SINGLE PARENTS: Babies are entitled to 26 weeks of parental care
Photo credit: Pixabay/Pasja1000
Spain’s highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal (TC), confirmed that a single mother with twin daughters was entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave.
The mother lives in Baleares and this was one of the Islands’ first cases where the TC applied the principle that restricting a single parent’s maternity or paternity leave to the 16 weeks granted to each parent in a two-parent family was discrimination.
Six of the 16 weeks must be taken immediately after the mother gives birth, with the remainder spread over the year.
This meant that a newborn could be cared for by one of its parents during the first 26 weeks of its life, something that was denied to babies in a one-parent family, the Baleares mother argued.
Social Security in turn argued that she was entitled to no more than 16 weeks, plus another two weeks, owing to the “multiple birth” of twins.
The mother took her case to the Baleares Upper Court of Justice, (TSJIB), which ruled in her favour, prompting a counter-appeal by Social Security to the Supreme Court. The woman lost the case but, undeterred, she appealed to the TC whose judges agreed that she was entitled to 26 weeks.
Other one-parent families in Baleares who were vunsuccessful in extending their maternity or paternity leave have also lodged appeals and now await a decision.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
