Parental leave allowance for male and female dependent workers

The following are not entitled to take leave:

• parents with a terminated or suspended employment relationship;
• domestic working parents;
• Parents who work from home.

Read less

Within the aforementioned overall limits, the right to abstain from work lies with:

• to women-mothers who are employed for a continuous or partial period of up to six months;
• to men-fathers who are employed for a continuous or partial period of a maximum six months, which can become seven in the event of abstention from work for a continuous or split period of at least three months;
• to men-fathers who are employed, even during the period of compulsory abstention of the mother (starting from the day after the birth) and even if she does not work;
• to single parents (fathers or mothers) for a continuous or partial period of a maximum 11 months. Article 32, paragraph 1, point c), of Italian Legislative Decree no. 151/2001 specifies that the term single parent also includes the parent in respect of whom sole custody of the child has been ordered, pursuant to Article 337-quater of the Civil Code (INPS Circular 27 October 2022, no. 122 (in Italian)).        

Consult the outline of parental leave periods (in Italian) (pdf 69KB)

If the employment relationship ceases at the beginning or during the period of leave, the right to leave lapses from the date the work is interrupted.

Dependent workers who are adoptive or foster parents, have parental leave in the same way as described above, within the first 12 years from the child's entry into the family, regardless of the child's age at the time of adoption or foster care, and in any case no later than when the child reaches the age of majority.

In the event of multiple births, adoption or foster care, the right to parental leave is subject to the same conditions for each child.

Article 32, paragraph 1-bis, of Legislative Decree no. 151 of 26 March 2001 provides for the possibility of splitting parental leave into hours; however, it refers to the sector collective agreement for the determination of the arrangements for taking leave on an hourly basis, the related calculation criteria and the equalisation of a specific number of hours to a single working day.

Article 32, paragraph 1-ter, of Legislative Decree no. 151 of 26 March 2001 provides that dependent worker parents, in the absence of collective bargaining, including at company level, may take parental leave on an hourly basis for half of the average daily working time in the four-weekly or monthly pay period immediately preceding the start of parental leave.

The 2023 Budget Law provided for an increase in the parental leave allowance for one month, to be taken within the child's sixth year of life, from 30% to 80% of pay (or within six years of the child entering the family in the case of adoption or foster care and, in any case, no later than when the child reaches the age of majority).

The provision applies to dependent workers who completed maternity leave or, alternatively, paternity leave after 31 December 2022.

The 2024 Budget Law provided for an increase in the parental leave allowance for a further month, to be taken within the child's sixth year of life, from 30% to 60% of pay, or within six years of the child entering the family in the case of adoption or foster care and, in any case, no later than when the child reaches the age of majority. For 2024 only, the increase in the parental leave allowance for the additional month was equal to 80% of pay. The provision applies to dependent workers who completed maternity leave or, alternatively, paternity leave after 31 December 2023.

The 2025 Budget Law (Article 1, paragraphs 217 and 2018 of Law no. 207 of 30 December 2024) increased the uplift in the allowance for the additional month of parental leave provided for by the 2024 Budget Law from 60% to 80%, and provided for an increase in the parental leave allowance from 30% to 80% for a further month.

The new provision applies only to dependent workers in both the public and private sectors who, respectively, have completed or complete the period of maternity leave or, alternatively, paternity leave after 31 December 2023 and after 31 December 2024.

WHAT AM I ENTITLED TO?

Parents who are dependent workers are entitled to following:

• a compensation equal to 30% of the average daily pay (three months of which are payable at 80%), calculated on the basis of the pay in the month preceding the start of the leave period, within the child's first 12 years (or from entry into the family in the event of adoption or foster care) and for a maximum total period (mother and/or father) of nine months, of which:
  • the mother is entitled to a payable period of three months, non-transferable to the other parent, to be taken within the child's twelfth year of life or from entry into the family in the event of adoption or foster care;
  • the father is entitled to a payable period of three months, non-transferable to the other parent, up to the child's twelfth year of life or from entry into the family in the event of adoption or foster care;
  • both parents are entitled, as an alternative between them, to a further payable period with a total duration of three months;
  • the single parent is granted nine months of parental leave paid at 30% of pay;
• for leave periods in addition to the nine months paid, an allowance equal to 30% of the average daily pay is due, only if the individual income of the applying parent is less than 2.5 times the annual amount of the minimum pension benefit.

