Brazil: Proposal to extend paternity leave

Employer Action Code: Monitor

Long-standing draft legislation (Bill 3935/2008) to increase the minimum duration of paid paternity leave from five days to 20 days, and to shift the cost from employers to social security, may finally become law. The lower house of Brazil’s National Congress (Chamber of Deputies) approved the bill in November 2025 with some modifications. If approved by the Senate, the law would take effect on the date defined in the enacted legislation. The duration increase would be phased in, with the final increase to 20 days subject to the government meeting certain fiscal targets.

Key details

Proposed changes under Bill 3935/2008 include:

• Paternity leave would increase over four years, from the current five days, to 10 days during the first two years of the law’s effectiveness, to 15 days in the third year and to 20 days from the fourth year on (the final increase would be conditional on the government reaching the fiscal targets set in the Budgetary Guidelines Law)
• When a newborn (or adopted) child has a disability, paternity leave would be extended by one-third. Leave would also be extended when a mother or newborn is hospitalized, for the duration of the hospitalization, as provided in the latest version approved by the Chamber of Deputies
• Employees would be allowed to split paternity leave into two periods, one immediately following the birth and the other within 180 days, as well as to use annual leave right after paternity leave with 30 days’ notice
• Employers would continue to provide paid paternity leave at full salary to employees, but they would later deduct the cost of paternity leave pay benefits from social security contributions, as is already the case for maternity leave
• Employees on paternity leave would be protected against dismissal without cause for the duration of leave and for one month after returning to work

Companies participating in the voluntary Corporate Citizen Program (Programa Empresa Cidadã – PEC), which mandates 15 days of employer-provided supplemental paid paternity leave, would still be able to claim the related costs as a corporate tax credit.

Employer implications

Just under half of companies surveyed by WTW provide paternity leave beyond the current statutory requirement, offering an additional 15 days at the median (in line with the PEC). Employers should monitor the legislative process and be ready to adjust their internal policies, if necessary, once the legislation is finalized.