Introduction

There are pronounced differences in eligibility for statutory leave, especially how countries grant leave rights in relation to parents’ labour market position. This is highly relevant for the effects that various Parental Leave systems may have, as the interaction of policy design and inequalities in the labour market may lead to inequalities in access to leave rights. For instance, it seems that work–family policy measures tend to benefit primarily parents who already participate in the labour market, particularly dual-earner families with higher incomes (Cantillon, 2011; Ghysels and van Lancker, 2011). And yet, the comparative literature has been predominantly focused on leave duration and benefit levels (to a lesser extent, also leave transferability and flexibility), as well as the implications these may have for gender equality and parental employment (for reviews of the literature see for example, Dobrotić, 2015; McKay et al, 2016). Much less is known about leave eligibility in general, and particularly according to parents’ employment histories (Javornik, 2014).

In some countries, access to leave rights is highly contingent on labour market attachment: in Belgium, for instance, eligibility to Parental Leave benefits is dependent on long, uninterrupted insurance periods with the same employer (Merla, 2018). While in other countries, such as Germany, there are at least some basic Parental Leave benefits available universally, that is, for all parents independent of labour market participation or the form it takes (Reimer et al , 2017). If stable employment is a principal condition of eligibility for leave rights, this could increase social inequalities in access. Furthermore, if access to leave rights differs between men and women, leave design may also result in gender inequalities. There is, however, a lack of research that would bring deeper understanding of the interaction of leave policy design and social inequalities (see also McKay et al,2016).

It is thus important to understand how Parental Leave rights relate to the labour market participation of parents; particularly with a view to the position of parents atypically connected to or not participating in the labour market. This is the aim of the current chapter. Relying on the social rights literature, we develop a conceptual framework that allows us to distinguish approaches to how Parental Leave rights are granted (in)dependent of parents’ labour market position, with four ideal types identified.