The future Family Law, about which we already spoke a few weeks ago in our blog, was approved in Congress this week to continue its parliamentary process, with the aim of entering into force during this legislature.
To explain its content, I have had the pleasure of being interviewed by Informativos Telecinco, where I share my opinion and assessment of this important law, which is a recognition of the different types of families, overflowing the traditional concept and protecting minors regardless of how the family is integrated. The main points of this new regulation are the are the inclusion of three new permits for the care of family members or cohabitants; the assimilation of single-parent families with two children to large families; and the recognition of different types of families, such as adoptive, reconstituted, LGTBI, with a member with a disability, multiple or foster families.
The result is a new map of conciliation rights:
- A paid leave of five days a year to care for a family member up to the second degree or a cohabitant, which employees may use in the event of a serious accident or illness, hospitalization or surgery without hospitalization requiring rest.
- An eight-week parental leave, which may be taken continuously or discontinuously, until the child reaches the age of eight.
- A leave of absence due to family force majeure requiring immediate attention, which shall be four paid days per year and may be taken by the hour.
In addition, the subsidy for birth and non-contributory care will be extended to adoptive and foster families, the orphan’s pension will be extended by one year (up to 26 years), and the leave for caring for a minor with cancer or serious illness will be increased to 26 years in the case of disability.
As regards the extension of social protection to families, the 100 euro per month child-rearing income or ‘baby check’ will be extended to a greater number of families with children from zero to three years old, a measure that will benefit between 200,000 and 250,000 new mothers in our country, as it will include all mothers who are receiving an unemployment benefit, contributory or not, and also those who, without previously meeting the requirements, contribute 30 days after giving birth.
From now on, women who have a part-time or temporary job will also receive one hundred percent of the benefit.
In addition, the law also advances in the equality between married couples and unmarried couples, guaranteeing that the latter will have access to the 15 days of registration leave equivalent to marriage.
From our office we value very positively that steps continue to be taken in the improvement of rights and the equalization of all existing family models in our society, and we insist on the need to place special emphasis on the circumstances of single-parent families. Equal rights for children born in single-parent families, mostly female, are essential, and for this reason we support those judges who support, among other things, the addition of maternity and paternity leave for this type of family.
Such is the case of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia, which has recently ruled in favor of this measure, even though it is not included in the law, not even as a result of this new rule. If you need help in any matter related to Family Law, please contact our team of lawyers.
