Single parents should get as much paid leave as married couples, Spanish court rules

Single parents in Spain can claim the same amount of paid parental leave as married couples, according to the ruling of the regional court, in the case one that could be a game changer for single-child families in the country.

The decision, made this month by a court in the southeastern region of Murcia, was the first to follow a November ruling by Spain’s constitutional court that prohibits discrimination against children born into single-parent families.

“The duration and intensity of the need for care and treatment of newborns is the same regardless of the model of the family they are born into,” the constitutional court wrote in its decision, which was cited by the regional court.

In practice, this means that single parents can request the same amount of paid leave that Spanish couples get – six weeks of leave that must be taken together, plus an additional 10 for parents. -each parent, 16 weeks per parent. For single parents, they are entitled to an additional 32 weeks of paid leave, according to regional court orders.

Carla Vall, a lawyer based in Barcelona who specializes in gender, said that new parents in other parts of Spain can cite the decision of the Murcia court to apply for the benefits . “Now, this doctrine means that the rest of the court will accept this reading of the right,” he said in a telephone interview.

Human rights minister Pablo Bustinduy described the decision as “good news and a victory for civil society after years of struggle and demands.”

The ruling brings Spain into line with growing efforts to standardize the amount of leave for single parents and couples, joining European countries such as Finland, Germany and Sweden, in addition to Australia.

Spain, which has the lowest fertility rate in the European Union, has for decades tried to encourage more births, including by offering incentives such as tax cuts and allowances for of children — less successful. Spain has also recently increased paternity leave.

“What Spain has done is compare vacation and paternity leave, which is not very common,” said Peter Moss, emeritus professor at University College London who studied parental leave, and added: “They equated the two.”

Single parents make up one in 10 families in Spain, according to government data. There were about 1.9 million single-person households in 2020, according to the latest government report, 81 percent of which were single-person households.

In light of this, many in Spain hailed the regional court’s ruling as a step forward for gender equality in a country where on average 24,400 euros the salary for women, or about 25,000 dollars per year, compared to 29,400 euros for men, according to the government. figures.

In its decision, the court cited 2023 government data showing that 53 percent of single-person households are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 27 percent of all households.

The case was brought to court by Silvia Pardo Moreno, 44 ​​years old, who joined the ranks of single mothers in January 2022, when she gave birth to a girl in Murcia. Ms Pardo, a part-time worker at an emergency services company, has asked for 32 weeks of social security leave, saying her daughter should receive the same care as her peers. .

Ms. Pardo’s request was denied. So she left her 4-month-old daughter in daycare, only to return to work after 16 weeks.

“There were no children in foster care that year, because others have the right to keep their parents longer,” he said in an interview after the ruling.

Mrs. Pardo went to court but lost. He then appealed, sending his case to the district court. This time the court ruled in his favor.

Ms. Vall, the lawyer, said that “this example gives the single mother extra coverage, because it gives her four extra months that she knows she won’t be fired from her job.

“When a single woman decides to become a mother, the difference is whether she has to entrust the care of her child to someone else, like a nanny?” Miss Vall added. “Somebody has to take care of the child. and the woman must be protected. In the first year of life, when this mother really needs help, this benefit is very useful.”

Ms. Pardo said she did not know how the court would compensate her for her time. But she knows she can’t go back to those early weeks with her daughter, who turns 3 on Friday.

“I’m running out of time, especially,” he said. “When my daughter needed me the most, she couldn’t have me.”