Equal parental leave approved in Spain

NEW fathers in Spain have an added reason to celebrate the arrival of their little bundles of joy, now that Spanish congress has voted to extend paid paternity leave from 13 days to 16 weeks. 

As a result of the decision, fathers are now entitled to the same amount of time off work as their partners. Under current Spanish law, women can take 16 weeks off after giving birth, and have the option of transferring up to 10 weeks over to the father. However, surveys have indicated that only 1.8 per cent of Spanish fathers actually take advantage of this option.

The proposal to extend paternity leave has been bounced around amongst various parties dating back to 2009, and finally managed to break through thanks to Podemos, who argued that the previous law was essentially an example of gender discrimination.