Right to parental leave must not require employment at the time of birth (C-129/20)

In the recent case XI v Caisse pour l’avenir des enfants (C-129/20), the CJEU was asked to rule on three issues regarding parental leave. First, whether the Directive in force at the time of the submission of the application to take parental leave (96/34) or the one in force at the time of birth or adoption (2010/18) was to be applied. Second, a question was raised on the condition of access to said leave, more specifically, a continuous minimum length of service. Third, the most intriguing problem was whether employment at the time of birth may be a condition for the right to parental leave under Directive 2010/18/EU.