New parents in Spain now have additional time to bond with their bundle of joy, as new legislation, passed in 2025 and retroactive since August 2024, allows for 17 weeks of paid family leave plus an additional two weeks to be used prior to the child’s 8th birthday.
Since 2017, partners who become parents have experienced increasingly progressive equality in the number of weeks they can take after the birth of a baby. As of 2021, the self-employed and adoptive parents and surrogates are also entitled to benefits. And now, those paid weeks of leave have increased to give more favor to single parents.
Knowing what you are entitled to as a new parent can help you navigate the permiso de maternidad or permiso de paternidad and the changes in your postpartum life.
The latest changes in parental leave in Spain were announced and codified into law in July 2025 and are retroactive from August 2, 2024.
The biggest change – and the one that affects parents – is paid leave, which has been increased from 16 to 19 weeks paid leave for each parent and to 32 weeks for single parents; 28 of those weeks must be taken in the first year.
One of those weeks (two, in the case of single parents) must be taken within the first 12 months of birth or adoption. What stays the same is that the first six weeks must be taken by all caregivers immediately following the birth or adoption and on a full-time, uninterrupted basis; the remaining two weeks can be taken flexibly up until the child is 8 years old.
As a retroactive law, families with children born after August 1, 2024, can take advantage of the additional weeks and can be claimed now through the social security system.
In addition, parents can take up to eight weeks of unpaid leave before a child turns eight. This type of leave is more flexible, as it can be taken part- or full-time and over several periods, and the employee cannot be terminated. That said, the employer must agree to your leave and retains the right to delay the leave if your departure causes organizational issues.
How long is family leave in Spain?
As outlined above, Parents – as well as surrogates and adoptive parents – can enjoy 17 weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave in Spain during the first year but there are some notable caveats.
To qualify for leave, the parent must be registered in the social security office (dada de alta) and have made contributions for at least 180 days in the last seven years or 360 days throughout their working life. A parent who is employed by a company (cuenta ajena) is entitled to 100% of wages during this period.
The first six weeks immediately following the baby’s birth must be respected by both parents; after this date, each parent can decide how and when to take the time, even nonconsecutively, until the baby reaches their first birthday. Remember, there are two additional weeks that can be taken up until the child’s eighth birthday for each parent.
In the case of multiples, each child born from the second baby will tack on 15 more days of leave; children born with disabilities are also given an additional 15 days. If a child needs to be in intensive care for more than one week immediately after birth, each parent will get the equivalent number of days, up to 13 weeks.
Those carrying the child can also choose to start maternity leave from the thirty-sixth of gestation; if her job puts her pregnancy at risk, she may be able to go earlier with a doctor’s recommendation.
If a mother wants to take off additional time past the 16 weeks, she has two options: she may take a reducción de jornada until the child is twelve years of age, which will result in a reduction in salary according to the percentage of hours worked, or she may take an exidencia. The latter would be unpaid leave for up to three years; the company must keep the worker on during this time, but after one year your employer is not obligated to offer you your previous position. It’s important to note that the mother still earns days towards retirement and is considered to be contributing to social security.
Just because a mother ends her maternity leave doesn’t mean that nursing or bottle-feeding ceases; Spanish employers must make concessions by law to allow one family member to care for a child for up to one hour a day. These parameters remain unchanged under the new royal decree.
Lactation permission comes in one of three forms:
Speak with your supervisor and HR about the reducción de jornada and lactancia and how you plan to use this time; if you choose to express milk during the day, ask where you will be able to do so comfortably and with an outlet, should you need it.
When I returned to work with my first, I chose to take the lactation period out of my day. But pumping at work was stressful for me and I eventually switched to working from home full-time, so I chose to take 15 days with my second. I communicated this to the HR department as soon as I’d made the choice so that they could start planning accordingly for my reincorporation.
Parents of multiple live births receive an additional two weeks of leave per child from the second baby.
Self-employed parents now enjoy the same rights as those who are employed via a company, so long as they have contributed to social security for the same minimums and their payments are up to date; this remains unchanged under the new law.
Self-employed mothers are exempt from paying their monthly Social Security contributions for the first two years, though they can choose to delay this permission for up to one year after the birth of their child.
The process for applying for family leave is the same – whether or not you are the baby’s biological mother or father, whether you are fostering or adopting. The first step you should take is to register the baby’s birth at the Civil Registry and have this reflected in the family book; this must be done within eight days of the baby’s birth.
Following this, make an appointment at the nearest provincial Delegación de la Seguridad Social and bring the following:
In the case of an adoption, you must also furnish:
Check with your HR team to see if they’ve already sent your paycheck stubs and a certificado de empresa stating your seniority and other details.
Each parent or caregiver must make a separate appointment. When my children were born, my employer took care of informing the INSS that I had given birth by facilitating both hospital discharge records, my last three paycheck stubs and a certificate with my employee history. If you are employed by a company, ask your HR department about their procedures.
If you are employed by a company, Social Security pays 100% of your wages during your leave. If you are self-employed, you will be paid 100% of the average daily amount you have earned in the last six months.
Remember, if you have a digital certificate, you can provide this information through the INSS portal.
Working mothers or caregivers in Spain receive a monthly tax rebate of 100€ until the child reaches three years of age. This money can be taken as a monthly payout or applied to a tax declaration; some autonomous communities provided additional financial help for mothers or caregivers.
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Though maternity and paternity leave in Spain is far behind its European counterparts, great strides have been made in the last five years to include other family members and balance the way that families can plan their leave. Don’t forget to add family leave planning into your discussions before the baby is born so that you can maximize baby snuggles and take full advantage of your rights as parents or caregivers.
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