Minimum maternity leave should be extended from 14 to 20 weeks and be fully paid, according to draft legislation put forward by the European Parliament Women’s Rights Committee.
Fathers should be given two weeks of fully paid paternity leave within the period of maternity leave.
There is currently no legislation at EU level on paternity leave.
The legislation should also apply to adoption where the child is less than 12 months old. The committee adopted amendments to ban the dismissal of pregnant workers from the beginning of pregnancy until six months following the end of maternity leave.




