There is a significant gender dimension to the impact of parenthood on employment of women and men in the Slovak republic, the employment rate for women with children under 6 years is less than 40% (compared with 83% of men in the same group). The lack of available childcare services further disadvantages mothers with younger children. In 2015, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and the Family of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter the “MLSAF”) started with an implementation of the project titled ‘Family and Work’ using affirmative action to support employment of mothers of small children.
Despite favourable legislative conditions, significant gaps persist in the area of flexible forms of work and reconciling work and family life in the Slovak republic. Very few employers apply flexible forms of work and the Slovak republic has long been among the EU countries with the lowest share of part-time employment. In Western countries, almost half of working mothers with young children hold part-time jobs. The demand for childcare services has been consistently higher than the supply and the situation is not improving significantly.
The pilot project is crucial both in terms of facilitating the creation of innovative forms of childcare as well as in encouraging employers to introduce flexible forms of work and employment for parents, especially mothers with children in preschool age. The project will directly support flexible forms of work – shorter working hours, shared work and teleworking. The aim is to promote the so-called ‘flexisecurity’ – meaning flexible yet socially secure jobs. The goal is to encourage employers to create new jobs and hire either persons on parental leave (mothers or fathers) or mothers of children below 6 years. 90% of the monthly wage (the total real cost of labour within the limit of the average wage in the national economy) will be reimbursed. In case of employed mothers with children aged 6-10 years, the total contribution will be 50% of the monthly wage.
