The Eight-Week Parental Leave in Spain: What It Is and How It Affects Employers

A new right transposed from the EU directive

Royal Decree-law 5/2023 transposed EU Directive 2019/1158 on work-life balance into Spanish law. Among its novelties is a parental leave of up to eight weeks, set out in Article 48 bis of the Workers Statute, distinct from birth and childcare leave.

Who qualifies

Workers may take it for the care of a child or a minor in long-term foster care (over one year), until the child turns eight years old. It is an individual right of each parent and is not transferable to the other. Its maximum duration is eight weeks, taken continuously or in blocks, full-time or part-time.

Parental leave is each worker own right; the employer cannot refuse it, although it may be postponed for justified reasons stated in writing.

How it is requested and taken

• The worker must give notice as set by the collective agreement or, failing that, ten days in advance.
• It can be split into weekly periods and combined with reduced hours.
• Record the dates in writing to integrate them into the work calendar.

Interaction with time tracking

During parental leave, the days or weeks of absence must appear in the working-time record and in shift planning. If taken part-time, the clock-in system must adapt to the new reduced schedule. Keeping this traceability avoids miscalculations and eases justification before the Labour Inspectorate.

Employer obligations

1. Inform staff of the right and its procedure.
2. Reinstate the worker in the same position once the leave ends.
3. Ensure that exercising the right causes no harm or discrimination.
4. State in writing any justified postponement.

With RegulaKit you can manage leave requests, calculate their impact on the calendar and keep time records consistent. If you are unsure about the consequences of poor absence management, check our penalty calculator.

Differences from other leaves

It should not be confused with birth leave (16 weeks) or the five-day paid leave for hospitalisation or accident of relatives. Parental leave, in its current wording, is paid in line with recent reforms; always review the version in force and your collective agreement.