Choosing to be fathers

Laws

Parental leave, discussion on timing reopened in the Labour Commission

The chairman of the Chamber's Labour Committee, Walter Rizzetto, assures the 'willingness to engage in a substantive discussion'

by Barbara Nepitelli

19 March 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The path towards equality in parenting comes to a halt in the face of the coverage obstacle and the findings of the State General Accounting Office, but the debate remains open. After the Chamber of Deputies' 'no' to the oppositions' proposal on equal parental leave for five months - with total costs estimated in the Ministry of Labour's technical report at 3.7 billion euros in 2026 and 4.5 billion from 2035 - the future of the measure is moving on a mediation track. If the centre-left beats the drum on the equality of maternity/paternity leave, the majority opens a debate on the merits by focusing on flexibility and 'rewarding' optional parental leave.

The proposal failed

The spotlight has therefore been turned back on an instrument that, since 2013, has reached the current 10 days (minimum level of the 2019 EU directive) and that, according to Inps data, will have been used by almost 182,000 fathers in 2024, with adherence growing from 20 per cent in 2013 to 64.8 per cent in 2024.

'The issue has not ended up on a dead track. We will continue to keep it alive, also by tabling amendments,' says the Pd's Labour leader, Maria Cecilia Guerra. Because, she adds, it is true that 'there is a problem of coverage, but it would have been possible to have a debate on the merits that could have envisaged a partial application or in stages'. Moreover, she notes, it is 'short-sighted' not to consider the cost to society by excluding women 'so heavily' from the labour market.

"The point of greatest urgency is to increase the days of compulsory paternity leave, after which the costs are modulable," the Dem exponent further notes, adding that the question is whether there is agreement on the "fundamental message" of the proposal that was first signed by PD secretary Elly Schlein that maternity/paternity leave must be equal for two fundamental reasons: to allow men to exercise parenting equally as well and to eliminate the main element of discrimination of women in the labour market.

In the Labour Commission

For his part, Walter Rizzetto (FdI), chairman of the Chamber's Labour Committee, assures that there is 'willingness to discuss the matter in depth in the Commission' and that the issue will be examined in depth 'in the coming weeks' with the aim of developing it in the Commission before the Budget law. The exponent of Fratelli d'Italia makes no secret of the fact that he has 'some doubts and reservations' on the issue of compulsoriness. He notes, however, that 'one hypothesis on which the Commission could reason is to understand whether, with respect to timeframes well under five months, ways can be found, also in terms of economic coverage'.

An option could also be a period to be 'modulated' between parents, leaving the decision on its use to the household. In addition to the issue of coverage, he emphasises, consideration must also be given to the impact on public employment (especially the school sector) as well as on the small and medium-sized business sector. At the same time, Rizzetto emphasises the attention shown by the government and majority on parental leave, where an increase in the allowance to 80 per cent of salary was introduced over time for a period of three months extended to the child's 14th birthday. This is the next step after the compulsory maternity and paternity leave, i.e. the optional break from work for both parents for a maximum total of 10 months (which can be increased to 11 months if the father uses at least three months): "I think the next step is in this area, which is very important," the FdI representative explained, saying that he had already begun discussions with Minister Roccella for "further reasoning" on these "rewards".

The use of paternity leave

Taking an overview of the data, the XXIV Inps Report shows a variable use of paternity leave with an average of 7.17 days of leave taken (about one father in four makes full use of the period compared to about 30% who use less than half the days available). Save the Children outlines the 'profile' of fathers who take leave, again based on Inps data: they are between 35 and 44 years old (52% overall), have a stable full-time job and in most cases live in the North (59%), while 19% and 22% live in the Centre and South respectively.

The picture that emerges on parental leave is also interesting. The Civ Inps Gender Report 2025 reports that in 2024 significantly more women (289,230) took parental leave than men (124,140). For the latter, however, the figure is up from 78,298 in 2022 and 96,328 in 2023. There remains, however, a considerable disparity in terms of days authorised: women took 15,409,095 days of parental leave compared to 2,771,988 for men (an increase for both genders over 2022 and 2023).