Spanish Supreme Court rejects annual cap on caregiver leave

The Supreme Court of Spain has ruled that companies cannot limit paid leave for caring for seriously ill or hospitalized relatives to a maximum of five days per year. The court's decision ratifies a previous ruling by the National Court following a lawsuit filed by unions CCOO, UGT, and CSIF against the RACE business group.

The ruling clarifies that the leave is generated by each individual qualifying event, such as a hospitalization, rather than being capped by the calendar year. While companies argued that European Directive 2019/1158 sets a limit of five working days per year, the Court noted that the directive establishes a minimum level of protection, which Spain exceeded when transposing the law via Royal Decree-Law 5/2023. The Spanish statute increased the leave from two to five days per event without imposing an annual ceiling.

Additionally, the Court rejected the practice of automatically ending the leave upon a relative's hospital discharge. The five days of paid leave may extend beyond discharge if the need for care persists due to ongoing illness or convalescence.