After several failed attempts, and five years later than planned, we can finally announce this small step towards reconciliation and equality. The Government of Spain has confirmed this afternoon that paternity leave is extended to one month.
Currently parents have two weeks of permission, but as of January 1, 2017 it is extended in two more weeks, that is a total of four weeks, both in cases of birth, as well as adoption and foster care. If you are about to be a father, you can spend more time with your baby when he is born or comes home.
The expansion was attempted in 2011, but with the arrival of the crisis, it was finally filed at the bottom of a drawer. It was paralyzed after approving the General State Budgets of that year.
Many criticize the measure. The Platform for Equal and Non-Transferable Birth and Adoption Permits (PPiiNA) has said that the approval of the extension five years after the date it should enter into force "implies a setback" and that the measure is "insufficient and bad designed. "
Considers that it does not allow "equal rights of fathers and mothers", since the four weeks must be uninterrupted, so the father cannot make use of the two weeks of extension in a different period than the mother does. That is can't take turns with the mother to cover a longer period of time with the baby.
It's enough?
It is a great advance, although it represents a quarter of the maternity leave, which is currently 16 weeks, far from the equality between both permits that are so claimed.
Parents are now taken the first two weeks after birth or adoption. The extension would allow an extension of this period, unable to use those two additional weeks to replace the mother when she returned to her job.
Late, but it has arrived. From January, Spanish parents will be able to enjoy more time with their newborn children, something that is appreciated when the arrival of a baby revolutionizes the lives of parents and there are so many things to organize. And of course, because that timeshare is essential to create a solid emotional bond with your children.
