Follow Spanish Investment Immigration and Life in Spain as it unfolds: mothers have parental leave, and in this gender-equal society, young fathers must also take on the task of changing diapers. Although they cannot breastfeed, the responsibilities of caring for infants remain significant. Therefore, many years ago, it was proposed in Spain that fathers should also have the right to enjoy parental leave!
This week, the Minister of Public Affairs and Housing officially confirmed that Spain will soon amend the decree to allow men to enjoy parental leave.
Spain is one of the few countries in Europe that has proposed that men should have parental leave, but due to the low percentage of Spanish men participating in household chores, it has not been prioritized. Recently, social attitudes have changed; young fathers are exhausted from their new roles, and it has been mentioned that caring for a newborn is not just about feeding; young fathers must also participate in childcare to experience the joy of parenthood. However, due to work commitments, childcare has always been a challenge for young parents, especially if both are employed, as hiring a nanny can be quite expensive. Young parents may even hesitate to have children.
To alleviate the concerns of young parents, the government has decided to grant young fathers corresponding "parental leave." Of course, the parental leave for fathers differs from that of mothers; fathers can take time off in various ways before the child turns one year old. The most common method is to shorten daily working hours. Many large companies and government enterprises allow new mothers to reduce their daily working hours or to have flexible work schedules, increasing work hours on certain days to have more consecutive days at home to care for the child. With the new law, young fathers will also be able to enjoy this benefit.
For new fathers, regardless of whether their wives are employed, they can apply for parental leave. If the wife is unemployed at home, it does not affect the father's application for parental leave. However, if both spouses are employed, they cannot both enjoy parental leave simultaneously; for a working couple with one child, only one parent can take parental leave.