As.com Maternal and paternal leave will be extended to six months: this is how it is in the rest of Europe

The Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, has announced that she is working together with the Ministry of Equality, with Irene Montero at the helm, to extend paternity and maternity leave from 4 to 6 months. The current norm establishes that sick leave, both for fathers and mothers, is 16 weeks.

"This Ministry, in collaboration and close work with the Ministry of Equality, we are going to work so that paternity and maternity leave are extended to 6 months", Belarra announced this Wednesday during the act 'Law on Family Diversity and Support for the families.

Remuneration during sick leave

The minister has announced that the law will include a universal child-rearing benefit that "does not depend on the family's current account" and that allows children to be raised "with dignity." According to Belarra, this benefit must be "universal" because "it is the only way to reach all children in the country" and "because the rights of children cannot depend on the current account of the family to which they belong" .

"Our intention is that this benefit does not depend, unlike the existing ones, on issues such as social security contributions and must be compatible with other benefits that are granted for other different reasons," she stressed. In addition, the minister pointed out in an interview in Al Rojo Vivo de la Sexta that the benefit should "be discussed for the next General State Budgets (PGE) for 2022".

Maternity and paternity leave in other European countries

According to 20minutes, each European country applies a specific duration for maternity and paternity leave. For example, the UK has a maternity leave of 52 weeks, although only the first 39 weeks are paid. In the case of fathers, they will be able to opt for a paid paternity leave of one or two weeks.

In France, the permit works based on the number of children that the mother has previously had. For the first and second child, the Gallic country grants leave six weeks before delivery and ten after it, while if it is a third child it is granted eight weeks before delivery and 18 after, 26 in total. In the event that twins are born, France grants a permit of 12 weeks before the birth and 22 after it, numbers that are extended to 24 and 22, respectively, if more than two children are born in one birth.

In Portugal, the sick leave is 120 consecutive days that can be extended to 150, while in Italy mothers have two months sick leave before giving birth and three months after it. Currently, the European country with the highest number of weeks of maternity leave is Bulgaria, with 58.

Maternity and paternity leave by country in Europe

Slovenia: 15 weeks

Belgium: 15 weeks

Austria: 16 weeks

Latvia: 16 weeks

Finland: 17 weeks

Romania: 18 weeks

Malta: 18 weeks

Lithuania: 18 weeks

Denmark: 18 weeks

Cyprus: 18 weeks

Luxembourg: 20 weeks

Estonia: 20 weeks

Poland: 20 weeks

Hungary: 24 weeks

Czechia: 28 weeks

Croatia: 28 weeks

Slovakia: 34 weeks

Ireland: 42 weeks

Bulgaria: 58 weeks