Child sick leave, duration of leave and amount

Sick leave (or leave) for the child is one of the many tools available to the parent employee to be absent from work to meet family needs.
As can be easily understood from the name of the leave in question, it can be enjoyed in the event of illness of sons or daughters, a circumstance which must be justified by presenting suitable documentation (such as the sick certificate) upon returning to work.
When it is the children who are ill, therefore, the employee cannot take illness himself: there are specific tools such as the one in question or parental leave (which as we will see below has the advantage of being paid albeit minimally) .
Even for permits recognized for the child's illness there are limits and rules to be respected.
First of all, the age of the boy or girl which must be less than 8 years old.
Therefore, although over the years there have been several legislative proposals aimed at increasing this limit, bringing it to at least 15 years, today it is not possible to take advantage of sick leave days for a child over 8 years old.
And as we will see below, the number of permits available to the worker also depends on age.
In this regard, here is everything you need to know about your child's sick leave, from the requirements to how much is due on the days of absence, up to the cases in which it can be used as well as the alternatives available to the employee if he is unable to take advantage of the leave.
permit in question.
Sick leave for your child What does the law say When can it be requested? Salary Check-ups Medical certificate Interruption of holidays Medical check-ups of the child Alternatives to sick leave for the child What the legislation says Being a parent and a worker at the same time can be prohibitive, especially in certain periods of the year.
Let's think for example of the flu period, when between nursery and nursery school it is easy for your child to catch a seasonal illness and be forced to stay at home for a few days.
No problem for those who can rely on grandparents or have the ability to afford a babysitter, but what can others do? You obviously already know the answer: there is the possibility for the worker to justify his child's absence due to illness, adhering to the limits imposed by the law.
Leave for the child's illness is established by article 47 of the Single Treaty 151/2001 which regulates the rules and methods of use for leave, rest and permits recognized for workers who become parents.
The TU also changed its name, since before its entry into force we were talking about permits – and not leaves – for the illness of the child.
It is therefore article 47 of TU 151/2001 that you must refer to to have all the necessary information on your child's sick leave, from the days of leave that can be requested to the expected salary in case of absence.
For example, here it is specified that both workers employed with permanent and fixed-term contracts can request leave, but only when the age of the sick child does not exceed 8 years.
Circular 79/76 of the Ministry of Labor, however, explains that "illness" means "the worsening modification of the state of health and more precisely any anatomical and functional alteration of the organism, even localized, and therefore not demanding from the organic conditions general".
When can it be requested? Legislative Decree no.
151 of 2001 provides for the possibility for working parents to take advantage of a period of absence from work due to the illness of their children while maintaining the right to keep their job.
The duration of the period of optional absence depends on the days of illness of the child and varies according to the age of the child: up to the child's 3 years of age: both parents can alternately absent themselves for the period of illness of the child, without limits of time.
For public employees, the first 30 days of absence, following the period of maternity or paternity leave, are paid; between 3 and 8 years of age of the child: each parent can be absent in turn for a maximum of 5 working days each year until the child turns 8.
The 5 days of leave cannot be transferred to the other parent.
It should be noted that the Jobs Act raised the age for benefiting from parental leave to 12 years, but the limit for absence due to illness is still 8 years.
The calculation of the days of leave also includes any holidays if included in the period of absence from work.
In fact, to avoid cases of "split use", the legislation provides that if at least one day of actual work does not elapse between two periods of leave, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are also included in the calculation.
Salary For the periods of absence that are due to the requesting parent, no financial compensation is due.
However, more favorable treatment is provided for parents who work in the public sector since up to the child's age of three, the first thirty days of leave are paid at 100% (paid by INPS).
Periods of absence must be counted in the length of service, with the exception of the effects relating to holidays and the thirteenth month's salary, and are covered by a notional contribution (paid by the social security management to which the workers are registered) which varies based on the age of the child .
Precisely for this reason, given that in most cases the period of absence is not paid, the worker who takes advantage of this leave is given the possibility of requesting an advance on the severance pay from the employer.
The sum requested, which in any case cannot exceed 70% of the amount accrued, will be used to compensate for the unpaid salary and usually should not exceed this amount.
read also TFR advance for parental leave or child's illness: requirements, amounts and application Check-ups During the days of sick leave of the child the parent is not obliged to be available during the times of the tax check-up as this check exclusively concerns the illness of the worker and not of the child.
read also Tax visits 2024, new hours of availability and cases of exemption Medical certificate The employer cannot avoid recognizing the leave, the illness must in any case be documented through a certificate signed by the attending or affiliated doctor, transmitted electronically to the INPS, employer of work and parent, via certified e-mail.
Holiday Interruption Sick leave only interrupts holidays if the child needs to be admitted to hospital.
In this case the parent can request the transformation of the holidays into sick leave for the child.
Medical visits of your child It is important to clarify the issue related to medical visits.
Let's take as an example a parent who has to take a day off to accompany their child to a routine medical visit, i.e.
one not linked to a worsening of his or her health.
In this case this cannot justify the absence by taking leave due to the child's illness, but there are alternatives.
Alternatives to your child's sick leave As seen above, except in the case of public employees, your child's sick leave is unpaid, which is why we recommend using it only if there are no more convenient alternatives for you.
For example, Rol leave – 100% paid – can be enjoyed in all circumstances, therefore even if there are particular family needs.
The same applies to holidays, although the employer must grant them.
In these cases you retain the right to pay, but obviously you lose days that could be useful in other circumstances.
Obviously, the choice is yours as to which option is the most convenient, to which, as seen above, is added that of requesting parental leave.
In this case there is a double advantage: firstly the possibility of requesting it also for illness of the child between 8 and 12 years (limit age for taking parental leave), after which the fact that for the first 9 months he is at least paid at 30% %.
And in some cases the allowance can even reach 80% for the first two months, as established by the last two budget laws.