Unemployment benefit after leave of absence or reduced hours in Spain

Excedencia (leave of absence) and reducción de jornada (reduced hours) are often mixed up when people talk about paro (unemployment benefit), but the law treats them almost opposite ways. With leave of absence, for a while you do not contribute and paro does not cover you. With reduced hours for care, you keep working and contributing, and the paro calculation protects you so that cutting your hours does not leave you with a lower benefit. This page separates the two cases with examples.

Leave of absence is not losing your job

During a leave of absence your contract is suspended. You have not been dismissed and it has not ended, so there is no legal situation of unemployment. Article 267.1 of the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (General Social Security Act, LGSS) lists the situations that do give paro (dismissal, end of a temporary contract, objective grounds…) and leave of absence is not among them. Article 267.2.d adds that anyone who has not applied to return in the cases and time limits provided by current legislation is not treated as legally unemployed.

What happens at the end depends on the type of leave:

If you return and the company does not take you back, the picture changes. That is covered in voluntary leave of absence and childcare leave of absence, and it is wise to always make the request to return in writing: the steps and a template are in returning after voluntary leave of absence in Spain, and to request the leave itself there is the voluntary leave request template.

Months of leave do not add to paro

Paro requires at least 360 days of contributions within the six years before the legal situation of unemployment (arts. 266.b and 269.1). During leave no contributions are paid, and those months do not enter the count. Article 237 of the LGSS recognises periods of leave for the care of children or relatives as contributed, but it lists them for retirement, permanent incapacity, death and survivors, and birth and childcare benefits: unemployment does not appear in that list.

There is also an indirect effect: because only the previous six years count, a long leave can push earlier contributions out of that window.

An example: a three-year leave and a dismissal afterwards

Irene worked from January 2019 until 31 December 2022. She took a three-year childcare leave, returned on 1 January 2026 and is dismissed on 30 September 2026.

The six-year window runs from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2026.

• Contributed from October 2020 to December 2022: 822 days.
• Contributed from January to September 2026: 273 days.
• Total in the window: 822 + 273 = 1,095 days.

On the scale in article 269.1, 1,095 days fall in the band of 1,080 to 1,259, which gives 360 days of paro. If Irene had worked without a break for the six years, she would have 2,191 days in the window and, with 2,160 or more, 720 days. The leave has cost her half of her paro. That table is explained in how long unemployment benefit lasts.

Reduced hours do count, and they count at 100 %

Reduced hours do not suspend the contract: you keep working and contributing, just for fewer hours. And if you are dismissed, it is an ordinary loss of employment that gives paro.

The important part is the amount. Article 270.6 of the LGSS says that, for the reductions in sections 5, 6 and 8 of article 37 of the Statute, the contribution bases are counted increased up to 100 % of what would have applied on full time when calculating the benefit base. And if you lose your job while on reduced hours, the maximum and minimum amounts are set using the hours worked before the reduction. Section 6 of article 37 covers, among others, reduction for legal guardianship of a child under twelve and for the care of a relative up to the second degree.

An example with numbers. Raquel works half time (a section 37.6 reduction, for her 8-year-old daughter). She contributes on €800 a month; full time would be €1,600. She is dismissed and is entitled to paro. With a dependent child, the minimum is €749 and the maximum €1,400 (with the IPREM at €600).

The €1,120 and €960 sit between the minimum and the maximum with a dependent child, so no adjustment applies. Without that rule, Raquel would receive the €749 minimum; with it she receives €371 more a month for the first six months (1,120 − 749). The duration of her paro comes from the days she has contributed, with no special adjustment in this example.

If you are dismissed for asking for leave or reduced hours

Article 55.5.b of the Statute declares void the dismissal of people who have requested or are using the reduction in article 37.6 or the leave in article 46.3. The consequence of a void dismissal is immediate reinstatement with payment of the wages not received (art. 55.6). The time limit to challenge it is 20 working days, counted from the dismissal even if you are receiving paro: see the deadline to challenge a dismissal. If you are reinstated, the paro already paid is treated as unduly received and repaid under article 268.5 of the LGSS.

Why your case may be different

• If the leave ends and you do not ask to return, you may be left without protection: a timely written request is the point that matters most.
• If you resign at the end of a leave or during a reduction, it is a voluntary departure and, in general, there is no paro (art. 267.2.a). See resignation and paro.
• If you reduce hours for another reason than those in sections 5, 6 and 8 of article 37, article 270.6 does not apply.
• If you keep working part time by agreement, not by legal reduction, the paro calculation follows the part-time rules, which depend on a regulation not covered here.
• If the leave is one agreed collectively (art. 46.6), its regime is set by the convenio (collective agreement).

This page is general information. If deadlines or money are at stake, speak to an employment lawyer (abogado laboralista) or a union.