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If a family member falls seriously ill or needs an operation, Spanish employees are entitled to up to five working days of paid leave to look after them, with no loss of salary. It sits in the Workers' Statute, and a run of Supreme Court rulings has now settled most of the arguments about how it works.

 

The leave covers four situations: a serious accident, a serious illness, hospitalisation, or surgery without hospitalisation that requires rest at home. That last one includes things like cataract operations, arthroscopies or tests carried out under deep sedation.

 

Some employers have argued the days stop once the patient leaves hospital. The Supreme Court disagrees. As long as your relative is recovering at home and needs care, you can use the full five days.

 

It's wider than many people think. You can request the leave for a spouse or registered partner, for first degree relatives such as children, parents and parents-in-law, and for second degree relatives including siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings-in-law, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law. Blood relatives of your partner are covered too.

 

You don't even need to be related. If you live with a friend, a housemate or a distant relative who needs your care after surgery or serious illness, you can still claim, by showing you're registered at the same address.

 

You don't have to start the leave on the day of the event. The Supreme Court has ruled that the days can't be tied to that moment, because that would rule out "a rational distribution that allows for planned and more effective assistance." In other words, you can take them when your relative actually needs you most, as long as the leave begins while the care need is still there.

 

The days are also working days, never calendar days. Collective agreements can improve on the minimum, but they can't cut it.

 

A simple note won't do. You'll need a certificate from the hospital or healthcare centre showing the relative's name, the date and whether it was an admission or an operation. If they're recovering at home, it must say they "require home rest" and give an estimated length of time.

 

You don't have to hand over their diagnosis or medical report, as that's protected by data protection law. When you return to work, you'll also need to show proof of your relationship, such as your family book, a civil partnership certificate or a municipal registration certificate if you live together.

 

The Supreme Court has also rejected extra hurdles, such as asking employees to prove the leave is necessary or that they're the person's carer. It said national regulation "does not require any type of additional control" for this kind of leave.

 

There's one catch. The court has backed a company that removed extra travel days from staff taking the five day leave, because the two benefits can't be combined.

 

 

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