Single parents in Spain are now entitled to the same total amount of paid parental leave as their coupled counterparts, following a landmark ruling from a regional court in Murcia. This verdict comes in the wake of a key November ruling from Spain's constitutional court, which condemned discrimination against children from single-parent families.
In its recent decision, the Murcia court highlighted that "the duration and intensity of the need for care and attention of a newborn is the same regardless of the family model into which they were born." This ruling creates a precedent for solo parents, allowing them to request up to 32 weeks of paid leave. The structure includes six weeks of mandatory leave, followed by an additional ten weeks available for each parent, thus granting solo parents the ability to take the entire duration.
Carla Vall, a lawyer specializing in gender rights from Barcelona, emphasized the broader implications of this ruling. She indicated that new parents throughout Spain can leverage this decision when seeking their rights, suggesting a shift in the standard interpretation of parental benefits across courts.
Pablo Bustinduy, the minister for social rights, lauded the ruling as a significant achievement for civil rights advocates after years of demand for equal treatment. This court ruling marks a crucial development in the ongoing conversation surrounding parental rights and the support of diverse family structures in Spain.
