Right to be accompanied by their parents or the person who replaces them the maximum possible time during their stay in the hospital, not as passive spectators but as active participants in hospital life, without incurring additional costs; the exercise of this right must not in any way harm or hinder the application of the treatments to which the child must be subjected.” This is one of the rights enshrined in the European Charter of Rights of the Hospitalized Child. But What happens when both parents work outside the home? What possibilities do you have of accompanying your daughter or son during the stay in the hospital?
2 months ago Elena Fernández initiated a public petition to the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, and of the 7.000 signatures that were requested, less than 1.300 remain to be sent. It is demanded that working mothers and fathers have the right to be with their children while they are admitted. At present, and depending on the sectorial agreement (or your own) to which your company welcomes, if they enter one of your little ones, you have 2 or 3 days to be with him.
It sounds like a joke, but it's not... Because, of course, depending on the illness or accident suffered, the process can be prolonged; Is it normal that minors have to give up the protection and care of their parents?Well, it seems to be normal. another thing is that I do not consider it at all natural.
8,5% Most hospitalizations in our country are of people under 14 years old
Parental care in the hospital: the cure of love
We believe that, regardless of whether or not there is a community document that protects the rights of hospitalized children, It is the responsibility and basic need of dad, mom (or both) to look after the child who is admitted to the hospitalThe society we live in seems so dehumanized, that sometimes we forget when we pronounce “son or daughter”, of the implications that those words have, that they are our puppies. As much as I trust the healthcare staff, if one of my children were in the hospital for a period of time, my instincts would lead me to their side.
Our role is very prominent and irreplaceable: There are many non-medical needs that we, as parents and primary caregivers, can meet.For example, in the face of pain, the doctor will prescribe treatment and the nurse will dispense it, but mom (mostly according to statistics) and dad (it is indisputable that as far as possible the presence should be balanced) reassure the little ones, hold their hand, translate what is happening into a language they can understand and become their safe haven in an unfamiliar environment.
I have no doubt that other family members can also share in the children's emotions and alleviate their distress, but The bond of attachment with parents is unique and their continued absence can be experienced as abandonment.In addition to providing reassurance, other advantages are observed, such as the reduction of emotional stress, and with it, pain relief; but also the efficiency of the treatment if the parents collaborate and get involved in the medical tests and treatments, helping the child to cooperate.
Many children who lack this continuous presence experience changes in their behavior and emotions., such as irritability, night terrors, regressions (bedwetting, needing a pacifier, etc.), refusal of food or subsequent medical visits, which is logical when they are separated from their reference figures at a time of maximum vulnerability.
The constant presence of parents also It facilitates communication between family and healthcare staffQuestions are answered in real time, misunderstandings are reduced, and adherence to subsequent home treatments is improved. When parents have actively participated in the admission process, they have a better understanding of the care required after discharge, detect warning signs earlier, and feel more confident.
Difficulties in balancing work and family life when a child is hospitalized
The same old problem: if your child has been hospitalized and you've run out of leave days, you can request a leave of absence or use up your vacation days (two “solutions” that shift the entire cost to the workerAccording to the text of the petition, it is also possible to obtain an ILT (Temporary Incapacity Leave) through fraud, but that is not what we want: it is a question of rights so that nobody losesNeither families, nor businesses, nor Social Security itself.
In these kinds of situations, there's always someone who offers an opinion without knowing what they're talking about, saying things like, "Parents are always demanding," or "So what do those of us without children get when we're sick?" etc. I don't like to dwell on this too much, but there's a concept called intergenerational solidarity which is applicable in any area of human relations. Something like "today for you and tomorrow for me" isn't that hard to understand.Unfortunately, in many work environments, between the pressures from managers and bosses, and the individualistic and selfish behavior of some workers, we are unable to assert rights that would benefit us all.
That's why I applaud Elena, who felt the need to support a colleague she saw crying because her 11-month-old baby was in the hospital and she had to return to work . My soul breaks too, even if instead of being 11 months old, I was 12 years old as my firstbornThe bond, the need for presence, and the anguish of separation when a child suffers do not disappear with age.
How can deprive Should a sick child be in the hospital with their mother or father present due to work commitments? I think we need to find a balance for things to work out. Elena
That's why the petition has been forwarded to Fátima Báñez García. And I hope that the necessary signatures are gathered and the petition is addressed, since in very specific cases of minors suffering from serious illnesses (including cancer) We did find the possibility of applying for a subsidy, something else is the company's response, because although it is about acquired labor rights, many times there are reluctance to its actual exercise: veiled pressures, fear of reprisals, threats of reorganizations, etc.
