Paternity leave of up to 20 days: what changes under Lei 15.371/2026

Signed into law on March 31, 2026, and published in Brazil's Official Gazette the next day, Lei nº 15.371/2026 regulates paternity leave and creates the salário-paternidade, a paternity benefit paid by Brazil's Social Security system (Previdência Social). From January 1, 2027, a father's leave rises from 5 to 10 days and then grows in steps to 20 days in 2029, provided a fiscal target is met. For HR and payroll teams, the change affects shift schedules, payroll and eSocial reporting; for employees, it brings new rights and clear rules for requesting the leave.

What the new law changes

Brazil's 1988 Constitution created paternity leave but left its length to a later law. Until December 31, 2026, the provisional five-day period set by the ADCT (the Constitution's Transitional Provisions Act) still applies. The main points of the new rules:

• Phased duration: 10 days in 2027, 15 in 2028 and 20 in 2029, counted from the birth, the adoption or the court-granted custody for adoption.
• Paternity benefit: the leave becomes a social security benefit equal to the employee's full pay (averaged over the last six months if pay is variable).
• Job protection: dismissal without just cause is prohibited from the start of the leave until one month after it ends.
• Extensions: a hospital stay of the mother or newborn linked to the birth extends the leave by the length of the stay, and a child with a disability adds one third to the period.
• Single fathers: if no mother is listed on the birth certificate, or if the father adopts alone, paternity leave equals maternity leave, including length and job protection.
• Focus on family: the father may not do paid work during the leave, which may be suspended or denied when there is concrete evidence of domestic violence or material abandonment.

The fiscal condition for 20 days

The last step is not automatic. The law ties the 20 days to meeting the fiscal target of the Budget Guidelines Law (LDO) “for the second year”, within the tolerance ranges of the Fiscal Responsibility Law. If the target is missed, the 20 days only apply from the second fiscal year after the year in which it is met.

Timeline

Period	Mandatory leave	With Empresa Cidadã	Who funds the mandatory days
Until Dec 31, 2026	5 days	20 days	Employer (salary)
From Jan 1, 2027	10 days	25 days	Social Security (paternity benefit)
From Jan 1, 2028	15 days	30 days	Social Security (paternity benefit)
From Jan 1, 2029	20 days, if the fiscal target is met	35 days	Social Security (paternity benefit)

The Empresa Cidadã program (Lei nº 11.770/2008, a voluntary tax-incentive program) still adds 15 days, now on top of the statutory period. Those extra days remain paid by the employer, which can deduct the amount from income tax due if it is taxed under the actual-profit regime (lucro real). The employee must request the extension within two business days after the birth and prove participation in an activity on responsible fatherhood.

Who is entitled

The leave applies to employees with a formal employment contract (carteira assinada) in cases of birth, adoption or court-granted custody for adoption. In outsourcing, this includes staff working on public-sector contracts, since their employer is the service provider and the CLT (Brazil's Consolidated Labor Laws) applies. Statutory civil servants follow their own rules. The paternity benefit reaches everyone insured by the INSS (Brazil's National Social Security Institute), including casual workers, individual microentrepreneurs (MEI), self-employed and voluntary contributors and small rural producers insured as segurados especiais.

What changes for employers

Who pays

Until the end of 2026, the five days are salary paid by the employer. From 2027, the employer pays the paternity benefit through payroll and is reimbursed by Social Security “within a reasonable time”, as set out in regulations; micro and small businesses are reimbursed too. For domestic workers, casual workers and employees of MEIs, the INSS pays directly. As of this writing, we have not found the regulation that sets the timing and method of reimbursement.

eSocial

eSocial is the Brazilian government's digital system for reporting payroll, labor and social security data. Its Technical Note S-1.3 No. 07/2026, of September 4, prepared the system:

• Table 18: six leave reason codes for paternity leave (codes 46 to 51), used in event S-2230 from January 1, 2027. There are codes for standard leave, the Empresa Cidadã extension, adoption, medical certificates, disability and single fathers.
• Table 03: pay item types 4052 and 4053 (paternity benefit paid by the employer, monthly and 13th salary, Brazil's mandatory year-end bonus) and 9928 and 9929 (paid by Social Security), valid from December 1, 2026.

