Starting this month, parents can now do this online, through Previdência Direta, a new functionality that has been financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

“Social Security has a new service that allows you to request this benefit in a simpler, faster and safer way, without the need to go to a customer service centre,” reads a note published on the Social Security website.

To make this request, parents must access Previdência Direta and, in the “family” menu, select the “parenthood” option. In this area, they must choose the option “register request” and then “extended parental allowance”. “After registration, it is possible to monitor the progress of the request,” explains INSS.

This feature is useful for those who want to receive the subsidy both full-time and part-time. “It was developed within the scope of the PRR, to record the different types of this subsidy with greater convenience and efficiency, allowing it to focus on what really matters”, highlights Social Security.

Extended parental allowance is a benefit granted to the father, mother or both for a maximum duration of three months. It can be received consecutively, alternately or simultaneously, allowing parents to have “more time to care for the child until the age of six”.

In recent months, Parliament had been discussing a citizens' proposal to increase initial parental leave, but the early end of the legislature has scuppered this proposal. In a last-ditch effort, Bloco de Esquerda, PCP, Livre and PAN still asked that votes on the specifics of the extension of parental leave be held this Friday in the plenary, but the PSD, CDS (both with votes against) and PS (with abstentions) prevented it.

Citizens have, however, collected new signatures so that the proposal can be discussed again in the Assembly in the next legislature.

Labour Minister Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho warned, however, that the proposed expansion could worsen gender inequality, since most of the childcare still falls to women, harming them in the job market.