July 2025
Royal Decree-Law 9/2025, of 29 July, extending the entitlement to birth and care leave
Royal Decree-Law 9/2025, of 29 July, extending the entitlement to birth and care leave, through the amendment of the revised text of the Workers’ Statute Act, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of 23 October; the revised text of the Basic Statute of Public Employees, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of 30 October; and the revised text of the General Social Security Act, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, of 30 October, in order to complete the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers, and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU.
1. General Considerations
Royal Decree-Law 9/2025, published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) on 30 July 2025, primarily aims to comply with the requirements of European Union law, particularly with regard to the transposition of the paid parental leave provided for in Articles 8.1 and 8.3 of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019.
However, within the framework of this transposition, Article 48 bis of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores, hereinafter “WS”), introduced by Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 of 28 June, has not been amended. That provision established, for the first time, an unpaid parental leave of eight weeks as part of the process of incorporating Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers.
Instead of reforming that provision, Royal Decree-Law 9/2025 — which is presented as the final step in the transposition process of the aforementioned Directive — has opted to fulfil the requirement of two additional weeks of paid leave by extending the existing birth and care leave.
This extension is justified, according to the preamble, through the application of the so-called “bridge clause” in Article 20.6 of the Directive, which allows any period of family-related leave that is remunerated to be counted as paid parental leave.
Specifically, birth and care leave is extended by an additional three weeks, of which two may be taken flexibly until the child reaches the age of eight. In addition, accumulated breastfeeding leave is considered a measure that also contributes to meeting the obligations derived from Article 8 of the Directive.
With this set of measures, Spain meets — and even exceeds — the threshold of eight weeks of paid leave required under European Union law.
The design of this new paid parental leave, in the manner adopted, represents an expression of social co-responsibility. Its funding is ensured by extending the economic benefit for birth and care of a child, which is borne by the Social Security system, with a replacement rate of 100% of the regulatory base. This coverage guarantees equal treatment for both parents and strengthens male involvement in caregiving — an area in which Spain stands out compared to the European average.
Moreover, the new model surpasses international recommendations, aligning with ILO Recommendation No. 191, which advises a minimum of eighteen weeks for maternity leave. The egalitarian, paid, and non-transferable design now enshrined reinforces Spain’s commitment to a regulatory framework grounded in co-responsible rights, completing the cycle initiated in 2019 with Royal Decree-Law 6/2019.
Furthermore, Royal Decree-Law 9/2025 extends this new model to public employment by amending Article 49 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees (EBEP), thereby incorporating the transposition of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 into the sphere of public service. It establishes an entitlement to nineteen weeks of paid leave and eight weeks of unpaid parental leave, thus ensuring that the new statutory regime fully and coherently satisfies European requirements.
Royal Decree-Law 9/2025 also includes a specific provision for single-parent families, granting a total of 32 weeks of leave to the sole parent. This measure is adopted in accordance with Constitutional Court Judgment 140/2024 of 6 November, which affirmed the need to ensure equitable treatment for children regardless of the type of family in which they are raised.
This is presented as a response to the constitutional principle of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution (CE), as well as to statistical evidence showing a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion in such households — with a rate of 52.7% according to data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) for 2023. Consequently, the extension of the leave entitlement responds both to a principle of equality in the protection of minors and to a broader perspective of structural equality between women and men, given that the majority of single-parent households are headed by women.
