democare - spolecne.ochrance.cz...uk x - x based on eurofamcare, 2005, pp. 20f. democare –care...

DEMOCAREDemographic change and policies

for the reconciliation of work and

family life

Jean-Marie Jungblut, research officer living conditions and quality of life unit

"Work-life balance conference" in Brno, October 23th and 24th 2014

Topics of the presentation

1. The work and care reconciliation issue for Europe

2. Actors and care regimes in Europe

3. Policy instruments in support of working carers

4. How well do countries perform in their support of working carers?

5. Conclusions

DEMOCARE – topics of the presentation

THE WORK AND CARE RECONCILIATION ISSUE FOR EUROPE

Introduction

Why is the resolution of the care question so difficult?

• There are many actors (state, family, businesses, social partners) involved and likely to avoid responsibility;

• Many different institutional policy frameworks are involved to solve the reconciliation / care question: health care provision, pensions, insurances, invalidity benefits, labour law, collective agreements so that at the end a coordinated strategy is difficult to find;

• By default, families will organize care themselves, often by choosing or delegating care to those members(s) with the least opportunity costs – often creating (uncovered) future costs for this person and society in the future.

DEMOCARE – Motivation of the study

The fundamental problem ...

To be sustainable, in the future, more people will have to reconcile work and care because:

– The provision of nationwide formal care is too expensive, even for those countries who already have it (Nordic countries);

– The necessity to extend working life will have more people working longer and less people available for full-time care (esp. women);

– The possibilities to take early retirement will become much more difficult, leaving less people available for full-time care when it is most accute (45-64 year old carers);

– Less and less families will have the ability to delegate care to one particular member with low or no opportunity costs;

– Singularisation of society makes that more men will have to take on care duties while they are still in employment.


... and a solution:

• Formal and informal care should be seen as complementary and not substitutes and therefore...

• ...the solution is to implement policies that support reconciliation of work and care along with other forms of care...

• ...providing that carers are not loosing out by...

• ...bringing three actors together: public authorities, employers and their empoyees with care duties.


Prevalence of care in Europe

• An estimated 16% of Europeans provide full-time (3%) or part-time (13%) care in 2011 (Eurobarometer EB 76.2, 2011);

• 40% of European‘s experienced a situation where they had or still have to provide care to a dependent adult;

• The majority of working age carers are in employment: 50% of full-time carers, 70% of part-time carers work;

DEMOCARE – Prevalence of care in Europe

Europeans caring for elderly or disabled relatives and activity status

DEMOCARE – Prevalence of care in Europe

Third ware of the European Quality of Life Survey, 2012.

ACTORS AND CARE REGIMES IN EUROPE

Context of the survey – the organization of care

Actors involved in care support / decision / provision

Public authorities /

local authorities

Families

Private Service

providers

DEMOCARE – actors involved in care

Who is responsible for care in EU Member States?Primary legal obligation to provide care family care and social attitudes

country Spouse ChildState / Local

authority Unclear

social expectation to provide care (high +,

low -)

increasing formal

recognition of the carer status

AT X X + X

ES X X +

FR X X +

EL X +

IT X + X

MT X + X

PL X +

PT X +

BE X - X

BG X -

DE X +/- X

SI X -

HU X (X) +

IE X + X

CZ X -

DK X -

LU X -

FI X - X

NL X + X

SE X - X

UK X - X

Based on EUROFAMCARE, 2005, pp. 20f.

DEMOCARE – Care regimes I

Each country has its own approach and mix of care provision, but in general:

– Countries in the North tend to provide formal institutionalized care financed by the state;

– Full-time family carers are often employed and paid by local / communal authority in the Nordic countries;

– Continental European Member States rely on care insurance(s) to finance (formal) care (but also to pay family carers to compensate foregone earnings);

– Countries in the South consider it more a family but esp. women‘s responsibility to care for relatives;

– The highest share of inactive carers are found in Southern Europe;

– Because of the good financial support of older people with disabilities, many families in Italy use migrants as informal carers.


However, if carers can combine work and care: ...

• ...they have a better quality of life, ...

• ...have a higher level of self-esteem, and ...

• ... continue to have a career and to contribute towards their own pension and social protection entitlements, while ...

• ...continuing to be productive in the economy.




local authorities

Families

Private Service

providers




local authorities

FamiliesPrivate Service

providers

Employers / Companies


POLICY INSTRUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF WORKING CARERS

How to help the reconciliation of work and care

What policies help to support working carers in general?

• Suitably organised long-term (community and homecare) care services to support dependent persons and their working carers;

• Income support and other ‘flexicurity’ measures (flexicurity meaning flexibility combined with employment and social security);

• Rights and regulations in the employment field;

• Practical measures that can be implemented by employers at company level.

DEMOCARE – policy instruments

What policies help to support working carers?





DEMOCARE – policy instruments

What policies help to support working carers?





