ARE FLEXIBLE FORMS OF WORK ALWAYS GOOD? FLEXIBLE FORMS OF WORK DIRECTED TOWARDS PARENTS AND CARERS IN EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

Changes in the world of labour lead to the need to regulate flexible forms of work, and in the case of parents and carers this is additionally demanded by the Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers (EU/2019/1158) that was transferred by Croatia to its national legislation in 2022. At the same time, research indicates that adjustments of labour legislation in that direction can also, apart from positive ones, have negative effects on the well-being of employees and gender equality, so it is important to take into consideration the political, organisational and cultural context within which flexible forms of work are regulated. As there was no discussion during the process of the adjust-ment of the Croatian legislation, this paper considers the strengths and weaknesses of the current regulation of flexible forms of work for parents and carers in Croatia, placing it in a comparative perspective and within the context of current knowledge about the effects of flexible forms of work on the well-being of employees and gender equality. It indicates that the wider regulation of the right to flexible forms of work due to the need for care was not followed by consideration of the negative effects that such forms of work may have on the well-being of employees and gender equality, or by the introduction of mechanisms that could prevent or alleviate them.