Equal leave, designed to guarantee mothers and fathers the same rights to care in the first months of their children’s lives, is stalled in the Chamber. The Budget Commission has in fact expressed a negative opinion on the bill presented by the opposition, after the State General Accounting Office judged the economic coverage to be “unsuitable”, effectively blocking the process of the provision.
The main issue would concern resources: in the technical report, the Accounting Office highlighted that the costs of the measure would have been underestimated, because they did not include some categories, such as freelance professionals registered with social security funds.
What is equal leave
It would have been a measure aimed at equalizing the rights and duties of mothers and fathers in the care and assistance of children, overcoming the distinction between maternity and paternity leave. The latest versions of the bill supported by the opposition in the Chamber (first signatory Elly Schlein) provided for a 5-month leave for each parent with guaranteed pay of 100% of the salary (compared to the current system which provides percentages varying between 80% and 30%). The period would also become mandatory for fathers, exceeding the current 10 days required by law.
The proposal, therefore, envisaged two significant changes: equalizing the duration of leave between mothers and fathers and increasing the allowance from the current 80% to 100% of the salary, to reduce inequalities in family care and encourage greater sharing of responsibilities between parents. The objective was also to support working mothers, often penalized in their career and income due to periods of absence linked to motherhood.
Why the stop to the proposal
The Chamber approved a series of suppressive amendments presented by the Budget Committee after specific findings on financial coverage.
In the technical report, the Accounting Office highlighted that the costs of the measure would have been underestimated.
The Accounting document refers to the technical report sent by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies on the proposed law. On article 1 of the bill, it is highlighted that “the technical report, relating only to the charges for INPS members, quantifies the same, in the hypothesis of starting from 1 January 2026, at 520.8 million euros for the year 2026, progressively increasing up to 636.6 million euros per year starting from 2035. These charges are, however, underestimated as they do not include the charges relating to self-employed professional workers registered with the relevant social security funds”.
Regarding article 2 relating to equal leave, “the technical report quantifies the costs, in the hypothesis of starting from 1 January 2026, at 3,179.9 million euros for the year 2026, progressively increasing up to 3,875.2 million euros per year starting from 2035. Overall – the summary -, although not complete as it relates only to INPS members, female workers and workers in the private sector, the technical report quantifies the overall costs deriving from articles 1 and 2, in the hypothesis of starting from 1 January 2026, in 3,700.7 million euros for the year 2026 progressively increasing up to 4,511.8 million euros per year starting from 2035″. The Accounting Department also highlights the need for additions, as «detailed elements are needed regarding the personnel involved employed in the public sector and, in particular, those belonging to the school sector”.
For this reason the law, according to the technical evaluation, “cannot be positively verified”.
The decision sparked immediate reactions from the opposition who had presented the text in a unitary way. The secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein asked the Government to open a discussion on what she defined as a necessary measure to support female workers and improve the conciliation between work and family life.
In fact, the issue of equal leave cannot fail to remain central in the public debate, because it concerns not only the rights of workers, but also gender equality, the well-being of children and the possibility for families to share care time in a more balanced way.
