Paternity leave moves from limbo into law
Em um país onde a licença-paternidade nunca foi formalmente codificada em lei, o Senado brasileiro se prepara para votar uma medida que, pela primeira vez, ancora esse direito em legislação própria e o expande de cinco para vinte dias ao longo de quatro anos. A iniciativa, impulsionada por uma decisão do Supremo Tribunal Federal que reconheceu a omissão do Congresso, reflete um esforço mais amplo de redistribuir os encargos do cuidado familiar entre pais e mães. O custo estimado de R$ 5,4 bilhões até 2030 revela que a sociedade brasileira está, ainda que gradualmente, disposta a atribuir valor econômico ao tempo que os pais passam com seus filhos.
- Após décadas de omissão legislativa, o Senado enfrenta uma votação histórica que transformaria a licença-paternidade de uma promessa constitucional vaga em um direito concreto e ampliado.
- A pressão do Supremo Tribunal Federal, que fixou prazo para regulamentação, retirou o tema do limbo político e forçou o Congresso a agir com urgência.
- A versão final do projeto representa uma concessão: os 60 dias originalmente propostos foram reduzidos a 20, distribuídos em etapas ao longo de quatro anos, para acomodar resistências fiscais e políticas.
- O novo salário-paternidade, espelhado no salário-maternidade, garante renda integral ao trabalhador enquanto permite que as empresas compensem os custos via contribuições ao INSS.
- Disposições especiais — como 120 dias de licença em caso de morte da mãe e proteções contra demissão — sinalizam que a lei pretende ir além do benefício e redefinir o papel do pai no cuidado familiar.
O Senado brasileiro votava nesta quarta-feira um projeto de lei que, pela primeira vez, inscreve a licença-paternidade em legislação específica e a expande de cinco para vinte dias ao longo de quatro anos. A proposta já havia sido aprovada pela Câmara dos Deputados e, se confirmada pelo Senado, seguiria para sanção presidencial.
O caminho até aqui exigiu recuos. A versão original previa sessenta dias de licença, mas resistências fiscais e políticas levaram a um modelo escalonado: dez dias nos dois primeiros anos de vigência, quinze no terceiro e vinte a partir do quarto. O custo total estimado pelo governo chega a R$ 5,4 bilhões até 2030.
Hoje, os cinco dias de licença existentes repousam sobre uma disposição constitucional transitória de 1988, nunca regulamentada em lei própria. O novo texto corrige essa lacuna e cria o salário-paternidade: o empregador mantém o pagamento integral do trabalhador durante o afastamento e recupera esse custo abatendo suas contribuições ao INSS, sem ônus direto para o pai.
O projeto também prevê proteção contra discriminação no emprego, estabilidade durante e após a licença, e uma disposição sensível: se a mãe falecer, o pai tem direito a até 120 dias de afastamento, equiparando sua proteção à da mãe. Empresas que voluntariamente ampliem benefícios além do mínimo legal podem ainda obter incentivos fiscais pelo programa Empresa Cidadã.
A votação ganhou impulso após o Supremo Tribunal Federal reconhecer a omissão do Congresso e fixar prazo para regulamentação. A Comissão de Assuntos Sociais do Senado, em parecer favorável, enquadrou a medida não apenas como expansão de um benefício, mas como um passo para equilibrar culturalmente as responsabilidades parentais entre homens e mulheres.
Brazil's Senate was set to vote Wednesday on legislation that would reshape paternity leave in the country, gradually expanding the benefit from its current five days to twenty days over the course of four years. The bill had already cleared the Chamber of Deputies and would establish what the law calls paternity salary—a social security payment that flows to fathers during their time away from work. If the Senate approves it, the measure moves to the president's desk for signature.
The journey to this point involved compromise. Lawmakers in the Chamber had originally envisioned a more generous framework, pushing for sixty days of leave. Fiscal concerns and political resistance forced a retreat. The final version settles on a staggered approach: ten days during the first two years the law is in effect, fifteen days in the third year, and twenty days starting in the fourth year. Government economists estimate the total cost through 2030 at approximately 5.4 billion reais.
Today, paternity leave in Brazil stands at five days—a figure that has never been formally codified in specific legislation. Instead, it rests on a transitional constitutional provision from 1988, leaving the benefit in a kind of legal limbo. The new law would anchor it properly and expand it substantially. The paternity salary works like this: employers continue paying workers their full wages during the leave period, then recover that cost by reducing their contributions to the national social security system. The worker receives no interruption in income; the employer absorbs the cost through a tax mechanism.
Beyond the basic expansion, the bill includes protections against workplace discrimination for fathers who use the benefit and guarantees employment stability during and after leave. It also addresses extraordinary circumstances. If the child's mother dies, the father gains the right to take up to 120 days away from work—matching the protections already extended to mothers. The legislation further incorporates paternity leave into the Citizen Company program, which offers tax breaks to employers who voluntarily expand family leave policies beyond legal minimums.
The bill consolidates years of legislative effort. Former senator Patrícia Saboya and deputy Tabata Amaral, among others, had introduced related proposals over time. The Senate's Social Affairs Committee, in its favorable report, framed the measure as an attempt to bring fathers into parity with mothers in the eyes of the law and to encourage a more balanced sharing of childcare responsibilities within families. The committee's language suggests this is not merely about expanding a benefit but about reshaping cultural expectations around parental roles.
The push for change gained momentum after Brazil's Supreme Court issued a ruling acknowledging that Congress had failed to properly regulate paternity leave and set a deadline for lawmakers to pass specific legislation on the subject. That judicial pressure created political space for the bill to move forward. The Senate vote on Wednesday would represent the final legislative hurdle before the measure becomes law.
Citas Notables
The regulation seeks to bring protection for fathers into alignment with the existing model for mothers and to encourage a more balanced division of childcare responsibilities— Senate Social Affairs Committee report
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the original proposal get cut from sixty days down to twenty?
The fiscal impact was the main obstacle. Sixty days would have cost significantly more, and there wasn't political will to absorb that expense. Twenty days over four years felt like a compromise that expanded the benefit without breaking the budget.
So fathers won't get the full twenty days immediately?
No. It phases in. Ten days for the first two years, then fifteen, then twenty. That gradual approach probably helped sell it—the cost spreads out, and employers have time to adjust their practices.
How does the paternity salary actually work? Does the government pay it?
The government's social security system technically pays it, but the mechanism is indirect. The employer pays the worker's full salary during leave, then deducts that amount from what they owe to social security. So the worker loses nothing, the employer absorbs the cost through a tax offset.
What happens if the mother dies?
The father can take up to 120 days—the same length as maternity leave. It's recognition that in those circumstances, the father becomes the sole caregiver and needs that protection.
Why did the Supreme Court get involved?
The Court found that Congress had essentially ignored the constitutional requirement to properly regulate paternity leave. It set a deadline and basically said: legislate this or we will. That pressure helped move the bill forward.
Does this change how companies think about hiring fathers?
That's the hope. The bill includes anti-discrimination protections and employment stability guarantees. It also offers tax incentives to companies that go beyond the legal minimum. The idea is to make family leave normal, not something that marks a worker as less committed.