If you’re an autónomo in Spain who is expecting a new baby, you may be wondering whether you can afford to take your full paternity and maternity leave off and what the rules are for returning to work early, or not taking any leave at all.
Being self-employed or autónomo in Spain can be complicated with lots of questions coming up all the time, even if you’ve been freelance for a while.
While you do pay out a lot in social security payments as an autónomo, the good news is that you do get several benefits back, including maternity and paternity pay. While this sounds great on paper, it could mean losing money and clients for many, so they question whether they have to take it or not.
In Spain, self-employed workers (mothers and fathers) receive the same birth and childcare leave duration as traditional employees:
- 19 weeks of fully paid leave per parent (6 mandatory weeks right after birth)
- 11 flexible weeks during the first year
- 2 additional flexible weeks usable until the child turns 8
During this time, they get 100 percent of their regulatory social security contribution base paid directly by the Spanish Social Security (INSS) and enjoy a 100 percent bonus exempting them from paying their monthly autónomo quota.
While in reality, self-employed workers would love to be able to take six weeks of paid leave to spend with their new baby, many autónomos want to know if they actually have to take maternity or paternity leave or if they can choose not to and carry on working.
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Many ask this because they feel like they don’t have a choice, that by taking the maternity or paternity benefit, they will be losing money and business, so maybe they’re better off continuing to work and getting paid the same amount to help care for their growing family.
They also may be worried about losing clients. As a freelancer you’re already in a precarious position with work and many clients won’t be willing to or won’t be able to simply wait around for you to take your leave, then pick up again and carry on hiring your services again. It could mean missing out on potential work in the future too. Therefore, for some people, taking this leave could be a risk.
As stated earlier, a self-employed worker on parental leave in Spain will receive 100 percent of their regulatory base.
This regulatory base is calculated based on the length of time you have been self-employed:
- If you have been autónomo for 12 months or, the regulatory base will be the average of the contribution bases of the last 6 months.
- If you have been registered for less than 12 months, the regulatory base will be the average of the contribution bases corresponding to all the months in which you were registered.
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You can choose between the minimum or maximum contribution base, depending on how much you want to be covered and how much in benefits you want to receive, but it also means you’ll pay more social security each month.
So how much maternity or paternity pay will you actually receive as an autónomo in Spain?
Let’s take an example. If you’re net income was €2,000 per month for the last six months, your minimum contribution base will be €1,029.41 and the maximum will be €2,030.
So, if you choose the minimum contribution base, you will receive a total of €1,029.41 per month, while if you choose the maximum base, you will receive €2,030 per month.
Most sole-trader freelancers choose the minimum base as social security payments are already very expensive, at around €300 per month on average.
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In this case you will be receiving a lot less than you typically earn per month, so you may want to carry on working instead, but is this possible?
Legally speaking, no, the first six weeks of the maternity and paternity leave in Spain are mandatory for both self-employed and employed contract workers. This is the same in the case of adoption and fostering.
So to sum up, in Spain you can get up to 19 weeks leave per parent as an autónomo/a. The first six are mandatory for both mothers and fathers who are self-employed, but for the remaining weeks you’re not obliged to take any parental leave and can return to work if you wish.
If you do choose to take further leave, you can take up to 11 weeks, flexibly in weekly periods, which can be accumulated or interrupted, up until the child is one year old. And there’s those two additional weeks of parental leave that’s also usable until the child turns eight.
The other major benefit of taking maternity or paternity leave is that you will not pay any social security fees during this time as they’re 100 percent subsidised. So, while you may be receiving less, you’ll be paying out less money too.
If a self-employed person works during the first six mandatory weeks of paternity leave, this constitutes fraud in the eyes of Spanish law. They risk losing their benefits entirely, having their entitlement suspended for three to six months, and even facing serious penalties or inspections by Social Security.
So however complicated your work situation is as a self-employed worker in Spain, the best thing to do is to at the very least enjoy those first six weeks with your newborn and put work on hold.
In many countries around the world, including the UK and the US, you don’t get the choice to receive any parental leave if you’re self-employed, so in that way Spain is very forward-thinking and provides more options for new parents.
