Forgotten children: work–family reconciliation in the EU

Abstract

At the core of this article is a discussion of how, why and with what implications, considerations of children's needs are missing from the EU's work–family reconciliation framework. Part I demonstrates how the EU has failed to properly identify, let alone acknowledge or promote, children's interests in relation to work-family reconciliation. An examination of relevant legislation and case law shows how children are ‘missing’ from this policy area, which has huge implications for their day to day lives. Part II then considers the reasons behind, and consequences of, this reluctance to engage with children's interests in reconciliation laws and shows how children's well-being could be better incorporated into relevant policies and within the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice. This section highlights, for example, how the EU has been willing and able to promote children's interests in other legal fields and suggests that changes in the Treaty, post Lisbon, offer a means to improve the current approach.

Keywords:

• work–family
• reconciliation
• children
• EU

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Nicole Busby, Eugenia Caracciolo di Torella, Thérèse Callus, Helen Stalford and the anonymous reviewer for comments on previous drafts of this paper. Any errors or omissions are of course my own.