Portugal

Maternity leave: 120 calendar days (17 weeks) at 100% of earnings or 150 days at 80%, with no ceiling. Mothers have to take 6 weeks after the birth of a child; the rest may be transferred to the father.

Paternity leave: 5 working days at 100% with no ceiling; obligatory.

Parental leave: 3 months per parent until child is 6 years. No payment except for 15 calendar days at 100% with no ceiling if taken by the father immediately after maternity or paternity leave.

Leave to care for children: 30 days a year per family for sick children under 10 years at 65% of average earnings; no time limit if a child is in hospital.

Other: 2 hours’ absence per working day per family for 12 months after a child's birth, without loss of earnings (paid by employer).

Spain

Maternity leave: 16 weeks at 100% up to a ceiling of €3.074 per month. Mothers can transfer up to 10 weeks to fathers or choose to take them part time over 20 weeks.

Paternity leave: 15 calendar days, 2 days to be taken after birth, the rest during/at the end of maternity leave, at 100%. May be taken part time with employer's agreement.

Parental leave: until child is 3 years; an individual entitlement. No payment, but some regional governments offer low flat-rate benefits.

Leave to care for dependants: 2 days per worker for a ‘seriously ill’ child or other family reasons, without loss of earnings (paid by employer).

Other: one hour's absence per working day per family for 9 months after a child's birth (paid by employer). Reduced hours may be consolidated to allow a 2–4 week extension of maternity leave. Working parents may reduce their working hours (from one eighth to half of working time) until a child is 8 years, without payment; some regional governments offer benefits for the working time reduction.

Portugal and Spain are member states of the European Union (EU). Portugal has a high level of maternal employment and a low level of female part-time employment. It is estimated that about three quarters of mothers are eligible for maternity leave. Although obligatory, in 2006 only 61% of fathers took paternity leave and 49% the 15 days of paid parental leave (however, take-up is underestimated as statistics exclude employees with special social protection regimes, for example, in the civil service and banks).