Extended Parental Leave Calculator

It depends on the option, and the gap is wide. The extended parental benefit is normally 30 % of the reference remuneration (article 33(1) of Decree-Law 91/2009), rises to 40 % when each parent takes the full extended leave (33(2)), and is 20 % where the three-month half-time option c) is chosen (33(3)). But under option c) the benefit adds to half the salary, by the exception in article 42, so total income is higher than on full leave. On a 1 500 € salary, option a) pays 450 € a month and option c) pays 1 050 €.

Three of the five options are, two are not. Article 16 of Decree-Law 91/2009 grants the extended parental benefit only where the leave is taken under points a), c) and d) of article 51(1) of the Labour Code. Option b), twelve months of half-time work, and option e), interpolated absences provided for in a collective agreement, are left out. Whoever chooses option b) keeps the right to reduced hours and to their job, but receives nothing from Social Security for those twelve months: only half the salary remains.

The complementary leave is the right and the extended leave is one of its shapes. Article 51(1) of the Labour Code calls the overall right licença parental COMPLEMENTAR, and calls option a), three continuous months away from work, licença parental ALARGADA. That is why the benefit is named after the extended leave even when the part-time option is taken: it is the name of the payment, not of the option. In practice the two words are used interchangeably, but where the law distinguishes them it is worth noticing which one is written.

Three months of equivalent absence per parent in every option, but spread over different calendar periods. Option a) is three continuous months of leave. Option b) is twelve months of half-time work, and is the only one that exceeds the equivalence. Option c) is three months at half-time. Option d) mixes the two until they add up to the equivalent of three months of work. The benefit itself is granted "for a period of up to three months" (article 16), which caps it even where the option lasts longer.

Under options c) and d), yes, and it is an express exception. The general rule in article 42 of Decree-Law 91/2009 is that the benefits in that chapter cannot be combined with employment income, but the same article opens an exception for the extended parental benefit taken under points c) and d) of article 51(1) of the Labour Code. Under option b) the question does not arise, because there is no benefit to combine.

After the initial parental leave and until the child turns six. Article 51(1) sets the age limit, and article 16 of Decree-Law 91/2009 in its original wording required it to be taken immediately after the initial parental benefit period or after the other parent's extended parental benefit. Article 51(2) allows it to be taken continuously or in up to three separate periods, and article 51(5) requires written notice to the employer, stating the chosen option and the dates, 30 days in advance.

Refuse, no. Postpone, in one specific case, yes. Article 51(3) says that if both parents want to take the leave at the same time and work for the same employer, the employer may postpone one of them until the other parent's leave ends, on the grounds of imperative requirements linked to the running of the business, provided the reasons are given in writing. Outside that situation, and once the 30 days' notice has been given, the right is exercised. Article 51(6) adds that breaching paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 is a serious administrative offence.

No, and the part-time salary is. The benefit is a social payment and carries neither income tax nor Social Security contributions, so the figure the calculator shows for it is what actually arrives. The half salary that continues under options b), c) and d) is ordinary category-A income: it carries the 11 % Social Security contribution and whatever withholding applies. The salaries on this page are gross, which is why the share-of-pay figures in the comparison should be read as a comparison between gross amounts.

The floor in article 38(2) takes over, especially under option c). On a 920 € salary the daily reference remuneration is 30.67 €, and 20 % of that would be 6.13 € a day, below the legal minimum of 40 % of a thirtieth of the IAS, which is 7.16 € in 2026. The benefit rises to that 7.16 €. Under option a), at 30 %, the arithmetic gives 9.20 € a day and the floor never comes into play. That is why the floor matters far more in the part-time option than on full leave: the rate is lower and hits the minimum much sooner.