens and NEOS.
Together they also initiated partial retirement reform. The blocked variant is expected to be phased out gradually in 2029. This is an agreement in which the employee continues to work “full-time” for a certain period and does not work at all for the following period. This will no longer be possible in the future. At the same time, working hours must be able to be made more flexible over the period. The working hours are a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 80 percent of the previous working hours.
The government parties argued that the blocked partial retirement was in the nature of an early old-age pension. While the NEOS supported this change, the SPÖ and FPÖ rejected it. This continues the government’s “anti-employee policy,” criticized Rainer Wimmer (SPÖ).
There was also the green light for a new education bonus scheme from 2024, which can be paid out in addition to the unemployment benefit.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
