We are showing to you today the legal measures under the Act for family-work conciliation including the new legal features for the effective equality of men and women. We are such a modern country! It was time to be!! XXI Century is the one of women.
WORKING DAYS, it is recognised the right to be able to adapt the duration and distribution of the working day, in order to conciliate the personal and familiar life with the labour one.
This adaptation of the working day will be done according to what is established in the Collective Agreements or by agreement with the company.
In terms of PERMISSIONS (LEAVE):
A new 2-day remunerated permission (leave) is created in cases of operation without hospitalization of relatives up to a second degree of consanguinity or affinity, whenever domiciliary rest is needed. If moving or travelling is necessary, the permission (leave) will be of 4 days.
The duration of nursing (breastfeeding) permission, will be increased proportionally in cases of multiple childbirth and it will be possible to be benefited from it by accumulating it into whole working days according to the terms anticipated in the Collective Negotiation or by agreement with the company.
The working day could be reduced to one-eighth (before one-third) and one half to take care of a minor eight years old (before six years) or handicapped person, with the proportional diminution of the wage.
VACATIONS
Vacations might be enjoyed in a different date despite the natural year that they correspond to, has finished, if they coincide with a temporary incapacity derived from pregnancy, childbirth or natural nursing (breastfeeding) or with the maternity rest.
LEAVE
Workers either male or FEMALE that have worked for the company at least one year might request a voluntary leave for a minimum term of 4 months (The minimum was two years).
It is now recognised the possibility to benefit from a fragmented leave for the sake of a son’s or daughter’s care and that of any relative up to a second degree of consanguinity or affinity.
The leave of absence for a son or daughter’s care is extended to the assumptions of provisional taking in.
The leave of absence for a family member’s care might be as up to 2 years (before 1 year)
The leave of absence for a handicapped son, daughter or family member’s, up to a second degree of consanguinity or affinity, care will be deemed as a quoted period.
WORK CONTRACT SUSPENSION
The following new causes for a work contract suspension are established:
- Paternity leaves.
- Risk situation during the nursing (breastfeeding) period of a minor of nine months.
- Simple “take in” not inferior to one year leaves.
- Leaves for adoption and “take in” of minors older than 6 years, if they are disabled, or have properly credited special difficulties for family or social insertion.
MATERNITY LEAVE
Either the father or other mother of the recently born child might benefit from the Childbirth Maternity Leaves if the mother dies, despite this last was not carrying out any remunerated work.
The mother will be able to benefit from the maternity as up to the conclusion of the sixteen weeks leave if the daughter or son dies.
Either the father or mother, who is benefiting from childbirth maternity leave, yielded to him/her by the mother might keep benefiting from it although the mother does not return to her job due to a temporary situation of incapacity.
The extension of the maternity leave as up to 13 weeks is established in cases of premature childbirth, and in those in which the new born needs to be hospitalized for more than seven days after childbirth.
The maternity leave is extended for 2 more weeks in cases of incapacity of the daughter or son, or the adopted minor or “took in”.
The requirements of quotation for the recognition of the economic maternity benefit (aid) are made flexible:
No minimum period of quotation is required to any worker, man or female younger than 21 years.
90 days of minimum quotation within the last 7 years or 180 quotation days of their entire working life will be required to any worker, man or female between 21 and 26 years old.
If older than 26 years it will be required 180 days of the 7 immediate previous years, or 360 days of all their working life.
Furthermore, the worker (female) in case of childbirth, who does not meet the period of quotation required accordingly to her age, will be entitled to benefit from an economic aid of 42 days.
When someone is benefiting from the maternity leave and if the work contract is about to expire or expired, the aid will be continue to be received until its conclusion, and after that the unemployment aid might be received as long as all the requirements are met.
If someone is unemployed, the time considered in the maternity leave will not be discounted from maternity aid
PATERNITY LEAVE
Paternity leave are recognised as a right , independent to that of the mother, and it is comprised of 13 uninterrupted days in case of a son or daughter birth, adoption or take in, which is added to the already existing leave of 2 days or to the improvement of the existing aid established in the collective agreement.
