What it is
Paid leave to attend or accompany medical appointments
It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 5 November 2018. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Socialista.
Official title: Private member's bill to amend Article 37 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of 23 October, approving the Consolidated Text of the Workers' Statute, to create a new paid leave allowing workers to attend medical consultations and tests, as well as to accompany relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity or persons under their guardianship or tutelage to medical consultations and tests.
Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000298· updated 11 Nov
Automatic summary, not yet reviewed
- The bill would add a new paragraph g) to Article 37.3 of the Workers' Statute, creating paid leave to attend medical appointments and tests.
- The leave would also cover accompanying relatives up to the second degree of blood relationship or affinity, or people under the worker's guardianship or care.
- The explanatory statement says the law currently grants no such leave, that companies often grant it unpaid and at their discretion, and that it mostly affects women, who do most family care work.
- The rule would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado).
Who it affects
- Workers who need to attend medical appointments or tests: They would have the right to paid leave for the necessary time.
- Workers accompanying relatives up to the second degree (parents, children, grandparents, siblings, in-laws): They could take paid time off to take them to the doctor.
- Guardians of other people: They could also use the leave to accompany them to medical appointments.
- Employers: They would have to grant and pay for this leave, which today depends on their tolerance or on collective agreements.
Words worth knowing
- Segundo grado de consanguinidad o afinidad
- Close relatives: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and by affinity in-laws such as parents-in-law and siblings-in-law.
- Guarda o tutela
- Legal arrangements by which a person is responsible for caring for another, for example a child who is not their own.
- Permiso retribuido
- Paid leave: time off work allowed by law with the right to keep earning your salary.
- Convenio colectivo
- Collective agreement between employers and unions setting working conditions for a sector or company.
It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries
Where it stands
How far did it get?
It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.
- Introduced5 November 2018Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
- Admitted13 November 2018The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
- Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
- Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
- Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
- Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
- BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Was there a plenary vote?
We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.
What happens next
What happens now?
The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.
It has not been presented again yet.
Sources
Where does all this come from?
- Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000298
Official title, type, author, dates and stage.
Retrieved 11 November 2026
- The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
- Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
- We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.