The Ministry of Labor proposes up to 15 days of leave for palliative care.
The Spanish government and social partners are meeting this Monday to also address the layoff reform.
MadridThe Ministry of Labor has put its proposal to extend death leave and create a new palliative care leave in black and white. This Sunday, the Ministry headed by Yolanda Díaz (Sumar) sent a text to the social partners (majority unions and employers) to be discussed this Monday during the social dialogue table on the dismissal reform. The text, in addition to including the death leave of up to ten days for a family member, details that in the case of palliative care, the leave would be for "15 working days," as the Ministry has announced. Cadena SER and sources from the Ministry of Labor confirmed to ARA.
This October, Díaz announced her intention to approve legislation that would expand bereavement leave and create a new leave to accompany people in palliative care. Both would be paid leave. The measure requires amending the Workers' Statute and, therefore, must be approved by royal decree and then voted on in the Congress of Deputies, where each vote is determined by the Spanish government's balance with its investiture partners.
![Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz, during a breakfast briefing in Madrid this Thursday.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 9"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Although the proposal will be discussed at this Monday's meeting, the reason for the meeting between the Ministry of Labor and social partners is the reform of dismissal, specifically the modification of severance pay. This is a battle between the majority unions, CCOO and UGT, which the employers' association rejects outright.
After several unsuccessful attempts to modify severance pay—which was already proposed during the 2021 labor reform—Díaz wants to channel a reform that takes into account the European Social Charter. In fact, the government agreement between the PSOE and Sumar includes a commitment to establish "guarantees for workers upon dismissal, complying with the European Social Charter and reinforcing the causal relationship in the termination of the employment relationship." The Ministry of Labor is considering taking into account the personal and employment circumstances of the dismissed worker.