Under the assumption of multiple childbirths, adoptions or take ins, this period will be extended in 2 more days for each daughter or son as from the second child.
Along with the maternity leave the paternity leave might be exercised simultaneously with that of the other father or mother or once it is concluded, and, in both cases, in either full or part time.
Six years after the approval of this Law, the paternity leave will be of 4 weeks.
Under the assumption of childbirth it corresponds exclusively to the other father or mother.
In case of adoption or take in, it will correspond exclusively to the election of one or the other.
The economic benefit for paternity consists of a subsidy equivalent to the 100% of the corresponding regulating base.
In order to claim the right of the economic benefit for paternity, it is required to have credited a minimum period of quotation of 180 days in the seven previous years, or 360 days throughout all the working life, regardless of any consideration of age.
When someone is benefiting from the Paternity leave and if the work contract is about to expire or expired, the aid will be continue to be received until its conclusion, and after that the unemployment aid might be received as long as all the requirements are met.
If someone is unemployed, the time considered in the paternity leave will not be discounted from paternity aid.
During the paternity leave its beneficiary must continue quoting his/her Social Security.
This new paternity leave will benefit those parents with births, adoptions and “take ins”, that take place as of the 24th of March of 2007, date of entrance in force of the Law for the Equality.
The most recent addition in this field is that the paternity permission (leave) will be increased to a month this legislature.
The paternity permission will be extended throughout this legislature from the two present weeks to four. This is one of the policies that the minister of Equality, Bibiana Aído, announced in Congress, like keys to eliminate the sex discrimination in the labour market.
Head of the Commission of Equality mainly formed by women, the minister of Equality advanced these policies of her department for this legislature.
The minister said that she would work in coordination with other ministries and in particular with that of Work and Immigration, to which she will be united for more than one legislative project.
Aído assured that ‘if the rate of activity of women reached that of men (20 points underneath), the GIP volume of Spain would be 19% higher. The challenge of the legislature is not only that more and more women have opportunity to work, but also that young people incorporating to the work market might do it without having to resign to their maternity’.
In this sense the maternity permission will be extended from 16 weeks to 18 as for the birth of a second child in the case of one-parent families, and to 20 weeks as for the third child. In addition, the paternity permission will pass from two to four weeks throughout the legislature.
The minister also will have to reach an agreement with the Work Ministry regarding the domestic service workers objective, which is looking forward to incorporating these workers to the general regime of the Social Security.
Furthermore, she will try to impulse within Work and Social Security ministry, specialized units in the advising and prevention of the discrimination in work.
Also Aído will take to the “social dialogue tables” the equality plans discussion that will affect companies with 250 employees or more. For this kind of companies, Aído announced the commitment to promote ' women formation and promotion programs for entrepreneurial direction and management. Aído reminded the congress the law of equal treatment that her ministry prepare, to join that of Genre Violence and Equality approved the past legislature: ' they will locate Spain in the international anti-discrimination' rights vanguard’ looking forward to eradicating the exclusion for reasons like age or race.
RISK DURING PREGNANCY
The economic aid for risk during pregnancy is improved, and happens to be 100% of the regulating base (before it was of 75%).
RISK DURING NURSING (BREASTFEEDING)
With this law, the risk during nursing (breastfeeding) period of a son or daughter younger than nine months is recognised, and thus it is credited, when the conditions of work could influence negatively the health of the mother, daughter or son.
This situation might, if appropriate, bring about a change to a job free of risk or to the suspension of the work contract.
Under the assumption of suspension of the contract for this cause, an economic benefit is been established created, and it consists of an economic aid equivalent to that foresaw for risk during pregnancy.
This aid concludes at the moment in which the daughter or son reaches nine months of age, or when the beneficiary returns to the work.
The time during which the beneficiary receives this aid, will be continue to be quoted to the Social Security.
WORKING HOURS/DAYS
The right to adapt the duration and distribution of the working day to conciliate the personal and familiar life with the working one is recognised in this law.
This adjustment of the day will be done in the ways and forms settled in the collective negotiation or by agreement with the company.
Written by
Maria de Castro
Lawyer
Maria de Castro is a Spanish Lawyer and the Director of the Law Firm www.costaluzlawyers.es.