The relationship between paid work and parenthood--a comparison of structures, concepts and developments in the UK and Austria

Abstract

This article investigates and compares the dominant concepts of public policy concerning the employment-parenthood interface in the UK and Austria. These two countries have been chosen because they represent very different public policy conceptions, particularly in approaching the work-family issue. In order to show the consequences of these policies the paper focuses on working time and time away from employment, when children are very young, and relates these aspects to currently introduced and changed regulatory structures, such as working time regulations and statutory parental leave. The active labour market and family policy in Austria, generally, supports the reconciliation of employment and parenthood. However, the Austrian work-family 'system' suffers from the underlying notion of the male breadwinner model in public support structures and low normative support of employed mothers. The cultural barriers for a more equal distribution of the burdens of combining employment and parenthood seem to be lower in the UK. The market as the political focus, in general, allows more equal opportunities for (quali ed) women in the labour market and within families. But the highly exible and polarised labour market, passive public policy and weak legal protection of employed parents creates a dif cult relationship between paid work and family life for many parents, in particular for low-skilled, low-paid parents, above all mothers. These analyses provide the basis for conclusions for public policy aiming at the reconciliation of paid work and parenthood. KEY WORDSAustria; UK; labour market; family policy; working time; parental leave; work-family balance RÉ SUMÉ Ce texte cherche à comparer les concepts dominants de la politique gouvernementale concernant l'interface travail-parent en Grande-Bretagne et en Autriche. Ces deux pays ont été choisis parce qu'ils présentent des concepts de politique gouvernementale très différents, en particulier en ce qui concerne la question de la famille et le travail. Ce texte montre les conséquences de la pratique de ces politiques sur le temps au travail rémunéré et le temps passé à l'extérieur de l'emploi ou sans emploi, et ce, dans un contexte où les enfants sont jeunes. Le texte fait la relation entre ces éléments et la pratique des structures de contrôle existantes et Manfred Auer modi ées telles que les lois (ou: les règlements) sur le temps passé au travail et sur les congé parentaux. En général, le marché du travail et la politique de la famille en Autriche encourage la conciliation entre l'emploi et la responsabilité de parent. Par contre, ce système de travailfamille autrichien est un concept qui est fondé à la fois sur le modèle de l'homme comme fournisseur principal du revenu familial dans les structures de soutien public ainsi que sur normes de soutien peu élevées pour les mères employées. Les barrières culturelles face à une distribution plus égalitaire de la responsabilité travail-famille semblent être moins élevées en Grande-Bretagne. En général, le marché et la politiq...

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