The jointly drafted text, which was put forward during the discussion on a citizens' legislative initiative, is expected to be approved by the Assembly of the Republic by a majority, with the final vote set for early next week.

The proposal concerning parental leave provides that when parents share the leave effectively, the 180-day (six-month) period will be paid at 100% of the reference remuneration, with at least one parent taking no less than 30 days.

If the leave is not shared, the six months is still guaranteed, but the benefit will be equivalent to 83% of the usual income. Meanwhile, the length of fully paid leave taken solely by one parent (without sharing) is increased from 120 to 150 days (five months). For a leave period of 210 days (seven months), the remuneration will be 86% if one month is shared or 90% if two months are shared.

For fathers, the mandatory 28-day leave stays in place—with half of it having to be taken immediately after birth—while the optional leave is doubled from seven to 14 days.

Collective agreement

The agreement also includes private-sector workers who have children under the age of 12 and covers parents of dependents who have disabilities, chronic illnesses or oncological conditions, as well as grandparents sharing accommodation with their grandchildren; it reduces the daily working period by as much as one hour by cutting the meal break down to 30 minutes, this break being counted as working time.

Nevertheless, this kind of scheduling will not take effect automatically and will only apply if there is a direct agreement between the worker and the employer or if it is provided for in a collective bargaining agreement.

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