- Birth and childcare leave grows by three weeks for each parent.
- Single-parent families get a longer leave, with twice as many voluntary weeks.
- Companies must reorganise cover and review requests, including for earlier births.
On 29 July 2025 the Council of Ministers approved Royal Decree-law 9/2025, published in the Official State Gazette on 30 July and in force from the following day. It extends birth and childcare leave from 16 to 19 weeks for each parent, thereby transposing the European work-life balance directive. It remains an individual, non-transferable right of each employee.
Single-parent families are entitled to 32 weeks in total. The text splits the leave into three blocks: six compulsory full-time weeks after the birth, eleven voluntary weeks —twenty-two for single parents— that can be taken until the child is twelve months old, and two weeks of parental care —four for single parents— until the age of eight. The latter apply retroactively to births, adoptions and fostering from 2 August 2024.
How the leave is divided
The first six weeks are compulsory and are taken full-time straight after the birth or the decision establishing the adoption or fostering. The voluntary weeks can be spread over weekly periods, continuously or interrupted, until the child turns twelve months, which allows them to be combined with the needs of the family and of the job. This distribution requires companies to agree with each employee the start and end dates, and to be told in advance when the person returns.
Parental care stands apart from the previous block, because it can be taken until the child is eight. It is the part that arrives with retroactive effect and the one that requires companies to deal with requests concerning recent births. One practical point: the leave is granted to each person individually and cannot be handed over to the other parent. Because it can be taken over several years, its impact is spread over time and is easier to absorb, provided it is planned.
Effects on the company
For the company, the extension means longer absences and, in many cases, longer replacement contracts. In small firms the organisational impact is greater, because three extra weeks per parent may coincide with other leave or with holidays. Planning the calendar ahead avoids improvising when notice arrives. In technical posts or those with their own clients, it is worth documenting processes so that cover does not depend on a single person.
There are also administrative effects: the benefit is paid by Social Security, but the company must process notifications, adjust payroll and keep the job open. Collective agreements may improve these minimums, so it is worth checking whether the agreement itself already provides more days, supplements or specific conditions. Clear and early communication with the person who will be absent eases planning and avoids misunderstandings about dates and conditions.
What to review
It is worth updating the internal leave protocol, the information given to staff and the templates for communicating with Social Security. Above all, review recent cases: anyone who has had a child since 2 August 2024 may be entitled to the retroactive weeks of parental care, and the company needs to know how to handle that request.
In the case of a single-parent family, the calculation needs care, because the number of voluntary and parental-care weeks changes. And for any specific doubt, the prudent course is to consult your employment adviser before replying to an employee’s request. It is also worth remembering that improvements in the collective agreement or the individual contract add to these legal minimums and do not replace them.
A longer leave is easier to absorb when it has been planned in time.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
