Family Futures

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Slovenia has a high inclusion of children in kindergartens, and the number has been constantly rising

Adopter’s leave is intended for one or both adoptive parents

in order for them and the child to fully bond immediately after

the adoption. Adopter’s leave lasts up to 120 days (if the child

is from one to four years old when adopted) and up to 150

days (if the child is 4-10 years old when adopted). In 2014,

the rights of adoptive parents will be equal to the rights of

biological parents, which means that adoptive parents will be

entitled to all the rights to which only biological parents have

been entitled so far.

Absence from work due to the birth of a child is approx-

imately 12 months; in certain cases, it may be longer (for

example if the mother has twins, in the case of premature

birth, or if a child needs special care). Parents are entitled to

parental benefits for the period of their absence from work,

which is a labour right, and amounts to 90 per cent of the base

(if the base is lower than the minimum wage, the benefit is

100 per cent). This means that unemployed parents are not

entitled to the benefit and receive only a minimum benefit or

parental allowance.

To balance work and family, government measures

related to the working environment regarding the time after

parents return to work are extremely important. Legislation

ensures the preservation of jobs, particularly for mothers

during parental leave, and job security is provided by the

right to return to the labour market following childbirth.

In addition, legislation anticipates better opportunities for

flexible working hours, which is realized by enabling one of

the parents who cares for the child until the age of three to

work part-time. If a parent cares for two children, this right

is extended until the younger child is six years old or until

the age of 18 for a child who is physically handicapped or

moderately or severely mentally handicapped. The number

of people who take the opportunity to work part-time has

been growing in Slovenia.

Another important measure for the work-family balance

is the opportunity to work at home. Parents are thus quite

autonomous in organizing the time available and balancing it

with family obligations.

In conclusion, we can say that Slovenia has a relatively

well-developed family policy in terms of the work-family

balance. This is also confirmed by the fact that the employ-

ment of women, which is already above the European

average, also remains high among mothers. However, it

must be emphasized that while opportunities for men and

women in the labour market have drawn closer, the tradi-

tional division of work within families regarding household

chores, caring for family members and so on, can still be

observed in Slovenia, which results in women bearing a

double burden. In future, we intend to develop and encour-

age the principle of equal opportunities to a greater extent,

which is crucial for the successful management of policies

for the work-family balance.