New 5-week Paternity Leave In Spain
After the general state budgets for 2018 were approved, a new 5-week paternity leave has been made official in Spain. This is an important advance, given that the previous one was 4 weeks. In the following article, we will tell you more about this resolution, which benefits millions of families across the country.
5 week paternity leave in Spain
The agreement was led by different actors from the Spanish political arc, mainly the PP —Partido Popular— and Ciudadanos. So far, parents had four weeks of parental leave, but in 2018 one more week was added per year; that is to say, they already have five weeks in total.
In addition, among the amendments to the PGE agreed with the other political parties, it is possible to highlight the fact that officials may take that permission when they deem it appropriate. This means that it does not have to be when the child is born or simultaneously with the mother’s license.
Although this extension should have entered into force on January 1, 2018, it was in July of the same year that it entered into force. However, it is still a considerable benefit to many men across the country.
Details about paternity leave in Spain
If you have been a father recently, it is a good idea to take into account everything that we tell you below. Some very important facts to keep in mind about the 5-week paternity leave in Spain:
- It applies to those children who were born as of July 5, 2018, the date on which the regulations have come into force. The above will continue to enjoy 4 weeks.
- The duration of the paternity leave is 5 weeks, but to be counted after the birth leave. The latter includes two or four days – according to the specific labor agreement. Therefore, if a man wants to take both leaves together, he will have 5 weeks and 2 days – or 4 – of leave.
- In the case of having twins or twins, the permit is extended to two more days. If you have triplets, it is extended for four days.
- Birth and paternity leave start on one business day. In other words, if the child is born on a Saturday or Sunday, the license starts to run from Monday.
- It is not mandatory to ask for paternity leave followed by birth; however, once it is granted, it cannot be split, it is the full 5 weeks.
- Fathers cannot grant permission to mothers, but they can the other way around. For example, a woman may ‘spend’ a week for her husband — of the 16 she has — to take care of the child and she returns to work.
- 100% of the salary is received during the time that the 5-week paternity leave is being enjoyed in Spain, as well as all the concepts of the regulatory base.
How to access this license?
To request leave, the following documents must be presented: social service paternity report, leave request sent to the company, official paternity application form, last payroll, updated family book, photocopy of the document and receipt from the bank of the which salary is received.
Is the 5-week paternity leave in Spain enough?
Beyond the news, we must ask ourselves if said leave, as well as maternity leave, is enough. From 2007 – when the parents were only two days old – until today, which is now five weeks old, the perspective has changed a bit, without a doubt.
Before it was said that men did not need paternity leave, because it was the mothers who were in charge of feeding and caring for the baby. However, that has changed quite a bit.
Fathers share many tasks with their wives: changing diapers, bathing, preparing bottles. Of course, they also do housework like doing laundry, preparing dinner, or shopping.
This is the argument that was used to get the 5-week paternity leave approved in Spain. However, many still wonder if it is enough and even if it is not a discriminatory measure. Why do mothers have 16 weeks of leave and fathers only 5?
So far, men have been able to take a month and a week of leave when their children are born. However, it seems that the changes have not ended here. Will the license be extended further in the future?
