“With the extension of the birth and childcare leave by three weeks, two of which are flexible until the child turns 8, the transposition of the paid parental leave provided for in Article 8.1 and 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 is fully completed. However, the Government goes further and commits to extending the overall duration of this type of leave to 20 weeks in this legislative term.”

This way, Social Security will be in charge of the costs of the measure “assuming a 100% income replacement rate for both parents.”

“To protect current family diversity and ensure that children are equally protected regardless of the type of family in which they grow up, taking into account the particular vulnerability of children born into single-parent families, the Royal Decree-Law approved today extends the suspension period for birth, adoption, custody for adoption purposes, and foster care to 32 weeks in the case of single-parent families.”