Government proposal ends absence due to pregnancy bereavement
The government proposes repealing the right to take three days off work due to pregnancy bereavement. In the preliminary draft of the labor law reform bill approved by the government this Thursday in the Council of Ministers and subsequently presented to the social partners, Article 38A of the labor code, which provides for this right for fathers, is listed as "revoked."
The measure currently in effect was included in the Labor Code in January 2023, following the approval of a proposed amendment by the Socialist Party to the decent work agenda. It provides for justified absences of up to three consecutive days , without loss of pay, for fathers and mothers who experience a pregnancy loss. The measure was approved to complement the existing leave for termination of pregnancy, under which the worker is entitled to leave of 14 to 30 days. However, this leave did not cover cases in which doctors consider there to have been no physical impact on the mother.
Current law provides that a mother may take three consecutive days off work without loss of pay, a right that extends to the father, but only if the mother is taking this period of mourning or leave due to termination of pregnancy. To be entitled to these absences, the mother and father must inform their employers, "presenting, as soon as possible, proof of the alleged fact, through a statement from a hospital or health center, or even a medical certificate."
The same proposal, which Observador has seen, also includes a change to pregnancy leave. The government proposes that "the employee's companion will be subject to the legally mandated absences to care for a member of the household." This would mean the right to take up to 15 days off work per year to provide "impermissible and essential assistance in the event of illness or accident" to the spouse. These absences are justified but may result in loss of pay.
The document approved and presented to the partners is just a starting point in the discussion on changes to labor law. Weeks of discussion and negotiations with the social partners will now follow. The government's proposal envisages changes to approximately one hundred articles of the Labor Code.
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