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Date Published: 27/02/2024

Spanish Family Law reform: paid benefits, parental leave and more

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The changes will especially benefit families with young children and unemployed mothers in Spain

Spanish Family Law reform: paid benefits, parental leave and more

A drastic reform of the Spanish Family Law has been approved on Tuesday February 27 which will benefit countless households up and down the country through additional subsidies, increased parental leave and wider reaching aid. The legislation was originally put forward at the end of last year but was tabled pending further negotiations.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the main changes:

1. Extension of childcare allowance

The Spanish government will extend the aid of 100 euros for each child under three years of age to mothers who are unemployed, as long as they have been contributing for at least one day or collecting unemployment benefits in the month their child is born.

This expansion of the deduction will benefit around 250,000 families.

2. Parental leave for fathers and mothers

The law will implement an eight-week unpaid parental leave for fathers or mothers with children under eight years of age, which can be taken continuously or discontinuously.

3. Benefits for single-parent families and large families

Single-parent families with two children or families with two parents and two children where one of the ascendants or descendants has a disability will be allowed to enjoy the aid granted to large families.

This rule will also apply to families with two children headed by a victim of gender violence or by a spouse who has obtained exclusive custody without the right to alimony.

4. De facto couples granted same rights as married couples

The law equates de facto couples with marriages by granting them 15 days' permission after registering the union.

In addition, the children of unmarried couples may be registered in the registry by the non-pregnant parent.

Reforms that failed to make it over the finish line:

The PSOE refused to budge on incorporating two crucial measures advocated by Unidas Podemos into the law: allowing workers to take seven days of family care leave per year and enabling single-parent families to enjoy eight months of maternity leave instead of four.

From now on, employees will only be allowed to take five days, not seven, which is the minimum established by the EU, although this time off will be paid.

The idea that single-parent families could get eight months of maternity/paternity leave instead of four was up for debate, as it's not specified in EU directives. The PSOE argued that giving women who raise children alone an eight-month leave could hurt their job prospects, so they decided to keep the existing four-month sick leave policy for mothers in single-parent families.

In other news: VAT on electricity in Spain to jump following February price slump

Image: Freepik

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