Brexit and the work-family conflict:a Scottish perspective

This paper examines the Scottish Government’s desire to maintain ties with EU law post-Brexit in the context of employment and equality law, particularly those laws which impact on work-family conflict. The paper critically examines whether there is, or could be, a distinctly Scottish perspective in the context of work-family rights post-Brexit. The paper frames the analysis by considering the potentially gendered implications of Brexit in this context. In doing so, it examines this issue from the perspective of traditional heterosexual dual-partnered working family models. It is argued that rights for working fathers will be most vulnerable post-Brexit, with related consequences for working mothers. Consequently, the implications of Brexit in this context are primarily viewed through the lens of working fathers. The paper then critically examines the Scottish Government’s position on EU employment and equality law in the post-Brexit context

"Women's rights, the European Court and Supranational Constitutionalism"

This analysis examines supranational constitutionalism in the European Union. In particular, the study focuses on the role of the European Court of Justice in the creation of women’s rights. I examine the interaction between the Court and member state governments in legal integration, and also the integral role that women’s advocates – both individual activists and groups – have played in the development of EU social provisions. The findings suggest that this litigation dynamic can have the effect of fueling the integration process by creating new rights that may empower social actors and EU organizations, with the ultimate effect of diminishing member state government control over the scope and direction of EU law. This study focuses specifically on gender equality law, yet provides a general framework for examining the case law in subsequent legal domains, with the purpose of providing a more nuanced understanding of supranational governance and constitutionalism

Maternity and equal treatment

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A place for maternity in the European Union

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Surrogacy, Pregnancy and Maternity Rights: a Missed Oppoertunity for a More Coherent Regime of Parental Rights in the EU?

Over the years, the EU has been successful in creating a framework where pregnancy and maternity in the workplace are acknowledged and protected. Such a framework, however, fails to regulate situations such as surrogacy . The latter raises complex ethical a nd legal issues that have been addressed in very different ways at national level. Lack of a common position has meant that the rights that women have in to relation to surrogacy in the workplace have been ignored at EU level. This article maintains that one of the main difficulties in addressing it is the traditional understanding of who is perceived to be a mother. Women are de facto afforded rights because they are biological mothers and this excludes surrogacy. The debate has recently been highlighted by the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the cases of C.D. v S.T. and Z v Government Department and the Board of Management of a Community School. Interestingly, the two Advocates General reached different conclusions, one emphasising health and safety and the other the equality aspect of the debate: neither of these opinions offered a clear solution, yet both indicate possible ways forward . The Court ignored these suggestions and reached disappointing, albeit technically flawless and entirely predictable, decisions. Against this background, this article argues that the time is now ripe for a more coherent regime of parental rights in the EU where the focus should shift from the mere biological /gestational connotation of motherhood to emphasising the different sides of “being a mother”, and more generally “being a parent”, including a caring relationship between the parent(s) and the child . Accordingly, it concludes that the EU is in urgent need of a complete set of legal rules that looks beyond how families are constructed and, ultimately, values and promotes the role of care and, ultimately, the best interests of the child

Brave New Fathers for a Brave New World? Fathers as Caregivers in an Evolving European Union

This article focuses on the role that fathers play when it comes to family responsibility, in particular the care of young children, and how EU policy and legislation have contributed to it. This is important for several reasons. From a theoretical perspective, access to care for fathers represents the other side of the access to paid employment for mothers debate, and completes the deconstruction of the two-sphere structure. From a more practical point of view, including fathers in the work/family life reconciliation debate is essential for the achievement of important EU policies, such as employment and gender equality. Although society is ready for a change, the legislator has been slow to address it, thus fathers are still missing from the EU's reconciliation policy and legislation. Against this background, the decision of the Court of Justice in Roca Álvarez has, potentially, laid down the basis for a new model of fatherhood. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

An emerging right to care in the EU: a “New Start to Support Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers”

Reconciliation between work and family life has been a prominent feature of EU discourse, policy and legislation for some time now. Accordingly, an increasingly sophisticated array of measures has been implemented. This article focuses on the most recent EU initiative, namely the New Start to Support Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers, which was announced on 26 April 2017. It entails a mixture of legislative and non-legislative measures aimed at modernising the regulation of this area. This article maintains that the New Start Initiative, although not flawless, is ground-breaking. In this proposal, the Commission is embracing a substantive and transformative approach to equality. The New Start Initiative has the potential to reconceptualise this area and to move from care as a mother-child issue to a wider one that sees care as an integral part of society

Brave new fathers for a brave new world? Fathers as caregivers in an evolving European Union

This article focuses on the role that fathers play when it comes to family responsibility, in particular the care of young children, and how EU policy and legislation have contributed to it. This is important for several reasons. From a theoretical perspective, access to care for fathers represents the other side of the access to paid employment for mothers debate, and completes the deconstruction of the two-sphere structure. From a more practical point of view, including fathers in the work/family life reconciliation debate is essential for the achievement of important EU policies, such as employment and gender equality. Although society is ready for a change, the legislator has been slow to address it, thus fathers are still missing from the EU's reconciliation policy and legislation. Against this background, the decision of the Court of Justice in Roca Álvarez has, potentially, laid down the basis for a new model of fatherhood. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Shaping and re-shaping the caring relationship in European Law: a catalogue of rights for informal carers?

This article explores the engagement of the European Union with the caring relationship and focuses on the socio-economic impact on those who provide care. It argues that, albeit care was not an initial concern of the EU legislator, over the years, a discourse has gradually been shaped. The needs of carers have been addressed with a variety of approaches such as non-discrimination legislation and policy as well as specific employment policy and legislation. So far, however, this intervention has been ad hoc: accordingly it has not helped to formulate a coherent set of principles, let alone propose satisfactory solutions to the demands that carers experience on a daily base. It is now time to reshape this discourse: this article maintains that the caring relationship needs to be reconceptualised in order to fit the evolving reality. Ultimately, it argues for a more proactive, right-based approach and explores the possibility of introducing a specific catalogue of carers’ rights in EU law

Re-thinking care after the pandemic: a European Care Strategy for Caregivers and Care Receivers

The importance of care for our sustainability is increasingly discussed by policy makers and academics. For several reasons, however, the law has failed to address it. Accordingly, care has long been in a state of crisis, where the needs of those who require care are not met, and those who care are routinely subject to discrimination and cannot care in a dignified way. The Covid-19 Pandemic has highlighted the extent of the problem. The EU has responded by announcing on 7 September 2022 ‘A European Care Strategy for Caregivers and Care Receivers’. Although not flawless, this initiative is ground-breaking. It is now crucial to sustain momentum and to continue to build on this initiative.</p