Proposals for Amendments to Labor Laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the improvement of gender equality and the protection of rights related to motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood
Proposals for Amendments to Labor Laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the improvement of gender equality and the protection of rights related to motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood

Summary/Abstract: This policy document offers proposals for amendments to labor laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina - the Labor Law in B&H Institutions, FB&H Labor Law, RS Labor Law and District Brčko of B&H Labor Law. The policy paper follows the logic of presenting the currently valid provisions of the labor laws, then lists proposed amendments to each of the relevant provisions/chapters for the area of maternity, paternity, or parental leave, and elaborates the proposed legal solutions. The basic concept of this policy document is to identify problems in the domain of recognition, enjoyment and realization of the parents’ right to maternity leave (as defined by positive labor law legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina), fathers in particular, based on the research previously conducted by Sarajevo Open Centre on legislative, administrative, economic and broader social barriers for fathers to fully exercise this right. The research provided data on the basis of: - analysis of answers to questionnaires on a sample of 500 fathers who had a child in the period from 2016 to 2021, and interviews with five fathers who used maternity leave (first-hand information about their experiences in exercising this right), - analysis of the existing legislation in the field of labor and social/child protection, as well as - administrative practices of competent institutions for deciding on the exercise of this right, from which the problems that need to be solved in the ways defined by this policy document are extracted – proposals for amendments to B&H labor laws. The existing laws do not provide the same type of protection to fathers taking maternity leave as to mothers, and it is necessary to amend labor laws and other regulations that govern this area so that fathers also receive compensation instead of salary when using maternity leave, have the right to leave in case of stillbirth, and have a guaranteed period of use of parental/paternal leave that could not be waived or transferred to the mother, in accordance with the European Union Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers. The key amendments proposed can be summarized into the following: ¬ Defining maternity, paternity and parental leave: maternity leave - woman’s right to leave for a certain number of days after giving birth; paternity leave - father’s right to a mandatory leave in the duration of 10 days; parental leave - the right of both parents for the duration of one year - Flexibilization of parental leave as an independent right of both parents in terms of alternate or simultaneous use - Harmonization of terminology in the chapters related to protection against dismissal due to pregnancy and parenthood, in order to provide same for both parents - Allowing fathers to use paternity or parental leave, regardless of whether the child’s mother is employed ¬ Guaranteeing equal treatment – prohibition of discrimination on the basis of marital or extramarital status, family planning, exercise of the right to maternity/paternity/parental leave ¬ Prohibition of overtime and night work for fathers of children who use paternity or parental leave ¬ Allowing fathers to use paternity or parental leave in case of stillbirth (as regulated for mothers) - Enabling mothers and fathers to keep their jobs and working conditions, i.e. the status they previously had, during and after the maternity/paternity/parental leave - Envisage of appropriate criminal/misdemeanor directives in case of non-compliance with the law provisions related to the protection of parenthood.

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