We solve doubts about paternity leave 28 Comments

The extension of paternity leave with the aim of equalizing it with maternity leave has caused some doubts to arise when it comes to enjoying both leaves for the birth of a child. We solve doubts about paternity leave

Doubts about paternity leave

1. How many days of paternity leave are there now?

Although in general, we continue to talk about paternity leave and maternity or maternity leave and parental leave, since April 2019 the correct name of both paid leaves is leave for birth and care of the child: a leave that from 2021 (when equal in duration the leave of the mother and of the parent other than the biological mother) will equalize the rights of both parents.

With the extension of paternity leave in April 2019, the two-day leave for the birth of a child that was previously contemplated by the Workers' Statute was eliminated.

2. Are there more days of leave if the baby has a disability or more than one child is born?

Yes, paternity leave is extended by one more week (going to 13 weeks in 2020 and 17 in 2021) if the baby has a disability, and one more week for each child after the second in case of adoption, foster care or multiple birth. Before the extension of paternity leave, in these cases maternity leave was extended by two weeks, now the two weeks are shared between both parents, except in the case of a single-parent family.

3. Is it compulsory to take every week of paternity leave?

The rest of the weeks are not compulsory. In other words, the worker, both men and women, can choose to enjoy them or not (the normal thing, and desirable for the baby, is that they do so).

4. What happens if the baby is admitted to the hospital?

If the baby remains in the hospital after delivery, because it is premature or because it has health problems, the mandatory weeks of paternity leave can be taken after discharge (the mother, however, cannot postpone her leave, because she must take the first 6 weeks to recover from childbirth).

In the event that the baby remains hospitalized for more than 7 days, the permit is extended by as many days as the baby is hospitalized, up to a maximum of 13 additional weeks.

5. How many weeks of sick leave can the mother transfer to the father?

In the Basque Country, parents can already enjoy 16 weeks of leave, as long as the baby is not enrolled in a nursery. The 4 weeks not yet covered by Social Security are covered by the Basque Government.

6. How much is charged during the leave for birth and care of the minor? Are there withholdings?

During childbirth and care leave, Social Security pays the worker 100% of the salary base. The regulatory base is a daily base that is obtained by dividing the gross salary into 30 days. To calculate how much is paid, it is then multiplied by the days of sick leave. Be careful, so that you do your accounts, keep in mind that it includes the proportional part of the extraordinary payments, which means that when you go back to work you will not receive part of the pay.

To calculate the benefit, look at the payroll of the month prior to the birth of the child

This benefit for birth or child care is exempt from personal income tax withholding after a Supreme Court ruling of October 3, 2018, which ruled that "Public maternity benefits received from Social Security are exempt from Personal Income Tax Physics”. Later, the Treasury extended the exemption to paternity leave.

7.How can you take paternity leave? Is it true that you can take the separate weeks?

Once the mandatory weeks have been taken, the rest of the sick leave can be taken in consecutive or interrupted weeks until the baby is 12 months old.

In principle, the worker is the one who decides when she takes these weeks (for example, she can leave them to facilitate her family balance on vacation, Easter, etc.).

The Workers' Statute indicates as a requirement to enjoy the installment leave that "The enjoyment of each weekly period or, where appropriate, the accumulation of said periods, must be communicated to the company at least 15 days in advance."

The Law only contemplates a situation to limit the enjoyment of these permits: in the event that both parents work for the same company, the business management may limit their simultaneous exercise for well-founded and objective reasons, duly motivated in writing.

8. And if the paternity leave coincides with the company's vacation period, are the vacations lost?

This is something that used to happen many years ago, but currently if the leave for birth or care of the child coincides with the company's vacation period, because for example it closes or it is a school, etc., the vacations not taken are not lose but can be enjoyed in a different period.

9. How is the paternity leave of the self-employed?

The paternity leave of the self-employed has the same duration as that of employed workers.

During the duration of the permit, the worker has a 100% discount on the self-employed quota.

To calculate the benefit, the contribution bases of the six months prior to the withdrawal are looked at.

10. Can you take part-time leave?

The law contemplates the possibility of enjoying the non-compulsory weeks of leave for birth and care of a minor part-time, provided that a prior agreement is reached with the company and this option has been communicated at least 15 days in advance.

If an agreement is reached, with a part-time permit in the 8 non-compulsory weeks that parents have in 2020, for 16 weeks the father could work part-time and dedicate the other half to caring for his son.

11. What happens if the baby is born during the Coronavirus Alarm State?

The royal decree laws that regulate the State of Alarm for Coronavirus do not say anything about work licenses.

Yes, the deadlines for processing the procedures of public sector entities have been suspended, but the child care permit is a permit, not a term subject to an administrative or judicial term and, therefore, this suspension does not affect it. .

Unless otherwise approved, the first compulsory weeks (4 in the case of the father and 6 in the case of the mother) will be enjoyed as soon as the baby is born and the rest can continue to be enjoyed in installments.

12. What happens if the benefit for the birth of a child is being collected and the company makes an ERTE due to the state of alarm?

An ERTE supposes the suspension of the contract for a certain time or the reduction of working hours for a justified cause.

On the other hand, when a worker is collecting unemployment and has a child, the unemployment benefit is temporarily suspended and the childbirth benefit is collected.

Therefore, if a worker who is receiving a benefit for the birth of a child is affected by an ERTE, he will continue to collect this benefit until it ends and then, if he continues to be unemployed, he will continue to collect the unemployment benefit.

The situations in questions 11 and 12 apply equally to maternity leave. You can expand information in this article on the permission for the birth of a child in the state of alarm.

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