The Spanish Plenary of the Constitutional Court has declared it unconstitutional that biological mothers of single-parent families and self-employed workers cannot extend their permit by birth and childcare beyond 16 weeks.
The ruling follows a reform to Spain’s family law back in February, where all parents became entitled to 16 weeks’ paid leave, of which the first six weeks after birth is mandatory. However, the leave is non-transferable, so while households with two parents could take up to 32 weeks of paid leave, single parents were only entitled to 16 weeks.
The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia felt that the legal provisions were discriminatory towards single-parent families in that they will receive less care time than two-parent families, even though they have identical needs. There was also indirect discrimination based on sex, since it would have a more intense impact on working women, who it stated tend to head single-parent families.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Rights has argued that there is still some confusion over the ruling, stating that unless alterations are made, the court’s decision mandates that single parents can extend their leave from 16 to 26 weeks, which adds 10 more weeks instead of doubling them.
Judge Enrique Arnaldo Alcubilla and Judge Concepción Espejel Jorquera said: “Spain is introducing urgent measures to guarantee the equality of treatment and opportunities between women and men in employment and occupation. Introducing through omission a difference in treatment by reason of birth between boys and girls born in families single-parent and two-parent families, which does not exceed the canon of reasonableness and proportionality, completely ignores the negative consequences that such a measure produces on children born in single-parent families.”
