Caring for a relative: leave, reduced hours and unpaid leave (excedencia)

Key rules

• Paid leave: A relative's serious illness, accident, hospitalisation or surgery gives you 5 paid days, which you can split into blocks.
• Reduced hours: You can cut your day by one eighth to one half, and your pay drops in proportion.
• Job reserve: During excedencia your own job is kept for the first year only, then an equivalent post.
• Collective agreement: Your sector or company agreement may give more days or longer leave than the legal minimum.

Which option fits

Spain gives employees three routes. Pick by how long you need and how much pay you can give up.

• Days or weeks, with full pay: short paid leave.
• Months or years, still working part-time: reduced hours, with a proportional pay cut.
• Long stretch, no work and no pay: excedencia.

Your collective agreement (the agreement for your sector or company) may give you more than the legal minimum. Check it first.

Short paid leave for a relative's illness

You get 5 days of paid leave if a spouse, partner or relative up to the second degree (parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and the same relatives of your spouse) has a serious accident, serious illness, hospitalisation or surgery that needs rest. The same applies to a person who lives with you and needs care. You can take the days in blocks while the cause lasts.

Your job is not at risk, because you stay employed and are paid.

Urgent family emergencies

If something urgent and unforeseeable happens, such as a sudden illness or accident, and your presence is essential, you can leave work at once. The hours are paid, but your employer may cap this at the equivalent of 4 days a year. Tell your employer as soon as you can.

Reduced hours

You can cut your working day by between one eighth and one half if you directly care for a relative up to the second degree who cannot look after themselves because of age, accident, illness or disability, and who has no paid activity.

• Your pay falls in proportion to the hours you cut.
• You choose when and by how much you reduce, within those limits.
• Give notice. 15 days is the usual period, so check your agreement.
• If your employer refuses, you can go to the labour courts, which use a fast procedure.

Excedencia for a relative

Excedencia is unpaid leave. You can take up to two years to care for a relative up to the second degree who cannot look after themselves and has no paid activity. A collective agreement may allow longer.

Your job is reserved for the first year. After that, you are entitled to a post in the same professional group or an equivalent category, which may not be your exact job. In large families, the reserve is extended to 15 months, or 18 months for a special-category large family.

Excedencia for a child

For each child, natural or adopted, excedencia can last up to three years from birth or from the adoption or fostering decision. The job reserve works the same way as above: the first year for your job, then an equivalent post. A new child starts a new period.

The right is yours individually. If two parents work for the same company, the employer may limit them taking it at the same time, but only for justified reasons.

How to choose

1. Need a few days around a hospital stay? Use the paid leave.
2. Need regular time but must keep earning? Reduce your hours.
3. Need to stop working altogether for months? Take excedencia, and remember you will have no pay and, after the first year, no guarantee of the exact same job.

The timeline and FAQ below show the durations and notice points side by side.

Timeline and deadlines

• Take paid leave for a relative's serious illness, accident, hospitalisation or surgery: 5 days, which you can split into blocks while the cause lasts

• Be absent for an urgent, unforeseeable family emergency: When it happens, paid up to the equivalent of 4 days a year

• Give notice to reduce your hours to care for a dependent relative: 15 days before the reduction starts

• Work reduced hours to care for a relative: A reduction of between one eighth and one half of your day, with a proportional pay cut

• Take excedencia to care for a relative: Up to two years, with your own job reserved for the first year and an equivalent post after that

• Take excedencia to care for a child: Up to three years from birth, adoption or fostering, with the job reserved for the first year; 15 months for a general large family and 18 months for a special-category one

Frequently asked questions

What can I do for an urgent family emergency that is not covered by those days?

You can be absent for urgent, unforeseeable family reasons linked to illness or accident that make your presence essential. These hours are paid, but they may be capped at the equivalent of 4 days a year.

How long is the job kept for me during excedencia to care for a relative?

Your own job is reserved for the first year of excedencia, and after that a post in the same professional group or equivalent category. The leave can last up to two years, unless your collective agreement sets a longer period.

How long can excedencia for a child last compared with a relative?

Excedencia for a child lasts up to three years from birth, adoption or fostering, while for a relative it is up to two years. A new child starts a new period. The employer may limit two workers in the same company taking it at once, for justified reasons.