We were also talking about the joint hospitalization When it comes to breastfeeding babies: it is another measure that is sometimes permitted, and although it is not related to the current request, it could be applied in conjunction with it to guarantee physical presence, bonding, and on-demand breastfeeding even in the hospital.
When daytime hospitalization for medical reasons is not possible, and both parents work, the effectiveness of the protection systems for ALL minors, and ALL families, must be rethought. It is not enough to recognize rights in the abstract; it is essential that there are permits, reduced working hours, leaves of absence, and subsidies that can be activated without fear. and without the cost falling exclusively on the caregiver.
Image - (Second) celinecelines.
What does the Workers' Statute say about caring for hospitalized children and relatives?
Currently, the main frame of reference is the Workers' Statute (ET) and the regulations that implement it. Although it is not specifically designed for pediatric admissions, it does cover various aspects. paid and unpaid leave, reduced working hours and leaves of absence that can be activated when a son or daughter is hospitalized or ill.
El Article 37 The ET includes several key rights:
- Paid leave for hospitalization, serious illness or surgery requiring home rest, of relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity (includes children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, parents-in-law, siblings-in-law, etc.). Traditionally it was 2 days (4 with travel), but the most recent regulations extend this framework in many cases to 5 working days, and jurisprudence clarifies that It can be extended even if hospital discharge comes sooner if the need for care persists.
- 5 days paid leave This leave is for the care of a spouse, partner, relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity, or cohabitant in cases of hospitalization, accident, serious illness, or surgery requiring home rest. There is no annual limit.It can be requested each time a triggering event occurs.
- Paid leave of up to 4 days per year for family emergenciesDesigned for unforeseen emergencies (for example, a child's sudden hospitalization or accident) requiring the immediate presence of a worker. It can be used for hours or days. must be paid.
In addition to this others conciliation rights:
- Reduction of working hours between one-eighth and one-half for the care of children under 12 years of age or of relatives up to the second degree who cannot take care of themselves and do not perform paid activity. The reduction entails a proportional reduction in salaryHowever, it protects the worker against retaliatory dismissals, which can be declared null and void.
- Leave of absence for family care up to 2 years, without salary but with job security (or an equivalent), to provide long-term care to sick relatives who need intensive care.
- Special reduction of working hours for the care of minors with cancer or another serious illnesswhich allows reducing working hours by almost 100% (with a financial benefit from Social Security) while the need for direct, continuous and permanent care remains during hospitalization or treatment.
These legal mechanisms, combined with the possibility of agree to flexible working hours or teleworking When the position allows it, they are the basis for parents to be able to exercise that fundamental right to accompany their children in the hospital without seeing their professional career destroyed.
New permits and recent improvements for caring for hospitalized children
Alongside the classic framework of the Workers' Statute, others have been introduced in recent years New permits designed to strengthen work-life balanceMany of them were driven by the so-called Family Law and by the adaptation of Spanish law to European directives on work-life balance and co-responsibility.
Between these new arrivals include:
- Parental leave of up to 8 weeks per child under 8 years oldIt is an individual, non-transferable right that can be taken continuously or intermittently, full-time or part-time. It is intended for periods of intensive care (school adjustment, frequent illnesses, special situations) and is in addition to other existing leave options. Although its compensation has generated legal controversy, it represents a further step towards enabling parents to dedicate real time to childcare.
- Extension of birth and childcare leavewhich is approximately 17 weeks per parent, with additional flexible weeks until the child turns 8. This reinforces the idea that Care is not limited to the immediate postpartum periodbut extends to later stages, where hospital admissions may also occur.
- Enhanced protection against dismissal When the employee is on leave or has reduced working hours for caregiving, if the company dismisses them without a clear objective or disciplinary cause, the dismissal may be declared null and void, requiring reinstatement and payment of back wages.
Although many of these measures were not designed exclusively for pediatric admissions, In practice, they become tools so that families don't have to choose between their job and a hospital bed..
The role of jurisprudence: when does hospitalization leave begin and end?
In addition to what the law says, the courts have been clarifying how these permissions are applied in real-life situationsespecially in the case of the hospitalization of family members and minors.
Some important criteria The following have been established by case law:
- The leave does not have to start on the same day as admission.While the cause (hospitalization or need for medical rest) remains, the worker can decide the specific moment to start enjoying it, provided that he/she communicates and justifies it correctly.
