When a relative dies, days off are not the first thing on your mind, but the question comes soon and it helps to have a clear answer: Spain’s Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Workers Statute) recognises a paid leave, a permiso retribuido, with a set number of days and a defined circle of relatives.
How many days you get
Article 37.3.b bis of the Statute grants two days of paid leave for the death of a spouse, registered partner (pareja de hecho) or relatives up to the second degree by blood (consanguinidad) or by marriage (afinidad). If you need to travel for that reason, the period is extended by two days, to four in total.
It is leave with pay: it is not deducted from your salary and it does not come out of your holiday. The law asks you to request it with prior notice and justification.
Update note, 6 October 2026. The Labour Ministry has proposed extending the leave to 10 working days when a spouse, registered partner or relative up to the second degree by blood dies, and the press links it to an agreement with the unions in December 2025. That reform does not appear in the consolidated text of the Statute in the BOE, updated on 3 October 2026, where article 37.3.b bis still says two days plus two more for travel. Until it is published, this is the rule in force.
- Without travel2 days of leave
- With necessary travel4 days of leave
Total including the statutory extension; check your agreement and work calendar.
Which relatives count
The second degree is the limit, and it is counted with the Civil Code rule: one degree for each generation, not counting the common parent. In practice:
| Relative | Degree | Does it give leave? |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or registered partner | Named expressly | Yes |
| Parents, children | 1st by blood | Yes |
| Parents-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law | 1st by marriage | Yes |
| Grandparents, grandchildren | 2nd by blood | Yes |
| Brothers and sisters | 2nd by blood | Yes |
| Brothers- and sisters-in-law, spouse’s grandparents | 2nd by marriage | Yes |
| Uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces, great-grandparents | 3rd degree | No, unless your agreement says so |
| Cousins | 4th degree | No, unless your agreement says so |
Affinity is the relationship that links you with your spouse’s or partner’s family. If you have doubts about a specific case, such as step-siblings or the family of a registered partner, check your convenio colectivo (collective agreement) or ask the workers’ representatives before assuming it is a yes or a no.
How the days are counted
The Statute says “two days” without specifying whether they are calendar or working days, and that is the most common doubt. The most widespread approach, which the Supreme Court has also applied, is to count them as working days, the ones you were due to work. Weekends on which you do not work are not deducted from the leave.
For the same reason, if the death happens on a day when you do not work, the leave starts on the next working day.
An example with a Monday-to-Friday schedule: your father dies on Saturday.
- Without travel: the leave covers Monday and Tuesday.
- With travel: it covers Monday to Thursday.
If your agreement counts days differently, or your work calendar includes weekends, the result changes. Check the wording of your agreement before planning.
What counts as travel
The law speaks of needing “a journey for the purpose” and sets no distance. Some agreements do specify one, for example, outside the province or beyond a number of kilometres. If yours says nothing, justify the trip with tickets, the place of the wake or burial and the distance from your home, and state in writing that you are asking for it for that reason.
If you live in Spain and the funeral is in your home country, the Statute does not limit the journey to Spanish territory. Four days may be short for a long trip, so ask whether your agreement gives more and, if not, whether you can add holiday days.
Giving notice and proving it
The law requires prior notice and justification. After a death the notice is necessarily loose: call or write as soon as you can, even if it is a short message. And gather the documents that prove it:
- The death certificate or the obituary notice.
- The family record book (libro de familia) or the document that proves the relationship.
- For a registered partner, the certificate of registration.
- Tickets or proof of travel, if you ask for the two extra days.
You do not need to hand everything over at once. If the company asks for something specific, do it in writing and keep a copy. If your documents come from another country, ask HR whether they need a translation.
Can it be postponed or split into separate days?
The Statute says nothing about splitting the leave or moving it to another date. Because it is meant to cover the death and the arrangements around it, the prudent course is to request it in the days immediately after. If you need to move it, for example because the burial or ceremony is delayed, ask in writing and have the company confirm the dates before you are absent.
What to do in the first days
- Tell your manager or HR and say what the family relationship was.
- Ask which documents they need and by when, and ask for it in writing.
- Look in your agreement for the section on paid leave.
- Keep a copy of everything you hand over.
If you need more days
The leave is a minimum. Your collective agreement may extend the days, include more relatives or count them in another way, and what it says improves, never lowers, what the Statute sets.
If neither the agreement nor the law gives you the days you need, you can ask for holiday: dates are set by agreement with the company under article 38.2 of the Statute. How many days you have is explained in how many statutory holiday days workers get in Spain.
When the relative is seriously ill but has not died
The same article 37.3, in point (b), gives five days for serious accident or illness, hospitalisation or surgery without hospitalisation that requires rest at home of the spouse, registered partner or relatives up to the second degree, and of another person living with you who needs your effective care. It is a different leave, with its own count, and it is best to check it separately.
If the company refuses
If you meet the requirements and the company objects, do not argue on the spot: ask for its answer in writing, keep your proof and talk to the workers’ representatives or a union. Being absent without the leave having been accepted may end in a penalty for unjustified absence, and that is not a risk worth taking while you are grieving.
If the company does not grant it and you worked those days, or it deducts your pay, you can claim through the labour courts. Actions arising from the contract lapse one year after it ends, under article 59.1 of the Statute, but it is sensible to claim long before then.
For other family events, such as a birth, there is leave for the birth of a grandchild or nephew.
If a relative is admitted to hospital, distinguish family hospitalisation leave in Spain from holiday and other types of leave.
For a wedding or registration as a civil partner, check marriage leave in Spain; its days follow different rules from other leave.