Single mother entitled to same parental leave as couple, Spanish court rules

Spain’s constitutional court ruled last November that children born into single-parent families should not be discriminated against or treated differently to children born into two-parent families. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

A court in Spain has ruled that a single mother is entitled to the parental leave that would have been due her partner – if she had one – on the grounds that all babies should be treated the same, regardless of the composition of their families.

The woman, a part-time worker known by the initials SPM, gave birth to a daughter in the south-eastern region of Murcia in January 2022. SPM requested additional parental leave, arguing that her daughter was entitled to the same amount of parental care as any other newborn. After her request was turned down by social services and the courts, she appealed to the regional high court.