Changes in paternity and maternity leave in 2022: duration and how to request it

The Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, announced her intention to extend paternity and maternity leave from 4 to 6 months, although her proposal was excluded from the Budgets.

This will be the new paternity and maternity leave

The maternity and paternity leave for the year 2022 remains at 16 weeks for both the mother and the father, pending possible modifications that may be produced by the proposals mentioned above. In addition, it is possible to request the permit in successive periods : by law, the enjoyment of the first 6 weeks of sick leave after the birth of the minor is mandatory , but later it can be requested in various desired periods until the baby's first year of life. .

Belarra added that another objective of the proposed law is to adapt the legislation "to a social reality that is already diverse." "With a child-rearing benefit, we want to guarantee better living conditions to advance against child poverty, " said the minister, "because the rights of children cannot depend on the current account of their families , but rather it is a matter of state." .

How to apply for maternity and paternity leave

In the event that you are interested in making use of this service, you can do so through the Internet with the Clave system, a digital certificate or electronic DNI, as well as by accessing the 'Tu Seguridad Social' portal or go in person by appointment. prior, to the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) and submit the application.

Due to the high demand and the lack of face-to-face appointments, it is best to apply electronically: the 'Tu Seguridad Social' portal can simulate the first period in which the withdrawal is requested, in addition to the amount of the benefit corresponding to the person requesting it. If you wish to request the entire cancellation in the same period, you can do it through this portal, while, if you wish in several successive periods, 'Your Social Security' can carry out this process, although some affected assure that at the moment to request a new successive period have not been able from this platform. For this reason, it will be necessary to carry out all the procedures again - notice to the company and request to Social Security through this link -.

In some cases, the company certificate will be necessary with the dates on which the person will obtain the benefit of this leave. Once requested, Social Security generates a PDF with a reference number to check the status of the request through its website. Both fathers and mothers must be patient for the arrival of the benefit, which in several cases this year has been waiting for three to six months.

The application, the family book, the DNI of the father or the mother (depending on the applicant) and the certificate of the company where the start date of the work suspension must be reflected must be printed. In addition, the applicant must carry other documents that serve to expand the information such as the large family card . Once the request has been made, a maximum of 30 days is established for the Managing Entity to contact the applicant.

This is how maternity and paternity leave are in other European countries

Each European country applies a specific duration for maternity and paternity leave.

The UK has 52 weeks maternity leave, 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 depending on the number of children that the mother has previously had . For the first and second child , the country grants six weeks of leave before delivery and ten after it , if it is a third child, 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 , sick leave is for 120 consecutive days with the option to extend it up to 150 , while in Italy mothers have two months sick leave before giving birth and three months after it.

Bulgaria is currently the European country with the highest number of weeks of maternity leave, with 58.