Good practice

Reforma espanhola da licença parental paterna igualitária e intransferível (2017-2021)

A Espanha alargou a licença de paternidade remunerada de 2 para 16 semanas — igual à maternidade, intransferível — em fases de 2017 a 2021; a adesão paterna subiu ~20 pontos percentuais e 75 % dos pais gozam a licença simultaneamente ao nascimento, tornando a Espanha no modelo europeu.

2 → 16 weeks

Licença de paternidade totalmente remunerada (2017–2021)

~20 percentage points

Aumento da adesão dos pais

75%

Pais que usufruem da licença em simultâneo com o nascimento

Reforma espanhola da licença parental paterna igualitária e intransferível (2017-2021)

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Ministerio de Igualdad / Gobierno de España
Period: 2017-2021
Keywords: paternity leave, parental leave, care policy, work-life balance, gender equality

Context

A Espanha introduziu de forma faseada, entre 2017 e 2021, uma licença de paternidade totalmente remunerada, igual e não transferível.

Results

A licença aumentou de 2 para 16 semanas; a adesão dos pais cresceu cerca de 20 pontos percentuais e 75% dos pais usufruem agora da licença em simultâneo com o nascimento do filho.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
Ministerio de Igualdad / Gobierno de España — accessed 2026-06-21
Real Decreto-ley 6/2019 – BOE oficial — accessed 2026-06-21
LSE Business Review – Spain a model of success (2025) — accessed 2026-06-21
N-IUSSP – Spain pioneer in gender-equal parental leave — accessed 2026-06-21

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 4% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

Spain's non-transferable, fully-paid design is cited as the European benchmark by BSE and LSE researchers, informing EU Work-Life Balance Directive discussions and comparable national reforms.

Impact on gender equality1/1

Father uptake increased by approximately 20 percentage points following the non-transferable extension; 75% of couples now take leave simultaneously after birth.

Effectiveness1/1

The legal objective — equal 16-week non-transferable fully-paid paternity leave — was fully implemented by 1 January 2021 as planned under Real Decreto-ley 6/2019.

Efficiency1/1

Financed through Social Security with no direct employer cost; per-beneficiary cost mirrors existing maternity leave provisions within the established contribution model.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

Peer-reviewed evaluation in Population Research and Policy Review (Jurado-Guerrero & Muñoz-Comet, 2021, vol.40:589-615) and independent working papers from LSE CEP and Barcelona School of Economics.

Sustainability1/1

Permanently incorporated into the Workers' Statute and Social Security Act since January 2021; bipartisan political consensus makes reversal highly unlikely.

Achievement / evidence1/1

16-week fully-paid non-transferable paternity leave in force since January 2021; father uptake rose from ~46% to ~66%+; 75% take it simultaneously at birth.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Non-transferability is a structural gender-equality mechanism that de-normalises the assumption that care falls to mothers, with documented effects across income groups.

Curator validation1/1

Documented in Spain's Official State Gazette (BOE Real Decreto-ley 6/2019), two independent academic working papers (BSE, LSE CEP), a peer-reviewed journal article, and the N-IUSSP demographic platform.

Cite this

Evidoria. Reforma espanhola da licença parental paterna igualitária e intransferível (2017-2021). Persistent ID: 356b7fd8-81cf-4966-ac06-9dd97eea9f4b.

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