Family Policies in Britain and Germany Innovative Ways

Family Policies in Britain and Germany Innovative Ways of Coping with Old and New Challenges: Enterprises as Actors of Family Policy? Martin Seeleib-Kaiser Martin. Seeleib@socres. ox. ac. uk

Overview Introduction Enterprises and Sustainable Family Policies An Economy-wide Perspective Firm-level Family Policies at Leading Corporations Conclusion

Introduction Family policy has moved centre-stage within social policy debates throughout Europe. Expansions of family policies are perceived by many political actors to significantly contribute to the sustainability of the respective political economy.

Introduction A. B. C. Family Policy in Focus (Mary Daly; Queen’s University, Belfast) Gateway of Family and Education Policy (Sigrid Leitner, Anneli Rüling; Universität Göttingen) Enterprises as Actors in Family Policy? (Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, Timo Fleckenstein; University of Oxford)

Enterprises and Sustainable Family Policies Employers as supporters of social policies Corporate Social Responsibility M. Friedman: “[T]here is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits. ” Business Case – Promoted by UK and German Government – Research

Enterprises and Sustainable Family Policies Research Question: Why and under which conditions do (large) corporations provide firm-level family policies and in how far do these firm-level policies contribute to sustainability?

An Economy-wide Perspective Dimensions of family policy • Money • Services • Time Family-friendly Measures at UK and German Workplaces have increased in the 2000 s

Tab. 1 ‘Family-Friendly’ Measures at UK and German Workplaces (in %) UK 2000 D 2003 2000 2003 Flexible working time 81 86 76. 8 88. 9 Childcare (direct provision) 1. 7 2. 9 1. 9 3. 5 Extra-statutory Maternity Leave 16 68 n/a Extra-statutory Parental Leave 14 9 -11 n/a Sources: BMFSFJ 2007, DTI 2003, Hogarth et al. 2000.

An Economy-wide Perspective Flexible working time is not per se familyfriendly Family friendliness depends on the time autonomy available to the individual worker Different statutory rules, firm practices and governance structures in Britain and Germany Employees in Germany tend to have more time autonomy than in Britain

An Economy-wide Perspective Company size and industry sector are key variables determining firm-level family policy provision

Tab. 2: Family-Friendly Measures at German Workplaces by Size, 2004 (in % of establishments) Number of Employees Childcare Special Arrangements for Parents During Parental Leave 1 -50 0. 9 3. 5 51 -100 2. 7 15. 7 101 -250 2. 6 24. 1 251 -500 6. 5 29. 3 501 -1000 9. 8 38. 0 22. 1 48. 6 1. 0 4. 2 More than 1000 Total Source: IAB 2004

Tab. 3: Family-Friendly Measures at UK Workplaces by Size, 2003 (in % of establishments) Number of Employees Childcare or other Supporting Childcare 1 Arrangements Extra-statutory Maternity Pay 5 -9 3. 4 18. 7 10 -24 6. 2 15. 5 25 -49 5. 1 16. 7 50 -99 7. 4 20. 5 100 -249 8. 5 28. 9 250 -499 18. 0 38. 0 More than 500 26. 1 52. 2 7. 7 22. 3 Total 1 This category includes: direct childcare provision, financial support for childcare, help with childcare during holidays, information about local childcare provision etc. Source: DTI 2003.

Tab. 4: Leaders and Laggards in Germany Sector Special Arrangements for Employees during Parental Leave (in % of Workplaces) Yes No Financial Intermediation 16. 0 84. 0 Mining, Electricity, Gas, Water Supply 13. 7 86. 3 Manufacturing/Construction 5. 0 95. 0 Wholesale and Retail (Repairs) 3. 0 97. 0 Hotels and Restaurants 2. 7 97. 3 Source: IAB 2004

Tab. 5: Leaders and Laggards in Britain Sector Childcare or other Supporting Childcare Arrangements (in % of workplaces) Yes No Extra-statutory Maternity Pay (in % of workplaces) Yes No Financial Intermediation 25. 0 75. 0 55. 6 44. 4 Electricity, Gas, Water Supply 31. 6 68. 4 76. 5 23. 5 Construction 1. 3 98. 7 5. 6 94. 4 Manufacturing 7. 0 93. 0 17. 8 82. 2 Wholesale and Retail 2. 2 97. 8 17. 0 83. 0 Hotels and Restaurants 8. 7 91. 3 14. 5 85. 5 DTI 2003

Firm-level Family Policies at Leading Corporations Survey among DAX, M-DAX, S-DAX and FTSE 100 VERY TENTATIVE FINDINGS TO BE COMPLEMENTED BY QCA AND CASE STUDIES

Firm-level Family Policies at Leading Corporations Findings: Very high level of provision of flexible working time arrangements (all respondents in our survey) In 75 % of the German cases arrangements are governed through collective agreements at the industry level or formal agreement at the firm level. In 55 % of the British cases working time arrangements are governed through unilateral policies by management.

Firm-level Family Policies at Leading Corporations Findings (continued) 81 % of companies in both countries did not limit provision 70 % of German and 60 % of UK corporations offered some services during parental leave 45 % of German and 27 % of UK corporations offered childcare arrangements 42 % of German and 18 % of UK corporations offered an extension of the job guarantee beyond statutory requirements 6 % of German and 73 % of UK corporations provided payments in addition to statutory requirements of the

Firm-level Family Policies at Leading Corporations Findings (continued) Reasons for provision a) b) c) d) e) f) Recruitment and retention of employees (87 % of German and 100 % of UK companies said that this was either important or very important for them); Improve job satisfaction of employees (82 % [D]; 89 % [UK]); Improve reintegration after parental leave (77 % [D]; 95 % [UK]); Corporate social responsibility (77 % [D]; 53 % [UK]); Reduction of child-related absenteeism (68 % [D + UK]); Reduction of personal turnover and absenteeism due to illness (59 % [D]; 84 % [UK]);

Firm-level Family Policies at Leading Corporations Findings (continued) In the UK, the policies were overwhelmingly initiated by management (95 %), whereas in Germany this was the case in a plurality of companies (45 %). In a significant number of the German companies, the policies were jointly initiated by management and works councils; equal opportunities officers also seemed to play a significant role. In 65 % of the German companies the works councils were involved in developing the specific measures, whereas in only 35 % of the British companies were unions involved in designing firm-level family policies.

Conclusion Significant expansion of firm-level family policies, especially in large corporations and specific industry sectors. Difference in governance of firm-level family policies among British and German firms. Firm-level family policies contribute to “enclave social policy” provisions. Such enclave social policy provisions can be especially beneficial to employees working in (service sector) companies requiring high general skills (banking) as well as their employers, eventually leading to a win-win situation.

Conclusion The business case seems to be of less importance in those firms requiring industry-specific or low general skills. As Suzanne Berger et al. (2006: 47) argue in their recent study How We Compete: “Within a given country we find a range of variation of types, of linkages, and of ideas about how things ought to be run. ” One may hypothesize that this finding also applies to firm-level family policies in post-industrial economies that increasingly rely less on (industry) specific skills and more on high and low general skills.