STUDY Requested by the FEMM committee The situation of single parents in the EU Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs Directorate-General for Internal Policies EN PE 659.870 - November 2020 The situation of single parents in the EU Abstract This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, describes trends in the situation of single parents in the EU (with additional evidence from Iceland and Norway). It analyses the resources, employment, and social policy context of single parents and provides recommendations to improve their situation, with attention to the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences. This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). AUTHOR Rense NIEUWENHUIS, Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSIBLE Ina SOKOLSKA EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Fabienne VAN DER ELST LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR Policy departments provide in-house and external expertise to support EP committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU internal policies. To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe for updates, please write to: Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Brussels Email: [email protected] Manuscript completed in November 2020 © European Union, 2020 This document is available on the internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/supporting-analyses DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. © Cover image used under licence from the European Parliament The situation of single parents in the EU CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5 LIST OF BOXES 6 LIST OF FIGURES 6 LIST OF TABLES 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8 1. INTRODUCTION 10 1.1. Methodology and outline of the study 10 1.2. Trends in single parenthood 11 1.3. Living conditions, poverty and deprivation 14 1.4. Theoretical background 16 2. RESOURCES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SITUATION OF SINGLE PARENTS 19 2.1. Education 19 2.2. Joint physical custody 21 2.2.1. Prevalence of joint physical custody 22 2.2.2. Benefits of joint physical custody for children 23 2.2.3. Benefits of joint physical custody for parents 25 2.2.4. Determinants of joint physical custody 25 2.2.5. Implications of joint physical custody for policy 26 2.2.6. Implications of joint physical custody for EU data and indicators 27 3. EMPLOYMENT 28 3.1. Employment rate, part-time employment and work intensity 28 3.2. Work intensity and in-work poverty 29 4. POLICIES SPECIFICALLY TAILORED FOR SINGLE PARENTS 34 4.1. Child support 34 4.2. Custody law 39 5. POLICIES FOR ALL FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN 44 5.1. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) 45 5.2. Paid parental leave 47 5.2.1. Parental leave for single parents 48 5.2.2. Parental leave for fathers 48 5.3. Child benefits 51 5.4. Income protection 54 5.4.1. Unemployment benefits 54 PE 659.870 3 IPOL | Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs 5.4.2. Minimum income protection 56 6. COVID-19 59 6.1. Policy response to Covid-19 59 6.2. Potential risk factors for single parents during Covid-19 62 6.3. Lessons from the previous economic crisis 63 7. EU POLICY CONTEXT 66 7.1. Europe 2020 strategy 66 7.2. Social investment 67 7.3. European Pillar of Social Rights 68 7.4. Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers 68 7.5. Other legislative and policy developments 69 7.6. Monitoring the situation of single parents in the EU 70 7.7. Critical assessment 71 7.7.1. Taking gender equality seriously 71 7.7.2. Promoting employment growth to reduce poverty? 72 7.7.3. Inadequate minimum income protection for single parents 73 7.7.4. Inadequate monitoring of the situation of single parents in the EU 73 8. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 76 8.1. Policy recommendations for long-term investments 77 8.2. Policy recommendations for short-term improvements 79 REFERENCES 81 4 PE 659.870 The situation of single parents in the EU LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AGEPI Aide à la garde d’enfant pour les parents isolés AROP At Risk of Poverty AROPE At Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion BPfA Beijing Platform for Action CSR Country-Specific Recommendation EC European Commission ECB European Central Bank ECJ European Court of Justice ECEC Early Childhood Education and Care ESPN European Social Policy Network EES European Employment Strategy EIGE European Institute for Gender Equality ESF European Social Fund EU European Union EU-LFS European Union Labour Force Survey EU-SILC The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions IMF International Monetary Fund GDP Gross Domestic Product OMC Open Method of Coordination SAMIP Social Assistance and Minimum Income Protection (database) SPIN Social Policy Indicators database PE 659.870 5 IPOL | Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs LIST OF BOXES Box 1: Removing disincentives for work in Hungary 33 Box 2: Child support guarantee in Estonia 38 Box 3: Presumption of joint custody as the default legal arrangement in the Netherlands 43 Box 4: Targeting within universalism in France and Norway 44 Box 5: Increasingly inadequate unemployment benefits in Sweden 56 Box 6: Coordination of policy complexity in Germany 58 Box 7: Austerity in Greece 65 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Trends in single parenthood based on different indicators by gender, EU-27 average, 2009-2019 12 Figure 2: Single adults with dependent children, by gender, 27 EU Member States, 2009-2019 13 Figure 3: Trends in poverty and deprivation among single adults with dependent children, EU-27 average, 2010-2018 14 Figure 4: Various at-risk-of-poverty and social exclusion indicators by family type, EU-27 average, 2018 16 Figure 5: At-risk-of-poverty among single adults with dependent children, 27 EU Member States, 2009-2018 17 Figure 6: Level of education of single adults with dependent children, EU-27 average, 2009- 2019 20 Figure 7: Level of education of single women with dependent children, 27 EU Member States, 2009-2019 21 Figure 8: Trends in employment, part-time employment and temporary contracts among single adults with children, EU-27 average, by gender, 2009-2019 28 Figure 9: Trends in very low work intensity and in-work at-risk-of poverty, EU-27 average, by household type, 2010-2018 29 Figure 10: Trends in in-work at-risk-of poverty, 27 EU Member States, 2010-2018, by household type 30 Figure 11: Association between trends in employment and trends in in-work-poverty among single adults with children, 27 EU Member States, 2010-2018 32 Figure 12: Single parents’ out-of-pocket expenses for ECEC, EU Member States 47 Figure 13: Parental leave reserved for fathers, EU Member States, 2018 50 Figure 14: Child benefits and other benefits for working single parents, EU Member States, 2010-2019 53 6 PE 659.870 The situation of single parents in the EU Figure 15: Net replacement rates of unemployment benefits, EU Member States, 2010-2019 55 Figure 16: Adequacy of minimum income protection for single parents, EU Member States, 2010-2018 57 Figure 17: Policy responses to Covid-19: Income support and school closures, EU Member States 60 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Overview of estimated prevalence of joint physical custody 22 Table 2: Child support policies in 21 EU Member States 35 Table 3: Custody law / family law in relation to parental divorce / separation in 27 EU Member States 39 Table 4: Measures taken by EU Member States to support parents and single parents during Covid-19 61 Table 5: Approximations of ‘single parents’ in Eurostat tables 74 PE 659.870 7 IPOL | Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Single parenthood is becoming more common in the EU. The majority of single parents in the EU do well, in the sense that they have employment, do not live at-risk-of-poverty and are not materially deprived. As the majority of single-parent households are headed by women, this is in part an achievement in gender equality. Yet, compared to couples with children, single parents do have higher rates of living in a household with low work intensity, at-risk-of-poverty (AROP), or material deprivation. During the period 2010 to 2018, the situation of single parents in the EU improved: their rates of severe housing deprivation, severe material deprivation, at-risk-of-poverty and social exclusion (AROPE), and very low working intensity decreased. However, at-risk-of-poverty rates did not improve. Aim Against this background, the aims of this study are: • Describe trends in the situation of single parents in the EU, based on official statistics; • Analyse the resources, employment, and social policy context of single parents in the EU. The study also describes policies on single parents in Iceland and Norway to further illustrate effective examples to follow; • Provide recommendations to improve the situation of single parents in the EU, with attention to the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences. Findings Single parents have become better-resourced. Even though lower educated parents are more likely to become a single parent than higher educated parents, over time the share of single parents with a low level of education decreased and the share with a high level of education increased.