How much time do they have on maternity and paternity leave in other countries of the world?

Maternity leave in Spain is currently four months (16 weeks), a period of time that is being considered to be extended to six months (24 weeks), as explained by the Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, in an act where he gave the first guidelines of the new family diversity law.

The extension of maternity leave in our country would become effective with the approval of this new rule, taking into account that this leave would also be extended for paternity leave in Spain, which right now is equal to that of mothers and it is 16 weeks.

Maternity leaves are regulated by different regulations in the different European countries and in the world, since each one of them applies a general duration for the leave of both fathers and mothers, some with a period of more or less weeks in comparison. with Spain.

Is it okay with you to extend birth leave to six months from the current 16 weeks?

United Kingdom

In this country, maternity leave, known as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), lasts 52 weeks, although only the first 39 weeks are paid, so the mother could rest for another 13 weeks, but without receiving benefits. , as explained on the UK Government website.

Maternity leave is compulsory for two weeks or four weeks if the mother works in a factory. The father has paid paternity leave of 1 or 2 weeks, but when the mothers have completed the first two weeks of compulsory leave, they can transfer the remaining 50 weeks to the father, just as they can transfer a total of 37 weeks of benefit.

France

In the case of France, maternity leave, known as Congé de Maternité, varies depending on the number of children the mother has previously had or whether it is a multiple birth. So, this is the duration of the different permissions:

In addition, as stated in the French Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, as of July 1, 2021, fathers will be able to benefit from paternity leave that will be 25 calendar days or 32 calendar days in the case of multiple births. .

Portugal

On the other hand, paternity leave in Portugal is currently 120 consecutive days, that is, four months. However, this period can be extended to 150 consecutive days (five months), where there are 30 additional days of sick leave that can be enjoyed simultaneously by the father and the mother.

An additional 30 days of leave can be added to both periods when each parent exclusively enjoys a period of 30 days in a row or two periods of 15 days in a row, after the mandatory period for the mother, which is 42 days. These 30 days can also be added for the birth of twins, according to the Portuguese Social Security website.

Italy

In the case of Italy, periods of maternity and paternity leave are mandatory. Women have 2 months of sick leave before the birth and three months of sick leave after the birth, although these periods can be made more flexible. In total, there are 5 months of maternity leave, according to the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale. In the event of a twin birth, the duration of maternity leave does not change.

maternity leave in other countries

These are the weeks of maternity leave available to parents in other European countries: