MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s left-wing government on Tuesday presented a bill that would allow workers up to nine days of paid caregiver leave a year and extend all family rights to people living under the same roof even if they have no formal family bonds.
Although each country in the European Union has its own legislation regulating care leave, the proposal, which calls for employers to foot the bill, would put Spain ahead of most countries in terms of paid leave.
The European Union as a whole recognises the right to take up to five days of unpaid caregiver leave per year. France, for instance, allows for care leave of up to three months with a paid allowance, but not on a full salary.
Germany has ten days of unpaid leave.
The Spanish proposal is a landmark bill that the coalition’s junior partner, Unidas Podemos, has pursued for months in the run-up to next year’s elections.
The party is banking on the transgender law and other bills with a strong social focus to differentiate itself from the Socialist party of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The bill, which has to be approved by parliament, recognises single-parent families with two children as large families entitled to a range of social benefits.
In May, Spain became the first country in Europe to offer state-funded paid leave for women who suffer from painful periods.
(Reporting by Belén Carreño; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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