Everything you need to know about maternity leave

We will talk today about maternity leave, a right of working women, but if you are unemployed you can also access it, did you know? This and other issues, such as its duration, benefits or steps that you have to do to request it, we will develop them in this article.

Ah! And if you have requested your withdrawal from maternity during an ERTE caused by the COVID19 situation, then, you will stop receiving the ERTE in exchange for the maternity leave benefit. That is, 70% of your salary, you will receive 100%. Only in very exceptional cases can a woman be fired while on maternity leave.

General considerations on maternity leave

Maternity leave is exclusive to the mother, either biological mother, by adoption (if the child is under 6 years old or has a disability) or in reception. The parent who also enjoys this right gets the paternity leave. Therefore, both leaves paid at 100% and for 16 weeks, for both, have to be managed by each of them. The mother can extend her maternity leave with breastfeeding leave.

Maternity leave lasts 16 weeks, and the mother necessarily has to enjoy 6 weeks. The remaining ten can be handed over to the father or shared with him. If the delivery or adoption is multiple, two weeks are increased for each child. If the baby is hospitalized for more than 7 days when it is born, the mother's permission is extended for as many days as the newborn has been in the hospital.

The mother must fill in the official form to request maternity leave, present it to Social Security along with the original and copy of the DNI, family book and the maternity report. You can request the benefit from the day after birth and prescribes at 5 years.

Can I have maternity leave if I am unemployed?

To have maternity leave and collect the benefit, if you are a worker, you have to be registered with Social Security, either as employed, as self-employed or as a beneficiary of an unemployment benefit or subsidy. Depending on your age, you should have contributed more or less days. 

If you don't meet these listing requirements You can request the non-contributory subsidy of 100% of the IPREM (Public Multiple Effects Income Indicator) for 42 calendar days, which can be extended in some cases. This aid is only for biological mothers, it is not granted for foster care or adoption.

If you are collecting unemployment benefit, the moment you give birth it is suspend. Then you go on to collect maternity leave, which, among other advantages, does not have personal income tax withholding, and when it ends, you resume paying the unemployment benefit you had.

Cases in which maternity leave is extended

Before we have already commented on some cases in which maternity leave is extended, now we will specify them a little more.

In the event that the baby pass away the mother can continue with the rest period until the end of 16 weeks. If the baby has to remain hospitalized, after a premature delivery, the break from sick leave can be extended to a maximum of 13 weeks. In the case of disabled children, whether they are biological or with foster or adopted minors, it is extended for two more weeks.

If your vacation they coincide while you are on leave during pregnancy, on maternity leave or during breastfeeding leave, these are not counted and you will be able to enjoy them once these breaks are over. If the calendar year to which the holidays correspond has already ended, you do not lose them either.

El lactation leave It is a way to extend the time you spend with your son or daughter after 16 weeks of maternity leave. It can be requested by both the father and the mother, but only one of them can do it. It consists of absent from work to feed the baby, either with natural or artificial milk.