From 1 January 2026, parental leave will change its face. With the 2026 Budget Law and the subsequent INPS message no. 251/2026, the age limit for children up to which it is possible to take advantage of the leave rises from 12 to 14 years. A significant change which extends the period of protection for families, but which concerns exclusively a very specific audience: parents who are employees, both in the private sector and in the public sector.
What does the new rule provide?
The novelty arises from the amendment to the Consolidated Law on maternity and paternity. In the case of birth, parental leave can be used until the child turns 14, starting from the end of maternity leave for the mother and from the date of birth for the father. It is therefore not a question of new additional months, but of an extension of the time frame within which to use those already provided for by law.
Adoptions and foster care: what’s changing
The same rules also apply in the case of adoption or foster care. In these situations, parental leave can be requested within 14 years of the minor’s entry into the family, but with an insurmountable limit: no later than reaching the age of majority. An important clarification, which avoids extensive interpretations and keeps the regulatory perimeter well defined.
Who is excluded from the extension
The reform is not universal. In fact, self-employed workers and those registered with the INPS separate management, such as collaborators and professionals with a VAT number, are excluded. For these categories, the previous limits continue to apply: up to the child’s 12th birthday for those registered with separate management and even only within the first year of life for the self-employed. A clear distinction that confirms the different protection regime between employed and self-employed work.
Duration and compensation of leave
The overall duration limits remain unchanged: up to 11 months for the parental couple, provided that the father benefits from at least three months, otherwise the maximum limit drops to 10. As for the allowance, 3 months are paid at 80%, while the remaining 8 months at 30%, with some conditions linked to income for part of them. The same rules also apply to adoptions and foster care.
How to submit the application to INPS
INPS updated the online procedure for sending parental leave applications on 8 January 2026. Employed parents can therefore submit a request electronically through the dedicated service on the Institute’s website. It is also possible to regularize previous periods used between 1 January 2026 and the date of update of the procedure, if it was not possible to send the application in real time.
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