Parental leave paid 100% for six months advances in Parliament

A parliamentary Labour committee today unanimously ratified the joint proposal of the PSD and PS that extends parental leave and extends to the private sector the continuous journey for workers with children up to 12 years old.

The proposal of the PSD, endorsed by the Socialists, had been approved by the working group on the subject in indictment vote held on Tuesday, giving the first sign that the extension of the initial parental leave should even advance.

The result of this vote was confirmed today by the parliamentary committee on Labour, Social Security and Inclusion, following the overall final vote in plenary.

The parties thus give the green light to the extension of the initial parental leave paid 100% during the first 150 days (five months) without sharing or during the first 180 days (six months) if shared between the two parents.

To the ride of the initiative of citizens, PSD and PS took advantage to include in the text an amendment to the Labour Code that extends to the private sector the possibility of workers with children up to 12 years of age benefiting from the continuous working regime, but with the agreement of the employer or if it is foreseen in collective work agreement.

With regard to the continuous working day, the text adopted is identical to that proposed by the Government in the context of the labour reform “Work XXI”, which was ultimately rejected by the opposition, and which also provided for the application to workers who, replacing their parents, live with their grandson in communion with table and housing.

The joint proposal of the PSD and PS states that the continuous working day corresponds to the uninterrupted provision of work, with a rest period of up to 30 minutes and should “predominantly occupy one of the periods of the day”, resulting in the reduction of the normal working time by up to one hour.

The discussion of the extension of the initial parental leave was based on a more ambitious, yet more ambitious, citizens' legislative initiative, since it called for 100% payment during the first 180 days (six months) or up to 210 to 240 days by sharing.

The approved proposal still ensures that 83% of the reference remuneration is paid for a period of 180 days without proper sharing, from 86% to 210 days with a 30-day share and 90% if the father enjoys exclusively at least 60 days in a total of 210 days.

The new rules should enter into force from 1 January 2027, applying only to licences starting from that date.

During the discussion in the working group, Aquida proposed the introduction of a transitional standard to ensure that the ongoing licenses would not be harmed, but the change was stopped by the PSD, with the abstention of the PS.