Single parents in Spain have gained the right to claim the full duration of paid parental leave available to couples, following a landmark decision by a regional court in Murcia.
This ruling, considered a potential turning point for the country’s many single-parent families, stems from a 2023 constitutional court judgment prohibiting discrimination against children based on their family structure.
“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,” the constitutional court declared.
Under this interpretation, single parents are now entitled to 32 weeks of paid leave—double the 16 weeks granted to couples, who each take six weeks of mandatory leave followed by 10 additional weeks per parent.
Carla Vall, a Barcelona-based lawyer specializing in gender rights, explained that the Murcia ruling could inspire similar decisions nationwide.
“Now this doctrine means that the rest of the courts are going to adopt this reading of rights,” she said.
Pablo Bustinduy, Spain’s social rights minister, celebrated the decision as a triumph for civil society, calling it “excellent news and a victory for civil society after years of struggle and demands.”
The ruling aligns Spain with other countries like Finland, Germany, and Sweden, as well as Australia, in equalizing parental leave between single parents and couples.
Despite efforts to boost its low fertility rate, Spain has struggled to encourage more births, even with tax breaks and child bonuses.
Single-parent families, which make up 10% of Spanish households, face significant challenges. Government data from 2020 shows that 53% of single-parent households were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 27% of all households.
Women head 81% of these families, and the gender pay gap compounds their difficulties; women earn an average of €24,400 annually, while men earn €29,400.
The case was brought by Silvia Pardo Moreno, a part-time emergency services worker who became a single mother in January 2022.
When her request for 32 weeks of paid leave was denied, she was forced to return to work after just 16 weeks, leaving her 4-month-old daughter in day care.
“There were no children in day care at that age, because the others had the right to have their parents look after them for longer,” Pardo said.
After losing her initial case, Pardo appealed and eventually won at the regional court level.
Lawyer Vall highlighted the significance of the decision, noting it provides “extra coverage to the single mother, because it gives her four additional months in which she knows she will not be fired from her job.”
“When a single woman decides to be a mother, the difference is, does she have to delegate the care of her baby to someone else, such as a nanny?” Vall said. “The baby has to be in the care of someone, and the woman has to be protected. In the first year of life, when that mother needs help the most, this benefit is most necessary.”
While Pardo expressed relief at the ruling, she lamented the lost time with her daughter, who is about to turn three.
“I have lost time, above all,” she said. “When my daughter needed me the most, she could not have me.”
