The Budget Law expands the rights of employed parents and the INPS opens applications: more flexibility on timing, limits on duration and compensation remain
The new rules on parental leave have officially started. The 2026 Budget Law expanded parents’ rights, extending the right of employees to be absent from work for leave up to the age of 14. And now the INPS has opened the submission of applications. The amendment to the Consolidated Law on maternity and paternity expands the protection of parenthood and introduces greater flexibility in the management of child care times.
Parental leave, changes: what the 2026 budget law provides
The main change concerns the age of children up to which it is possible to take parental leave. From 1 January 2026, the limit will be extended from 12 to 14 years for employed parents in both the public and private sectors. The overall duration of the leave does not change, but a more flexible distribution over time is granted. Parental leave can be used within the child’s first 14 years, starting from the end of maternity leave for the employed mother and from the date of birth for the father. In the case of adoption or foster care, the right can be exercised within 14 years of the minor’s entry into the family, provided that the age of majority has not been reached in the meantime. The extension to 14 years does not include workers registered with separate management (the time limit remains set at 12 years) and self-employed workers, who continue to be able to benefit from parental leave only within the first year of the child’s life or within one year of entry into the family in the case of adoption or foster care.
Maximum parental leave: durations, limits and amounts
The reform does not increase the months of abstention from work, but allows them to be used over a broader period of the child’s life. The overall limit remains ten months of parental leave between the two parents, which can become eleven if the father abstains from work for at least three months, even if not continuously. The father can take advantage of the leave even during the mother’s period of compulsory leave and even if the latter is not working.
Then there is the situation of the single parent, which also concerns the parent with sole custody of the child. In this case, parental leave can reach a maximum of eleven months in total.
On an economic level, employed parents are entitled to an allowance equal to 30% of the average daily wage, calculated on the basis of the salary of the month preceding the start of the leave. And three months of leave can be compensated at 80%, a strengthened measure to support parenting.
Applications for parental leave: how to apply with the updated procedure
For periods of parental leave used up to 31 December 2025, the old 12-year limit continues to apply. The extension to 14 years applies exclusively to periods of leave starting from 1 January 2026. And to make the new rules operational, the INPS has updated the electronic procedure “Maternity and paternity applications” from 8 January 2026, available on the website. This is the mandatory channel through which employed parents must submit the request for parental leave allowance according to the new terms set out in the 2026 Budget Law. And what about the “uncovered” days in January? The Institute clarified that parents who, between 1 January 2026 and the date of the system update, were unable to submit the application because the procedure was not active, can subsequently submit it retroactively. It is therefore now possible to request the allowance also for periods of leave already taken in those days, without penalties.
