Birth leave in Spain: how many weeks you get and how to request it

Birth leave has stopped being called maternity and paternity leave for a practical reason: it is now the same for both parents. If you are expecting a child, or adopting or fostering, this is the list of what matters: how many weeks, which ones cannot be postponed, how much you are paid and when and how it is requested.

The weeks, broken down

Each parent is entitled to 19 weeks in 2026. They are split like this:

Two clarifications that save headaches:

• The 2 additional weeks apply to births from 2 August 2024, but can only be used from 1 January 2026.
• The birth mother can start up to 4 weeks before the due date, if the medical report says so.

The leave is individual and non-transferable. If one parent does not take it, the other cannot keep it. Single-parent families get 32 weeks in total: 6 compulsory, 22 flexible until 12 months and 4 until age 8 (article 48.4 of the Statute).

How much you are paid

You receive 100 % of your regulatory base. That base comes from your common-contingencies contribution base for the month before the leave starts, divided by 30. It is paid directly by the INSS (Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social), not the employer, who only keeps paying its own contributions.

An example. Raúl has a contribution base of €1,800 a month.

1. Daily regulatory base: €1,800 divided by 30 = €60 a day.
2. The 19 weeks are 133 days.
3. Total benefit: 133 × €60 = €7,980 gross.
4. The 6 compulsory weeks are 42 days, or €2,520. The 11 flexible are 77 days, €4,620. The 2 additional are 14 days, €840.

The 2026 contribution base cap is around €4,720 a month, so people who earn more receive the maximum benefit tied to that base.

How it is shared between the two

• First 6 weeks: both take their 6 compulsory weeks right after the birth, at the same time or one after the other. If they take them together, the baby has both at home.
• 11 flexible weeks: each spreads them as they like within the first year, in one go or in blocks. They can take turns to cover the months.
• 2 additional weeks: kept for later, until age 8. They work for school adaptation, illnesses or holidays.

For the sharing to work with your job, tell your employer in good time and in writing. Article 48.4 requires you to tell the company at least fifteen days in advance. The flexible and additional weeks can be taken part-time only if you and the company agree. And if both parents work for the same company, management can limit taking them at the same time, for well-founded objective reasons given in writing.

How to request it

1. Tell your employer the start and the dates you want to use.
2. Ask HR for the company certificate (certificado de empresa), which records the contribution base and which the INSS needs.
3. Apply for the benefit at the INSS. It is done online at the Social Security website, “Tu Seguridad Social”, with a digital certificate, Cl@ve or SMS.
4. For later periods, if you split the leave, they are also requested online.
5. Keep the INSS decisions: they are your proof of each block.

The INSS decides and pays directly. The employer only handles its part: registration, certificate and contribution.

What happens to your contract and your job

• During the leave, your contract is suspended with your post reserved. When you return, you go back to your post or an equivalent one.
• They cannot dismiss you for requesting the leave. If it happens, the dismissal is void. It is explained in dismissal of a pregnant worker.
• If you are in a trial period, the suspension for birth has special protection. It is explained in the trial period in Spain.
• Besides the leave, you can ask for a working-hours reduction while your child is under 12: how much salary you lose.

Questions almost everyone asks

Can I take the 6 compulsory weeks and go back to work? Yes, but the 6 weeks are uninterrupted and full-time right after the birth, adoption or fostering. After that you can return and keep the 11 flexible weeks for later, always within the child’s first year.

What if the baby is born early or is hospitalised? When the newborn has to stay in hospital after the birth, article 48.4 allows the leave to be counted from hospital discharge, not counting the six compulsory weeks after the birth. If the stay exceeds seven days, the leave is extended by as many days as the stay lasts, up to thirteen additional weeks.

How is it requested if I am self-employed? The leave also exists for the self-employed, with the INSS benefit. The procedure is the same, without a company certificate. Confirm the requirements with Social Security.

Can I combine the leave with a working-hours reduction? Yes. Once the leave is used up, you can ask for a reduction for the care of a child under 12, with a proportional pay cut.

What about holiday that coincides with the leave? If your holiday coincides with the leave, you have the right to take it on another date, even if the calendar year has ended. Ask in writing for the new period.

If the reason for absence is a death in the family, check bereavement leave in Spain, which has its own conditions.

Frequent mistakes

• Thinking the leave can be given away. It cannot.
• Letting the 11 flexible weeks lapse without requesting the split: they expire when the child turns 12 months.
• Not asking for the company certificate in time. Without it, the INSS cannot calculate the benefit and payment is delayed.
• Forgetting the 2 additional weeks. They have their own deadline, until age 8, but you can only request them if they have not expired.
• Assuming other relatives have leave. For grandparents and nephews and nieces the law gives no leave for the birth: see what the law and the collective agreement say.

This page is informational and does not replace professional advice. The rules on this leave have changed in recent years and may change again: confirm the weeks and deadlines with the INSS before planning.