DEMOCARE – policy instruments / initiatives

Carers@Work (2010) reported that the most valued support insturments by working carers are:

1. Cash benefits;

2. Care services;

3. Day-care services;

4. Respite care and short-term care;

5. One stop shop for information;

6. Paid care leave;

7. Migrant care workers

Relevant policy initiatives I


Relevant policy initiatives IIAnother study (Kümmerling & Bäcker 2010) demonstrated that the most important measures selected by working carers are:

1. Flexible working hours and to be able to react promptly to emergency situations;

2. The possibility to reduce hours of work per week for a limited time;

3. The possibility to give up responsibilities and managing duties for the duration of care;

4. The right to take leave spontaneously.


Reconciliation instruments: theory and practice

Level of need and sophistication Prevalence among EU28

21

19

18

15

13

13

9

3

Short term leave

Carer-specific employmentprotection

Working time flexibility

Short term allowance

Emergency leave

Right to return to same job

Long-term leave

long-term leave allowance




21

19

18

15

13

13

9

3

Short term leave




Emergency leave


Long-term leave


HOW WELL DO COUNTRIES PERFORM IN THEIR SUPPORT OF WORKING CARERS?

Asessment of implemented reconciliation measures

Cardinal summary indicator

• To simplify the assessment and avoid to compare 28 countries pairwise on all eight dimensions;

• First: countries are ranked on each dimension, e.g. Worktime flexibility, emergency leave etc. and on the level of entitlements;

• Second: Each country is averaged across its rankings on all dimensions.

DEMOCARE – Assessment of countries’ reconciliation efforts

Dimension Coding operationWorking time flexibility 1=working time flexibility,

2=1+reduced working hours, 3=1+2+teleworking, 4=1+2+3+long-term accounts

Emergency leave Number of daysCarer-specific employment protection 1=protection from lay-off for personal reasons;

2=protection from economic lay-off only;3=protection from all layoffs;4=protection beyond the period of care;

Short term leave Number of daysShort term allowance 1=means tested fixed amount,

2=fixed amount,3=paid through care insurance,4=wage replacement (%),5=fixed wage paid by local community6=full wage continuation.

Right to return to same job yes=1, no=0

Long-term leave Number of days

long-term leave allowance 1=means tested fixed amount,2=fixed amount,3=paid through care insurance,4=wage replacement (%),5=fixed wage paid by local community.

Coding scheme to interpret the national regulatory framework to support the

reconciliation of work and care


Detail

Work and care reconciliation indicator (WCRI)


Clustering on the reconciliation instruments

Generosity of carer support

Full-fledged care regimes based on extended leave

entitlements

Care regimes based on flexible work (time)

organisation

Residual care regimes with some leave entitlements and

protection of working carers

High (RI 25%) DK, DE, FI, BE, SE, FR IT

Medium (M+-25%)

AT, IE, LT, UK CY, RO, PT, CZ, NL, ES, MT NO, SI, LU, HR

Low (RI 25%) BG, SK, GR, LV, HU, PL EE

DEMOCARE – Work & Care regimes

Impact of work and care reconciliation on employmentCorrelation of RI and carers not looking for a job

Correlation of RI and full-time carers in the working population

DEMOCARE – Impact of RI on labour market participation

CONCLUSIONS

Policy strategies for the future• Relying only on instutional solutions of formal care are not

sustainable in the future;– Too expensive, not wanted by most care recipients nor their families.

• A shift of care responsibility onto the shoulders of families only is not thinkable;– This will further decrease the labour pool, create more problems in

the future with contemporary carers themselves;

– Working age carers not in employment are worse off than working carers;

• A more balanced mix between actors is to be found which also includes...;

• ...more efforts to make work and care reconcilable are needed

DEMOCARE – Conclusion

For work and care reconciliation this means:

• Implementation of the „time off work on grounds of force majeure“ leave entitlement everywhere and not only for children (directive 2010/18/EU);

• More working time flexibility arrangements, e.g. teleworking;

• More initiatives by social partners, especially in Eastern Europe;

• Company initiatives such as long-term working accounts, converted (pooled) overtime accounts

DEMOCARE – Conclusion

The reconciliation of work and care does not have to be an onerous endeavour, but should contribute to make life easier and better for

carers and avoid unnecessary costs for employers both through absenteism and

presentism.

Thank you very much!


Emergency leave

Carer-specific employment

protectionShort term

leaveShort term allowance


Long-term leave

long-term leave

allowance

See tab. Days See tab. Days See tab. Yes / No Days See tab.

(1) (2) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9) (10)

AT 2 9 1 90 3 270

BE 2 9 1 60 2 1 365 3

BG 1 1

CY 7 2 1

CZ 3 1 1 4

DE 2 10 2 180 3

DK 9 2 180 5 999 5

EE 1 1 7 3

ES 2 1 0.5 730

FI 4 1 125 1 359

FR 2 1 310 2 1 360

Entitlements coded

Working time

flexibilityEmergency

leave

Carer-specific

employment protection

Short term leave (paid)



Long-term leave

long-term leave

allowanceAverage

Rank

(1) (2) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9) (10) (11)

AT 6 10 8 14 5 0 2 0 5.63

BE 6 10 8 12 2.5 7.5 5 1.5 6.56

BG 0 0 8 0 0 7.5 0 0 1.94

CY 0 7 17 0 0 7.5 0 0 3.94

CZ 14.5 2 0 1 9 0 0 0 3.31

DE 6 13 17 18.5 5 0 0 0 7.44

DK 0 10 17 18.5 12.5 0 9 3 8.75

EE 0 2 8 4 5 0 0 0 2.38

ES 6 0 8 0 0 1 7.5 0 2.81

FI 18 0 8 17 0 7.5 3 0 6.69

FR 6 0 8 20 2.5 7.5 4 0 6.00

Ranking of the entitlements

democare - spolecne.ochrance.cz...uk x - x based on eurofamcare, 2005, pp. 20f. democare –care...

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