World of HR: Single parents in Spain should have as much leave as couples, court rules

A Spanish regional court has ruled that single parents should get the same amount of parental leave as two-parent households, paving the way for more equality in the country.

Where in the world? Going forward, single parents will receive 12 weeks of mandatory leave, plus an additional 20 weeks, totaling 32 weeks, the same total time that couples receive, according to the New York Times. While the decision is from a regional court, it will likely be cited by other courts across the country.

The ruling could make life easier for the roughly 1.9 million single-parent households in Spain as of 2020.

A November ruling determined that children of single-parent families can not be discriminated against. “It seems indisputable that parents in single-parent families have—at least—the same reconciliation needs as parents in two-parent families,” the ruling said.

The latest decision came after a single mother’s request for 32 weeks of leave was denied by the government. Silvia Pardo Moreno, who worked part-time, had to put her daughter in daycare at 16 weeks old, weeks before children in two-parent Spanish households.

Advocates said the decision is a victory for single parents and a step toward gender equity, in a country with an average pay gap of roughly €5,000.

“It’s obvious that the duration and intensity of the need to care for a newborn are the same, regardless of the family model into which he or she was born,” the court said.

Satellite view. Spain is not the first country to provide single parents with the same leave as couples. Single-parent households in Australia also receive paid leave equal to two-parent homes. Other European countries, including Sweden and Germany, have similar policies, and Norway also offers single parents annual caregiver leave equal that of their coupled peers.

The progress hasn’t made its way to the US, where single-parent families receive half the amount of leave as two-parent homes, despite having greater needs, according to the advocacy group Unmarried Equality.

According to a report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, leave should be distributed more equitably for singIe parents. “We could expect more positive outcomes for their children over the life course, which will save society from the costs of neglect and mitigate the effects of an unequal sharing of prosperity.”