How can paternity leave be divided?

A study has recently been published on how maternity and paternity leave is used in Spain. Let’s remember that, since 2021, these leaves have been equalized with the intention of reducing discrimination between men and women for this cause. Currently, both men and women enjoy 16 weeks of leave after giving birth to a child. The same is true in cases of adoption, foster care or adoption for adoption purposes.

This study reveals that, in most cases, the father takes paternity leave on the same days as the mother. The authors conclude that “only a minority of fathers (around 20%) use the combination that allows greater co-responsibility (taking turns with the mother) and that allows them to assume the role of primary caregiver”. According to data from the same study, approximately 50% of fathers choose to use this leave simultaneously and uninterruptedly, i.e., they take it during the 16 weeks following the birth of their child.

The truth is that paternity or maternity leave is a matter that directly concerns Human Resources Departments. They are in charge of managing these paid leaves within the companies. For this reason, it is necessary to be up to date with all the modifications related to them. In recent years, paternity and maternity leaves have changed a lot, so we are going to review the key points of these leaves in order to better manage them.

What is paternity or maternity leave?

As we have explained, this leave is a right that working parents have after giving birth to a child. This leave also applies in other cases such as adoption, foster care or foster care for adoption purposes. It is a period of time during which the employment contract is temporarily suspended. The purpose of this suspension is for the person in question to devote this time to caring for the new child and to be able to take care of it during its first months of life.

Historically, paternity leave was shorter than maternity leave. This situation has been seen as an inequality for women when it comes to being hired, because if they became pregnant, the employer knew that their time away from the office was greater than that of a man. To put an end to this possible discrimination, the different governments have legislated to achieve an equalization in the time of these leaves. This equalization ended in 2021, when it was determined that both men and women are entitled to the same leave time for having a child: 16 weeks.

How does paternity or maternity leave work?

The duration and time distribution of these leaves is 16 weeks from the birth of the child. However, these weeks do not have to be taken uninterruptedly. The only obligation in these weeks is that the first 6 weeks of leave must be taken uninterrupted and full time. Once these weeks have elapsed, the following 10 weeks can be taken in two ways:

• In a continuous manner to the mandatory period.
• In an interrupted manner. This case is only applicable if both parents work and must be taken in full weeks, i.e., the days cannot be separated into several weeks. The period for these weeks runs from the time the mandatory 6 weeks are completed until the new child reaches 12 months of age.

This is the general rule governing leave for a new child. However, there are exceptional cases that may extend these leaves:

• In cases of multiple births, the leave will be increased by one week from the second child onwards. In other words, if you have twins, the leave will be 17 weeks instead of 16.
• In the event that the new child has a disability, this period will also be increased by one week.
• If the birth is premature or the newborn has to be hospitalized after the birth, the paternity leave will be increased by the days that this hospitalization lasts, with a maximum of 13 weeks of extension.
• In the event of the death of the son or daughter, the period of paternity leave will not be reduced. In other words, the parents will be able to choose to take the 16 weeks of leave. In this case it is necessary to mention that, if they wish, they can request to return to work once the 6 mandatory weeks are over.

Requirements for requesting paternity leave

There are a series of requirements that must be met in order to be entitled to paternity leave for the birth or adoption of a new child. Current legislation establishes the following requirements:

• To be affiliated with the Social Security. This affiliation must be in the condition of registration or, failing that, in a condition assimilated to registration. This assimilated status refers to workers who do not pay contributions even though they are registered with the Social Security. The protection received by both is the same even though the latter is not contributing.
• Not having debts in Social Security contributions.
• To have complied with a minimum contribution period, which varies according to the age of the worker.

In order to determine whether the minimum contribution period has been met, there are three age brackets: those who have not reached 21 years of age, those between 21 and 26 years of age, and those over 26 years of age.

In the first case, there is no minimum contribution requirement if the workers are under 21 years of age on the date of the birth or on the date of the administrative or judicial foster care decision or the judicial decision establishing the adoption.

If we are talking about persons between 21 and 26 years of age on the date of delivery or on the date of the administrative or judicial decision of foster care or of the judicial resolution by which the adoption is constituted, they will have to comply with one of these two requirements:

• 90 days within the 7 years immediately preceding the time of the start of the rest.
• 180 days contributed throughout their working life prior to that date.

Finally, in the case of parents aged 26 or older, the requirements to be met are as follows:

• 180 days within the 7 years immediately preceding the time of the start of the rest.
• 360 days contributed throughout their working life prior to that date.

Do you need help with your company’s labor management?

At Vasalto, we are experts in labor management. We specialize in helping other companies with services such as managing employee registrations and cancellations, outsourcing payroll and all processes related to labor relations management. Our more than 30 years of experience have given us a great expertise in the sector. In addition, we are a company very involved with technology. Throughout these years we have developed a series of proprietary computer systems that allow us to manage more than 40,000 payrolls every month. In addition, we also have the best legal and accounting advice to offer our clients the best possible service.

At Vasalto, we believe that communication between people is fundamental. We make technology available to people, never the other way around. We work with technological automation solutions so that IT takes as much work off our hands as possible. This way, we have more time to dedicate to our clients.

If you are interested in learning more about our labor management services, at Vasalto we will be happy to help you. Contact us to get to know us and see how we can help your company.