A Spanish region has once again drawn attention to reconciling work and family by maintaining monthly support for workers who go into excess to care for their children. In Portugal, the question arises naturally: is there similar help for those who need to temporarily leave work for family reasons?
The answer is less straightforward than in the Spanish case. Here, in the general regime there is no fixed monthly payment equal to that in the autonomous community of La Rioja for those who request extended leave to look after their children. What exists is a set of leaves, absences and subsidies paid by Social Security, provided for in the Labor Code and parenting legislation.
In La Rioja, official support is intended for private sector workers with a permanent contract who exercise their right to care for children, with a minimum period of four months. According to the regional government’s electronic headquarters, aid can reach 350 euros per full month, up to a maximum of 12,800 euros per person, and increases by 25% in the case of large and single-parent families, within certain income limits.
The closest support in Portugal
The closest Portuguese figure, in the general regime, is the extended parental allowance, linked to complementary parental leave. According to , it is cash support paid to the father, mother or both, for leave of up to 3 months, to care for the child until the day before he turns 6 and compensate for the loss of income during that period.
This support does not work as fixed regional aid, as happens in La Rioja. It is linked to the use of complementary parental leave and depends on the worker’s contribution career. According to gov.pt, the value is, as a rule, 30% of the reference salary, rising to 40% if both parents take all 3 months of extended parental leave.
Discounts required
To be entitled to extended parental benefit, you must meet the guarantee period. According to the Social Security practical guide, the beneficiary must have worked and paid contributions for 6 months, whether consecutive or not, to Social Security or another recognized social protection system.
The request can be made through Social Security Direct or through the channels indicated by Social Security itself. The application must be submitted within 6 months from the day the person stopped working to provide assistance.
What the CLT says
The Labor Code provides for several rights linked to parenthood, including complementary parental leave and leave to care for a child. Complementary parental leave, provided for in article 51, allows parents to accompany children up to 6 years old in different modalities, including extended parental leave, part-time work and alternate formulas.
Childcare leave, provided for in article 52, can be used for longer periods of monitoring, but only after the right referred to in the previous article has been exhausted. The law generally allows leave of up to 2 years, or up to 3 years in the case of a third child or more.
In other words, in Portugal there are mechanisms to temporarily suspend or reduce work activity for family reasons, but not everyone is entitled to a cash benefit under the same terms.
When the child is sick
There is also support for situations of illness or accident. According to gov.br, parents can miss work for up to 30 days a year to care for a child under 12, or for the entire period of hospitalization. In the case of children with disabilities or chronic illnesses, this period applies regardless of age. For children aged 12 and over, the limit is 15 days per year. These periods are increased by one day for each child beyond the first.
In these cases, there may be a child care benefit, which is granted to those who miss work to provide essential assistance that cannot be postponed due to illness or accident. The request must be made within 6 months from the first day of being unable to work and requires, as a rule, 6 calendar months with remuneration record.
Situations of disability, chronic illness or oncological disease
When children with disabilities, chronic illnesses or oncological illnesses are involved, there is a specific subsidy. gov.br describes this support as a cash benefit paid to those who miss work, because they are on leave, to accompany their children under these conditions.
Support covers biological children, adopted children, children of the spouse or person with whom they live in a stable union, and also substitute families. The license can last up to 6 months, be extended up to 4 years and, in exceptional situations justified by a medical declaration, up to 6 years.
Here too, support is not a fixed amount equal to Riojan aid. According to gov.br, the subsidy corresponds to 80% of the reference salary in the case of assistance to a child with a disability or chronic illness and 100% in the case of assistance to a child with cancer.
Portugal does not have aid like Spain
The main difference is in the model. In La Rioja, support is presented as a monthly allowance for excess childcare, with contract, income and minimum duration requirements, as well as an increase for some families. In Portugal, protection is distributed across several instruments: complementary parental leave, extended parental benefit, absences to care for a child and specific support in the case of illness, disability, chronic illness or oncological disease.
In the general Portuguese regime consulted, there is also no increase equivalent to the 25% foreseen in La Rioja for large or single-parent families in this specific context. These situations may be relevant in other social support, but not as a direct replica of this Spanish measure.
Before ordering, it is advisable to simulate
Anyone considering being temporarily away from work to care for a child must first confirm which regime applies to their case. Social Security provides a parenting simulator that allows you to estimate values and understand what support may be at stake.
In the end, the answer is clear: Portugal has support for working parents, but not a benefit equal to that in La Rioja. The closest support is the expanded parental allowance, complemented by absences and leaves provided for in the Labor Code and by specific subsidies in situations of illness or greater vulnerability of the child.
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