AMS board member Draxl:

Educational leave should not extend parental leave

AMS board member Petra Draxl has now also spoken out in the debate about educational leave. "There are two or three points of criticism that we at the AMS also believe should be changed." For example, a third of the recipients had previously been on parental leave.

"But educational leave should not be a de facto extension of parental leave. I am very much in favor of women continuing their education while on parental leave," said AMS board member Petra Draxl. Currently, there are not always the right offers for young mothers. "I am in favor of women returning to work quickly, but this cannot be a 16-hour IT course package online," she explained as an example. For her, mandatory counseling before educational leave is conceivable, for example.

Draxl no longer believes there will be any major changes in this government term. Labor and Economics Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) said at the beginning of March that he hoped to create a reform of educational leave with the Greens. However, this is not included in the government program.

"Companies are getting nervous"
Currently, educational leave is agreed between the employer and employee and can last between two months and a year. The training must comprise at least 20 hours per week, 16 hours per week is sufficient for children under the age of seven. During this period, the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS) pays an income that is lower than the last salary. An additional income of no more than one and a half times a marginal income is also possible.

A restriction on additional earnings for the unemployed is also currently under discussion. "If I work marginally in addition to being unemployed, that is not abuse," said Draxl. This currently applies to around 28,000 people. The AMS board member expects unemployment to rise further this year, "but we don't yet know to what extent." "We assume that companies will still retain a lot of staff, but they are getting nervous."