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Spain grants double parental leave to single parents
The Spanish court ruled that it’s “discriminatory” to deny a child from a single-parent household extra caregiving time
In a landmark decision, Spain’s Constitutional Court (TC) has ruled that single parents are entitled to the same parental leave benefits as couples, effectively doubling the amount of time a single parent can take off work after the birth of a child.
This ruling comes after a major reform to Spain’s Family Law in February, which introduced additional subsidies, increased parental leave and more generous family benefits. However, one significant gap remained: the law failed to address the needs of the nearly two million single-parent families in the country.
The Spanish courts have now corrected this oversight, declaring it unconstitutional for single parents to be denied double parental leave. The court emphasised that the previous law discriminated against children born into single-parent households by denying them the same amount of time off for caregiving that children in two-parent families enjoy.
The decision has been widely welcomed, especially by Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, which sees this ruling as a step toward greater equality for single-parent families.
Additionally, the ruling pointed out that this policy disproportionately affects women, as the majority of single parents in Spain are mothers.
Under the reforms, all parents are entitled to 16 weeks of paid leave, which is mandatory for the first six weeks after birth. However, this leave is non-transferable, meaning that only one parent can take it. In dual-parent households, this allows for up to 32 weeks of care time, but single parents were left with just 16 weeks, creating a stark inequality.
However, there is still some confusion about how the ruling will be applied and changes to the Family Law are ongoing. Unless explicit alterations are made to the regulations, something that is being pushed by the Ministry of Social Rights, the court's decision mandates that single parents be allowed to extend their leave from 16 to 26 weeks, adding 10 more weeks of caregiving time, not doubling it.
This is because, under the current law, the first six weeks must be excluded from this calculation, which both parents must necessarily enjoy uninterruptedly and after birth.
Image: Freepik
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