Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2011. It describes Spanish rules as of then: leave duration, the 100% maternity benefit, the minimum contribution period by age and the contribution rebates. Spanish birth and childcare leave has been reformed several times since, notably from 2019 to 2021, so these figures should not be read as current.
Efforts are increasingly being made to bring the self-employed workers’ scheme (Spain’s Social Security scheme for the self-employed) into line with the General Social Security Scheme for employees, since both pay contributions in a similar way, and until recently employees had more coverage and benefits than self-employed workers. The gap is still considerable, although self-employed workers have already come a little way in this respect.
The problem a self-employed woman now faces is that she doesn’t know the social protection laws when she decides to become a mother. As a result, she sometimes doesn’t apply for the benefits she’s entitled to, and in other cases she makes a different decision: putting off pregnancy. A woman in this situation should know the following.
Maternity and paternity leave for self-employed workers lasts just as long as for all other workers, although there are some differences in the financial benefits.
A self-employed mother can receive a maternity benefit of 100% of her contribution base (the earnings figure her benefits are calculated from), as long as she has completed the minimum contribution period, which varies with age. During that time, she must keep paying her Social Security contributions.
If she hires someone during her leave, the contributions for both are 100% rebated (for common contingencies).
Once she’s back at work, the mother is entitled to a 100% rebate on her Social Security contributions for 12 months. If she has already paid them, she can apply for a refund of the contributions paid as a mother returning to work.
See also: Public grants for the self-employed and subsidies for entrepreneurs in 2011
So being a businesswoman and wanting to be a mother doesn’t have to be a problem. If you’re thinking of running your own business under the self-employed workers’ scheme and would like to become a mother at some point, ask your adviser what you’re entitled to during that period and what the law says at that time.
Further reading
- Which legal structure should we choose for our business?
- Requirements for receiving unemployment benefit as a lump sum
- Commercial contracts: the dangers of this type of contract
Featured image: Zarateman, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