- Hospital discharge does not always end the leaveIf after discharge home rest is prescribed or care needs continue (for example, an operated child who needs constant help at home), the courts have recognized the right to continue using the leave up to the legal maximum (usually 5 days), because the need for care still exists.
- The 5 days of leave are counted as working days (unless the agreement states something even more favorable), so that effective time for care and support is guaranteed, not diluted by weekends when work is no longer done.
- You cannot demand that you justify the “persistence” of the need for care on a daily basis.It is sufficient to prove the cause (hospitalization, intervention, prescribed rest) and the approximate duration; requesting daily reports may be considered a disproportionate burden and contrary to the objective of the leave.
Underlying all these decisions is a common idea: Leave for hospitalization and serious illness is not intended for "leisure or personal matters"but to care for, accompany, manage procedures, be available for the sick child or family member and ensure that they do not go through that moment without support.
5 days paid leave, reduced working hours and leaves of absence: how they are combined
When a son or daughter is hospitalized, families often go through a kind of “scale"of rights depending on the duration and severity of the situation:
- First, the paid leave of 5 days due to hospitalization or surgery requiring rest, and the force majeure permits for unforeseen emergencies (up to 4 days per year).
- If the situation continues, one can resort to reduction in working hours, for the care of a child under 12 years of age or a sick relative, assuming a proportional reduction in salary but with a schedule adapted to spend more hours in the hospital or at home.
- In very prolonged or especially serious cases, it may be necessary to consider a leave of absence for family care or, if it is cancer or another serious illness in a minor, the special reduction of working hours with subsidy which prevents the total loss of income.
In parallel, more and more companies are offering voluntary flexible solutionsPartial teleworking, temporary shift changes, time banks, banks of days from other leave, etc. These are not automatic rights, but When combined with minimum legal rights, they can make the difference between being able to be at the head of the bed or not..
Request for work-life balance when your children are hospitalized
According to the statute, workers are entitled to two or three days off, depending on the collective bargaining agreement of the company where they work, to care for their children if they have to be hospitalized. I decided that since this is something that affects a large majority of parents throughout our lives and the lives of our children, Collect signatures to raise awareness of this problem and the need for a solution This could be the first step towards achieving it, and that's what I'm doing through change.org: collecting signatures to change an unfair situation for children and their parents.
Because what we all know for sure, healthcare professionals and mothers and fathers alike, is that Children's rights cannot be left at the hospital doorNow all that's needed is for the laws to protect us all, regardless of our age, and for the much-discussed work-life balance, which is once again nonexistent when your child is hospitalized, to also address this.
Request for work-life balance when your children are hospitalized
A month ago I launched a petition addressed to the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, for Working parents have the right to stay with their children while they are hospitalized..
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Because sometimes injustices don't directly affect us, but they happen so close that they hurt us, so much so that they practically force us to make decisions, we they push to act, to “do something”. That’s what happened to me when my co-worker couldn’t stop crying after having to leave her eleven-month-old baby in the hospital while she had to return to her job.
To be able to care for our children in that situation once we've used up the days we're entitled to under our collective agreement, we have the options of requesting a leave of absence, using up our vacation time, or, as a last resort, feigning illness and requesting sick leave to be excused from work during that period. This last option isn't the best because You are committing fraudBut if you have no other alternative, I suppose that's the least of your worries.
How can a sick child in the hospital be deprived of their mother's or father's presence for work-related reasons? I believe we need to find a balance so things can work, because the lack of humanity in the business world we live in boasts of a work-life balance that simply doesn't exist. All I ask is to be able to... to alleviate that suffering that resides in both parties, the child's because they cannot be with their parents and the parents' because they cannot take care of their child.
Respecting parents' right to be with their children has numerous benefits for both parties. When my eldest daughter was born, she was hospitalized for a few days, and the thought of having to go home to sleep while she stayed there caused me terrible anxiety. You only have to see how our children react when they feel unwell or have a fever; they come to us for all the love in the world and comfort with a caress or a kiss. I think that last sentence says it all..
Elena Fernández Fuentes
@LaElenuchi
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The reality is that, beyond rules, reforms and rulings, Each child's admission puts the work-life balance system to the test. and society's capacity to prioritize the health and well-being of children. The more clear, paid, and protected parental leave policies there are, the fewer families will be forced to choose between their monthly salary and a hospital bed, and the more meaningful the fundamental right of children to be with their mothers and fathers when they need them most will be.