Increase in paternity leave will be a theme in Congress after recess

With the end of the deadline given by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for Congress to regulate the paternity license, Parliament must be leeked on the subject on the return of the parliamentary recess on August 4. In December 2023, the Supreme Court gave 18 months to the regulatory congress. The deadline won in July.

The decision of the Supreme Court came after judgment of an action presented by the National Confederation of Health Workers (CNTs). Minister Luis Roberto Barroso prevailed in the trial to recognize the omission of the Congress to approve the regulation of the norm. The understanding was followed by the other ministers.

Currently, the license for parents is five consecutive days in cases of child birth, adoption or shared custody. Law is foreseen in the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) and was created with the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution.

Read more: Defense asks the STF to revoke the arrest of General: ‘He did not confess plan to kill anyone’

By the act of transient constitutional provisions (ADCT), rules created with the promulgation of the Constitution, the five -day license should remain until Congress approves a complementary law for definitive implementation, a vote that until today, after 37 years, did not occur.

Several projects in Congress are foreseen periods that establish a license of 15, 20 or up to 60 days.

In the list of projects, the House of Representatives “leaves” ahead and can already approve in the Plenary the bill (PL 3935/08) that increases the paternity leave from five to 15 days. This will apply to both the biological and adoptive father. The project also guarantees the father 30 days in employment after license.

The proposal, which has been processed since 2008 and has been approved by the Senate, had the urgent regime approved before the parliamentary recess. With this, the text can go to vote directly in the plenary, without having to go through the commission of the house.

Read also: Moraes saw in action of deputies attempted to repeat acts of 8/1

The Senate discusses several projects for the regulation of paternity leave. One of them is the proposal for amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 58/2023, which extends the paternity license to 20 days and expands maternity leave from 120 to 180 days, including in cases of adoption. The text is being processed by the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ).

Another project in the house is the PL 6063/2024, which establishes 180 days of maternity leave and 60 days of paternity. The matter also provides an increase in periods in the event of multiple births. The matter is still under analysis at the Human Rights Commission (CDH).

Another project, the PL 3773/2023, gradually expands the paternity license, starting in 30 days and reaching 60. The text also establishes the so-called “parish salary”, a social security benefit to be paid during the removal. The matter is being processed by the Social Affairs Commission (CAS).

Two other proposals in Senate: PL 139/2022 foresees 60 business days of paternity leave and sharing up to 30 days of maternity leave with the father, while PL 6136/2023 proposes to share up to 60 days of maternity leave and double its deadline in the event of disability.

Parliamentary front

Last week, the Mixed Parliamentary Front for Paternity License and the Women’s Bench in the National Congress performed an activity to articulate support for the regulation of paternity license in Brazil to ensure a period of 60 days for the parents, even if implemented gradually, from 30 days.

“We think it is possible to expand the paternity license in Brazil, (but) it is not overnight. And that is what we are negotiating. So, this older text, which is the first of the tree (of bills), which came from the Senate, speaks in 15 days. What we have brought in recent days is to reach 60 days. In debate, ”said federal deputy Tábata Amaral (PSB-SP), who is president of the Parliamentary Front.

At least 10 countries, including Spain, the Netherlands and Finland, grant paternity leave of 30 days or more. In most countries, the license is still less than 15 days.