These are the new paid permits from the Spanish government

MadridPSOE and Sumar have reached an agreement to approve new paid leave for birth and childcare this Tuesday. The agreement, announced by Pedro Sánchez during the course report before the summer break, came after negotiations between the Ministry of Labor, led by Yolanda Díaz (Sumar), and the Treasury, led by María Jesús Montero (PSOE), which lasted all weekend.

Passing the new leave was a demand from Sumar, which sees it as a reinforcement for the legislature at a time when the Spanish government, and the PSOE in particular, are suffering the consequences of the Santos Cerdán case.

While the exact fine print of the agreement is still unknown, these are the new developments that the Spanish government has announced so far:

Changes to childcare leave

On the one hand, the Ministry of Labor explains that it will approve the addition of two additional weeks to parental leave for the care of children up to 8 years old. Therefore, the current 8-week leave will be reduced to 10 weeks. These two additional weeks, unlike the previous 8, will be fully paid, meaning the worker will receive their full salary during this period, according to Díaz's department. Parents will be able to take them continuously or intermittently until the child turns 8.

eight-week leave The current provision for caring for children up to 8 years old was included in the Spanish government's family law and is unpaid. The Spanish government pledged to pay at least four of these eight weeks to comply with the European directive on which the measure is based. In fact, this should have come into effect on August 1 of last year. For this reason, the two fully paid weeks can be enjoyed retroactively from August 1, 2024. In other words, all families whose children were born on or after that date will be eligible. In any case, the measure must be ratified by Congress.

The European Commission has already scolded the Spanish government for not properly implementing the EU directive on work-life balance, to the point that it has taken Spain, along with Belgium and Ireland, to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Failure to comply with the set date has led Spain to face disciplinary proceedings.

More weeks for single-parent families

The Council of Ministers will also extend the maternity and childcare leave for single-parent families from the current 16 weeks to 32. Specifically, of these 32 weeks, 28 weeks will be part of the maternity and childcare leave, while four additional weeks will be added, which can be taken until the child turns 8 and can be requested continuously or intermittently. The executive expects the measure to primarily affect women, who make up 80% of single-parent families. It will come into effect once it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and has been validated by Congress.

Birth permits are extended

Finally, the birth and childcare leave is being extended from the current 16 weeks to 17 weeks until the child is 12 months old. That is, the traditional maternity and paternity leave. Despite its approval tomorrow, Tuesday, by the Council of Ministers, it will come into effect once it is published in the Official State Gazette (Official State Gazette) and, therefore, has been ratified by Congress. Parents already enjoying maternity or paternity leave will not be eligible for its extension.

The measure falls short of what is included in the coalition government agreement: an extension of this right to 20 weeks. That proposal had also been negotiated by the BNG (Nationalist Party) with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party).