The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has recognized a single mother from Tenerife the right to enjoy the paid maternity leave that would have corresponded to her partner.
The ruling is based on the importance of granting this benefit in order to guarantee the care of the minor by one of the parents, and since in this case it is only one, it is considered in accordance with the rules that the mother’s leave is accumulated. 16 weeks that would correspond to the other.
At the time, both Social Security and the private hospital for which the woman worked opposed her request and presented an appeal to the first instance ruling that ruled in favor, recognizing the mother as a single-parent family and the right to enjoy 16 additional weeks.
The daughter was born at the end of 2021, the Registry shows that she is the sole parent of the minor, and at that time Social Security recognized her maternity benefit for 16 weeks but rejected the same amount that would correspond to her couple.
Before the Social Court, the woman was ruled in favor in the first instance and now the same is happening in the TSJC.
The legislation provides that the mother will have the right to enjoy an uninterrupted and mandatory leave of six weeks to guarantee her health and the same for the father, so that after this first period both will be able to divide the days.
In the case of women, it is accepted that they enjoy four weeks before giving birth after giving notice at least fifteen days in advance, the latter benefit being exclusive to the mother.
For Social Security, these rulings in favor of the mother would mean the creation of a new benefit, an additional burden on the social protection system and the company for which the woman works, with the consequences in terms of replacements or reorganization.
The response of the TSJC is that it is up to the legislators to establish in each case the level of protection that is determined for citizens given the legal vacuum that currently exists.
Currently there is no legislation aimed at extending the 32-week leave for single-parent families, but there is a draft Organic Law that specifically recognizes this right.
The ruling, however, can be appealed to the Supreme Court (TS).
