HUP: Round Table Held ‘Employers and Employees – On the Side of Parenthood’

Today in Zagreb, at the premises of the Croatian Employers’ Association, as part of the National Campaign for the Promotion of Positive and Equal Parenthood, conducted by the Central State Office for Demography and Youth (SDUDM) in partnership with the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP), the round table ‘Employers and Employees – On the Side of Parenthood’ was held.

Following the Law on Maternity and Parental Benefits, which came into force on January 1, 2023, SDUDM has begun preparing a campaign to promote positive and equal parenthood, which aims to further raise public awareness of the importance of equal participation of both parents in raising children and to encourage the use of paternity and parental leave, i.e., the active involvement of fathers in child care.

As part of the campaign, significant emphasis is placed on raising awareness among employers and the importance of their role in the decisions of employee-parents regarding their work and family life, as well as providing active support to employee-parents. Therefore, in collaboration with HUP, a round table was held, prompted by the results of research on parental and paternity leave*, conducted for SDUDM by the Ipsos agency in September 2023. The results of that research show that respondents perceive that men who take parental leave often have problems with employers, more so than mothers. Among the main reasons that parents cite as obstacles to using rights from the maternity and parental benefits system is the belief that the employer would react negatively to a father’s request for paternity/parental leave. On the other hand, it has been shown that men who have taken parental leave mostly have a positive perception of their colleagues’ reactions to their use of parental leave.

The benefits of fathers’ involvement in the care and upbringing of children from an early age are visible in various areas and periods of a child’s life, and the importance of a father’s engagement in raising his own children and the equal division of family responsibilities is today supported by a number of studies, as well as positive examples from European countries that have recognized the importance of advocating such values.

In order to further deepen this topic, SDUDM and HUP deemed it important to hold this round table, at which introductory presentations were made by Petar Šimić, president of HUP – Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Željka Josić, state secretary of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, Ivan Vidiš, state secretary of the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Višnja Ljubičić, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, and Anamarija Sočo, president of the Status organization.

On this occasion, State Secretary Josić emphasized the need to continuously and publicly communicate that changing business models and more responsible behavior towards employees results in satisfied people and has a direct impact on business efficiency and results. She also believes that the perception of employees and awareness that their employers care about balancing private and work life and that they have support in the work environment is extremely important.

After the introductory presentations, the panel discussion included Diana Kobas Dešković, business consultant and coach in the areas of business development, organizational development, and communication, Petar Šimić, Igor Lukša, director of Rewarding, Performance, and Planning within the organizational part of Human Resources and Corporate Culture of Zagrebačka Bank, Marko Hercigonja, director of Controlling at Zagrebačka Bank, and Josipa Ljubičić and Helena Prlić from Proqlea.

As a conclusion, the participants agreed that it is necessary to place a stronger emphasis on the role of employers in planning and utilizing the legal rights of their employees based on parenthood. Balancing family and work obligations should become one of the priority social issues that need to be continuously improved with the joint role of the state and employers, in order to encourage certain changes in attitudes towards parenthood on a broader social level and to change the perception of the importance of this topic.

Despite the changed legal regulations, the active contribution of employers is extremely important, and there is a need for active contributions from employers who should work on raising awareness of the rights of their employees that enable the balancing of private and work life (rights to leave from the maternity and parental benefits system, rights from employment relationships, flexible working conditions, etc.), as well as promoting those values that will help employees use their rights without sanctions, but also without ‘invisible’ barriers that can provoke potential negative attitudes among workers.

During the panel, positive initiatives from employers related to socially responsible behavior towards employees and their families were also recognized, especially in terms of introducing quality programs and benefits for their employees through innovative solutions in implementing family-friendly measures. The participants agreed that all such and new initiatives need to be further recognized, welcomed, and strengthened.