Is it possible to balance work and family care?

There are times when it is very difficult to combine personal life and work life and it is necessary to reconcile them, especially when we have family members to take care of.

The Estatuto de los Trabajadores offers us different alternatives when facing this type of situation.

Reduction of working hours to care for family members

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Art 37 of the Statute provides for the possibility of reducing the daily working day.

Who is entitled to such reduction?

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According to this article in its point 6:

• Who for reasons of legal guardianship has in his direct care a minor under twelve years of age or a disabled person who does not perform a paid activity..

This reduction is accompanied by a proportional reduction in salary between, at least, one eighth and a maximum of one half of the duration of that reduction.

• Who needs to take direct care of a relative, up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, who for reasons of age, accident or illness is unable to look after himself/herself, and who is not in paid employment.

This reduction, like the aforementioned, is accompanied by a proportional reduction in salary of between at least one eighth and a maximum of one half of the duration of the aforementioned reduction.

• The parent, adopter, guardian for adoption purposes or permanent foster carer, who is in the care, during hospitalization and continuous treatment, of minors in their care affected by cancer, or by any other serious illness, that implies a long term hospitalization and requires direct, continuous and permanent care, accredited by the report of the public health service or administrative health body of the corresponding autonomous community and, at the most, until the minor reaches the age of eighteen. By collective bargaining agreement, the conditions and cases in which this reduction of working hours may be accumulated in full working days may be established.

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The parent, adoptive parent, guardian for the purpose of adoption or permanent foster parent shall be entitled to a reduction of the working day, with a proportional reduction of the salary of at least half of the duration of such reduction.

• The parent, adopter or guardian, for breastfeeding, shall be entitled to reduce half an hour a day, which may be accumulated in full days,
• The parent, adopter or guardian, for breastfeeding, shall be entitled to reduce half an hour a day, which may be accumulated in full days.
• The father or mother, in the case of premature children who must remain in hospital, shall have the right to reduce the working day up to 2 hours a day, with a proportional reduction in salary.

The reduction of working hours constitutes an individual right of workers, men or women. However, if two or more workers of the same company generate this right by the same causal subject, the employer may limit its simultaneous exercise.

Who decides how to exercise the reduction of the working day?

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Article 37, paragraph 7, provides that the timetable and the determination of the period of the reduction of the working day corresponds to the worker, although collective bargaining agreements may also establish criteria taking into account the rights of reconciliation of the personal, family and working life of the worker and the productive and organizational needs of the company.

The employee, except in cases of force majeure, must give the company 15 days’ notice (or the advance notice stipulated in the applicable agreement), specifying the date on which he/she will begin and end the reduced working day leave to care for family members.

Family care leave

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ART 46.3 provides for the possibility of taking voluntary leave of absence to care for family members.