Detailed Information on Publication Record

Parental leave and the amount of parental allowance are parts of the family policies of every modern welfare state. The form and organization of these policies are subject to individual governmental settings, reflecting the socioeconomic, cultural, and political context of each country. Although the European Union as a whole serves as a unifying element in many areas of national economic policy, significant differences can be observed in the configuration of parental leave and parental allowance across member states. This article focuses on describing these disparities. The synthesis and analysis of the parental leave system and parental allowance in the 27 EU countries represent a surprisingly challenging methodological issue that has not yet been comprehensively addressed. The results of the comparative analysis reveal substantial differences between Eastern and Western EU countries in terms of the status of parental leave, its duration, and the amount of parental allowance within the social security systems of individual EU states. The aim of this paper is to identify the differences and similarities in the concept of parental leave, including financial support, across EU countries through a descriptive analysis of available information and to provide a relevant comparison of these countries with each other.