The Vienna Chamber of Labor (AK Wien) has criticized what it describes as the “snail’s pace” of progress in fathers’ participation in parental leave, saying most couples remain far from sharing childcare responsibilities equally. The assessment was presented Tuesday alongside the latest Return-to-Work Monitoring report by L&R Social Research. According to the study, men accounted for 18.8 percent of people taking parental leave in 2023.
While that figure remains relatively low, it marks an improvement after a previous decline. Participation by fathers peaked at 20.4 percent in 2017 before falling and then beginning to rise again from 2021 onward. The study also examined the use of the Family Time Bonus, commonly associated with the “Dad Month,” as well as women’s return to the workforce after childbirth.
AK President Renate Anderl said conditions for balancing work and family life must be improved. While some positive developments have been recorded, she said there is still “a great deal of room for improvement” when it comes to fathers taking parental leave.
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Calls For Expanded Childcare
The Chamber of Labor is calling for an expansion of full-day, year-round childcare facilities. Anderl said parents should have a legal right to a childcare place once a child reaches their first birthday. She also called for a cultural shift in society and within companies to make parental leave more widely accepted. “It must simply be clear that people can take time off,” she said.
The monitoring report covers the period from 2006 to 2023. Because parental leave can be taken up to three years after a child’s birth, researchers said a delayed evaluation is necessary.
Family Bonus Use Increasing
The Chamber of Labor welcomed changes made in 2023 to the Family Time Bonus. The benefit is no longer deducted from childcare allowance payments, and the daily payment was doubled at the time to €47.82.
According to the report, the share of Family Time Bonus recipients increased by about four percentage points between 2022 and 2023, reaching 15.3 percent. However, researcher Veronika Adensamer said many parents are still unaware that the benefit exists.
The report also found that women’s return to employment after parental leave has continued to increase. Fathers, meanwhile, generally return to work much sooner. Only 9 percent of previously employed men remain at home for more than six months. Adensamer noted that a growing number of higher-income fathers are taking parental leave and are primarily choosing the income-based parental benefit model.
