Parental leave by country / Italy
Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Italy
How long each parent can be away, who pays and how much, the notice rules and the job protection — in plain English, whether you run a team in Italy or work on one.
Italian mothers must take five months of maternity leave — two before and three after the birth, or one and four, or all five after with a doctor's approval — paid by INPS at 80% of salary, which most collective agreements raise to 100%. Fathers have ten days of compulsory paternity leave at full pay within five months of the birth. Parents then share up to ten months of congedo parentale (eleven if the father takes at least three), paid at 80% for three months and 30% for the rest, usable until the child is twelve.
Disclosure: some software links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tools we have set up and used, and commission never affects placement or verdicts. Not legal advice: this page summarises publicly available state agency guidance for general information. Verify with the linked agency or an employment attorney before acting on it.
How it works
The Testo Unico fixes congedo di maternità at five months, with flexibility to start one month before the due date or, since 2019, to take all five months after the birth if the doctor agrees. INPS pays 80% of average daily pay, advanced by the employer in payroll and offset against contributions; nearly all CCNLs top it up to 100%. The congedo di paternità obbligatorio is ten working days (20 for multiple births) at 100%, to be taken within five months of the birth, independently of the mother's leave. Congedo parentale is available to each parent until the child's twelfth birthday: up to six months for the mother, six or seven for the father, ten months in total or eleven if the father takes at least three. Since 2025 three months of the total are paid at 80% — one reserved to each parent and one to either, the first two usable until the child is six and the third until twelve — and the remaining months at 30% up to the twelfth year. The 2026 budget law extended the right to take unpaid parental leave until the child is fourteen; the paid months still expire at twelve.
Worth knowing: The three months at 80% are now permanent rather than renewed annually, and since 2026 unpaid parental leave can be taken until the child's fourteenth birthday.
If you run a team in Italy
Advance the INPS benefits in payroll and recover them in the UniEmens flow, and apply the CCNL top-up. Dismissal is prohibited from the start of pregnancy until the child is one, and the employee returns to the same or equivalent post. Parents may ask to convert parental leave into hours (congedo parentale a ore) under the CCNL. Annual leave accrues during maternity and paternity leave; during congedo parentale it accrues only if the CCNL says so.
If you work in Italy
Send INPS the pregnancy certificate and apply online before the leave starts; tell your employer the dates. Fathers must take the ten days within five months of the birth and give at least five days' notice. Request congedo parentale from INPS and your employer at least five days ahead, choosing which months you want paid at 80%.
Parental leave and annual leave
Maternity and paternity leave count as service for annual leave and the thirteenth-month salary. Congedo parentale does not accrue annual leave unless the collective agreement provides for it.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Italy annual leave page — 20 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Long leaves are where leave records go wrong quietly: holiday that kept accruing for months and was never credited, a return date nobody diarised, a reduced entitlement applied where the law forbids it. In Italy the rules above decide what is owed on return, and the record has to show it. A tracker like Leavo keeps the leave, the accrual and the approvals in one place so the return is a date, not a dispute. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Parental leave in Italy: common questions
Can the mother work until the birth and take all five months afterwards?
Yes, since 2019, if a gynaecologist of the health service and the company doctor certify that continuing to work is not harmful; the five months then run entirely after the birth.
Which months of parental leave are paid at 80%?
Three in total: one reserved to the mother, one to the father, and one for either parent. The first two must be used before the child is six, the third before twelve; all other months are paid at 30%.
Is paternity leave paid?
Yes. The ten compulsory days are paid at 100% by INPS through the employer; an optional extra day can be taken in place of one of the mother's days.
Does annual leave accrue during maternity or parental leave in Italy?
Maternity and paternity leave count as service for annual leave and the thirteenth-month salary. Congedo parentale does not accrue annual leave unless the collective agreement provides for it.
Source
Primary source: Decreto Legislativo 151/2001 (Testo Unico maternità e paternità), as amended. Benefit rates and ceilings change every year and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme — confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.