Lakshmi sh 
A significant ruling has been issued by the National Court of Spain that permits the workers to enjoy their five-day paid leave to take care of their family members who are sick or hospitalized. And also their leave will not end even after they get discharged from the hospital. This ruling received a huge response from the workers across the country.
The decision of the National Court overrides the agreements that restrict the workers within this medical leave and also they ensure that the leave must be considered in working days not the calendar days. The employees who apply for the paid leave have all the rights to decide their dates which align with the caregiving period.
“The five-day leave for the hospitalization of relatives cannot be interpreted restrictively, making it dependent solely on the existence of actual hospitalization and ignoring the medical prescription of home rest” – Social Chamber of the National Court
They also argued regarding the gender equality which must be followed by the companies and any doubts which arise about this they are instructed to resolve using the ‘gender-based assessment’. They recalled and added this in their argument against the companies before the conclusion,
“Leaves that are linked to caring for family members and cohabitants are predominantly exercised by women and this same description of social reality that drove the European Directive 2019/1158 on conciliation. The aim of promoting mechanisms that facilitate shared responsibility in assuming family responsibilities” – National Court of Spain.
