The workers of Human Resources They are the ones who know it best: the labor market has punished mothers for a maternity law that reserved the right and obligation to be absent from work to care for children, only to women. The new paternity leaves that were approved in the 2019 plan equate paternity and maternity leave and leave parents the choice of how to distribute these days of leave.
The goal is to pass laws that encourage fathers to obtain paternity leave similar to that of mothers. Thus, when a woman of childbearing age tries to look for work, she does not encounter companies' fear of maternity leave, which is lower for men. Equalize parental leave allows father and mother to obtain the same benefits and similar opportunities in the labor market. Human Resources technicians must be aware of all these new measures that change the employment landscape in Spain.
Paternity leave in Spain
The history of paternity leave in Spain is very recent. And it was in 2007 when it was implemented (with 2 weeks). Previously, parents had only 2 days of leave for the birth of a child. After a slight reform in 2017, In 2019, paternity leave was extended to 8 weeks for fathers. The first two weeks, in addition, are considered a non-transferable right and must be complied with.
In the paternity leave reform in 2019, a plan was also approved that equates paternity and maternity benefits. In this way, in 2020 parental permission has been extended to 12 weeks with 6 of them mandatory and in 2021 it is intended to equal paternity leave with maternal leave, counting on 16 weeks of leave, of which 6 would remain mandatory.
Paternity leave is also applicable in the case of adoption.
The Scandinavian model
Countries like Norway, Sweden or Iceland have a model that equates the weeks of sick leave of the father and mother. In Sweden there are a total of 16 weeks (480 days) available to parents.
The State is responsible for paying the salary of the employee who is on paternity leave. Although in Spain it is also the State that takes care of the employee's salary, these long-term permits are difficult to apply, since the Scandinavian countries are also capable of raising a lot of money in taxes that they invest in all kinds of social benefits. If we pursued this model, we would do it in every way.
In the following video, David Pallarés talks about paternity leave in Sweden.
In other European countries, such as Slovakia, parental leave is divided between 28 weeks for the father and 34 available for the mother. However, this permission can be transferred to any person who is in charge of caring for the child, even if there is no family relationship.
The option of each house
Even in countries where father and mother have the same number of days of leave to share, It is still mothers who enjoy this leave the most. This is a free choice for each house and we must also take into account that there is a tendency to reduce this inequality.
The laws cannot support this preference but rather be intended to leave give families freedom how they organize their paternal and maternal leave.
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