Consult the allocation scheme for payable leave periods (in Italian) (pdf 135KB)

Increase in the allowance from 30% to 80%

During the taking of the three months that are non-transferable to the other parent, both parents may request the increased allowance at 80% of average total daily pay  for a total of three months, under the following conditions:

1. for one month, to be taken split between the parents or by only one of them, provided that:
   
   • the leave periods are taken from 1st January 2023;
   • the leave is taken for children under six years of age or within six years from the child's entry into the family in the case of fostering/adoption;
   • the period of maternity leave or, alternatively, paternity leave ended after 31 December 2022. In the event of the child's birth, or entry into the family through adoption/fostering, from 1st January 2023, the increased allowance for one month may be granted regardless of the end of maternity or paternity leave.
2. for a further month, to be taken split between the parents or by only one of them, provided that:
   
   • the leave periods are taken from 1st January 2024;
   • the leave is taken for children under six years of age or within six years from the child's entry into the family in the case of fostering/adoption;
   • the period of maternity leave or, alternatively, paternity leave ended after 31 December 2023. In the event of the child's birth, or entry into the family through adoption/fostering, from 1st January 2024, the increased allowance for two months may be granted regardless of the end of maternity or paternity leave.
3. for a further month, to be taken split between the parents or by only one of them, provided that:
   
   • the leave periods are taken from 1st January 2025;
   • the leave is taken for children under six years of age or within six years from the child's entry into the family in the case of fostering/adoption;
   • the period of maternity leave or, alternatively, paternity leave ended after 31 December 2024. In the event of the child's birth, or entry into the family through adoption/fostering, from 1st January 2025, the increased allowance for three months may be granted regardless of the end of maternity or paternity leave.

N.B. The 2023, 2024 and 2025 Budget Laws do not add additional months of parental leave paid at 80% of pay, but provide for the increase in the allowance from 30% to 80%, for a maximum period for the couple of three months. The increased allowance can be granted only within the six months (three for each parent) that are non-transferable to the other parent.

The months paid at 80% of pay are also available to the single parent. 

Please refer to the allocation scheme for the months of parental leave payable at 80% (in Italian) (pdf 190KB)

For further insights, you may consult the INPS circular of 27 October 2022, no. 122 and the INPS circular of 16 May 2023, no. 45 (in Italian) and the INPS circular of 18 April 2024, no. 57 (in Italian) and the INPS circular of 26 May 2025, no. 95 (in Italian).

Read less

Agricultural male and female workers with a fixed-term contract can apply for parental leave during the first year of a child's life, if they have provided 51 days of work in agriculture in the year preceding the event, which will also be compensated for abstentions even if they continue in the following year. For the years following the first and up to the 12th, they may apply for parental leave if the status of worker exists, which requires registration in the agricultural lists and 51 days of work in agriculture in the year preceding the event or, in the same year, if all the working days are carried out before the start of the leave.

WHEN CAN I CLAIM?

The claim must be submitted before the start of the requested leave period. If claimed after this time, only the days of leave after the claim date will be paid. For female and male dependent workers, the allowance is advanced by the employer.

Direct payment by INPS is provided for agricultural workers and fixed-term entertainment industry workers.

For ex IPSEMA insured female and male seafarers, employed by employers who choose payment of the allowance with the CA2G adjustment (INPS circular 23 October 2015, no. 173 (in Italian)), the territorial responsibility for managing the cases is that envisaged for workers in general, determined on the basis of the insured person’s residence.

For ex IPSEMA female and male workers, employed by employers who do not choose payment of the allowance with the CA2G adjustment, territorial responsibility is determined for regional “hub” territorial structures (INPS circular 23 October 2015, no. 173 (in Italian)).

For the operational procedures for submitting the claim and for taking the parental leave on an hourly basis, please refer to the INPS circular of 18 August 2015, no. 152 (in Italian).

HOW CAN I CLAIM?

Female and male workers can submit the parental leave claim on-line to INPS through the dedicated service. 

By clicking on “Use service”, on this page, you can select:

• “Patronage Institutes Portal”: section reserved for patronage institutes, for consulting the claims submitted before publication in the new service “Maternity and paternity claims”;
• “Parental leave, maternity and paternity – Claim”: section reserved for citizens, for consulting the claims submitted before publication in the new service “Maternity and paternity claims”;
• “Maternity and paternity claims”: the new service for submitting claims for parental leave for citizens and patronage institutes. In this section you can check the status of the parental leave counters using the “Consult parental leave counters” card.

Alternatively, claims can be made by:

• phoning the contact centre on +39 803 164 (free from Italian landlines) or +39 06 164 164 from mobile phones;
• On-line services offered by patronage institutes and intermediaries thereof.

The procedure for submitting parental leave claims makes it possible to select parental leave (including split into days or hours) with an increased allowance. For most workers, payment is advanced by the employer on behalf of the Institute.

Ex IPSEMA insured female and male seafarers IPSEMA  employed by employers who choose payment of the allowances with the CA2G adjustment may submit the parental leave claim online to INPS in the manner described above. Instead, the claim is paper-based for ex IPSEMA insured female and male dependent workers, who work for employers who waive the payment of compensation with the CA2G adjustment and territorial responsibility depends on the operating instructions provided with INPS circular 23 October 2015, no. 173 (in Italian).

Read less

The table (in Italian) attached to the Regulation shows both the deadlines for defining the measures established by the Institute that are longer than the normal 30-day period, and the indication of the relative manager.

Read less