These changes go live in production on December 14, 2026. Review the contribution settings with your accountants: like maternity pay, the paternity benefit is part of the social security contribution base.

Documents, job protection and vacation

To help employers manage schedules, the law requires notice at least 30 days in advance, with a medical certificate stating the expected delivery date or, for adoption, a certificate from the Childhood and Youth Court; afterwards, the employee provides the birth certificate or the custody order. In a premature birth, the leave starts immediately.

If the contract is terminated between the notice and the start of the leave, preventing the employee from taking it, the job-protection period must be paid at double. Employees may take vacation right after the leave if they give 30 days' notice before the expected date, and leave funded by Social Security does not count as an absence for vacation purposes.

Planning coverage for 24/7 posts

In security, concierge and facilities services, every leave at a post that cannot be left empty requires a substitute with the qualifications set in the contract. A few numbers help:

• on a 12x36 schedule (12 hours on, 36 off), ten days of leave equal about five shifts; with Empresa Cidadã, the 25 days of 2027 add up to 12 or 13;
• if vacation follows the leave, the absence can reach 40 consecutive days as early as 2027;
• premature births and hospital stays make the return date uncertain, so coverage needs slack.

Use the 30-day notice: record the expected date in the schedule, book the relief worker and agree on the replacement with the client.

In public contracts, the cost spreadsheet usually prices the replacement for paternity leave based on the current five days. Since Lei nº 14.133/2021 (Brazil's Public Procurement Law) allows prices to be revised when new legal provisions have a proven impact on costs (art. 134), ask your legal team about a rebalancing request.

In TIRVU+, shift scheduling and hour banks let you reserve coverage for the post from the date the employee reports, and vacation management helps fit in vacation taken right after the leave.

What employees need to know

1. Give notice early: at least 30 days before the expected date, with the medical certificate or the court certificate.
2. Early birth: the leave starts immediately; tell the company as soon as you can and submit the documents later.
3. After the birth: provide the birth certificate or the custody order.
4. Empresa Cidadã: if your employer takes part, request the 15 extra days within two business days after the birth.
5. Vacation right after: state your intention 30 days in advance.

MEIs and self-employed workers apply for the paternity benefit directly with the INSS, as set out in regulations. In TIRVU+, employees send documents through the app, in the employee portal, and can sign the notice with an electronic signature with ICP-Brasil validity (Brazil's public key infrastructure), which records when notice was given. To learn how to digitize medical certificates safely, see our article on AI for medical certificates.

What to do now

• Update the leave policy and create a notice channel that records the date
• Set up pay items (4052, 4053, 9928 and 9929) and S-2230 (codes 46 to 51)
• Review relief workers and reserve staff for 24/7 posts
• Map affected public contracts and assess rebalancing
• Confirm the Empresa Cidadã workflow, if your company takes part
• Follow the reimbursement regulation
• Tell employees about their new rights

FAQ

My child is due in late December 2026. Do the 10 days apply?

As a rule, the law in force on the date of birth applies, and until December 31, 2026, that means five days. The new law has no specific rule for leave that starts in 2026 and ends in 2027, so these cases call for legal advice.

Can the company dismiss a father during the leave?

Not without just cause: protection runs from the start of the leave until one month after it ends. Dismissal for just cause remains possible in the cases set out in the CLT.

Are adoptive fathers entitled?

Yes, in adoption and court-granted custody for adoption. In a joint adoption, one parent receives maternity leave and the other, paternity leave.

Conclusion

Lei nº 15.371/2026 ends nearly four decades of a provisional rule and turns a father's leave into a longer right, backed by job protection and funded by Social Security. For employers, 2027 starts with payroll and eSocial set up, documents organized and schedules ready for longer coverage. At 24/7 posts, the 30-day notice is a planning tool, not red tape.

Want to prepare your operation's schedules, vacations and documents for the new paternity leave? Talk to the Tirvu team and organize coverage and employee communication ahead of time.

Sources

• Lei nº 15.371, of March 31, 2026 — Federal Senate
• eSocial Technical Note S-1.3 No. 07/2026
• eSocial S-1.3 tables, consolidated up to NT 07/2026
• Lei nº 11.770/2008, updated text — Chamber of Deputies
• Gradual increase in paternity leave signed into law — Agência Senado

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace specialized legal advice.