Madrid's 2027 Budget Funds €1,250 a Month for Self-Employed Parents to Hire a Stand-In During Maternity Leave
Self-employed mothers and fathers in the Madrid region are set to get €1,250 a month to hire someone who keeps their business running while they are on leave. The regional government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso approves its 2027 budget bill today, Wednesday, 28 October, and the bill funds the new aid. It goes to the Madrid Assembly on Thursday, 29 October, and the aid is due to apply in 2027, backdated to 2026.
Status: Proposed. The measure is in the 2027 budget bill (Proyecto de Ley de Presupuestos Generales), which the regional cabinet (Consejo de Gobierno) approves today and sends to the Assembly tomorrow, Europa Press reports. Ayuso's Partido Popular holds an absolute majority in the Assembly, so the vote is expected to be a formality, according to El Confidencial.
According to Europa Press, aid for the self-employed and entrepreneurs will reach €38.6 million in 2027, 2.4% more than in 2026, and will include the money "to pay the cost these workers face when hiring a substitute during their maternity or paternity leave" (translated from Spanish). The aid also covers high-risk pregnancy and long periods of incapacity, "so that they can continue their activity". The regional government says it is aimed at the more than 447,000 self-employed people in Madrid.
El Confidencial, quoting sources in the regional economy department, puts the budget for the new aid at €2 million. It is meant to come into force in 2027 but will be retroactive to 2026, and the rules of the call (the bases de la convocatoria) are still being finalised. The two reports differ on one point: Europa Press says the new aid is part of the €38.6 million, while El Confidencial says the €2 million comes on top of it. The official budget documents will settle that.
How much, and for what
The amount was set a month ago. On 30 September, the regional government said it would pay "an aid of €1,250 a month so that self-employed workers can hire a person to replace them when they face maternity or paternity, caring for a child, a high-risk pregnancy or a long incapacity" (translated from Spanish), in a Comunidad de Madrid press release. Rocío Albert, the regional minister for Economy, Finance and Employment, presented it together with a second measure: the region will pay 100% of the social security fee for the first 60 days of sick leave.
Ayuso first announced the stand-in aid in the regional State of the Region debate on 10 September, saying the goal was to keep businesses and incomes going and avoid temporary or permanent closures.
Who: self-employed people registered in the Madrid region. Detailed eligibility rules have not been published.
When it applies: maternity or paternity leave, caring for a child, high-risk pregnancy, and long incapacity.
What it pays for: the cost of hiring a person to stand in for you, at €1,250 a month.
How much in total: €2 million, according to the regional department quoted by El Confidencial. At €1,250 a month, that would cover about 1,600 months of stand-in support, or about 365 full 19-week birth leaves (our estimate; the call rules may set other limits).
Other measures for the self-employed in the same budget, according to Europa Press:
Tarifa Cero: the region already pays 100% of social security contributions in the first year of a new business. It will now also cover people who keep working past the legal retirement age while drawing a pension, for 12 months.
Sick leave: the region will pay the fee for the first 60 days of sick leave for all self-employed people in Madrid.
Small shops: €3.5 million (up 40%) to modernise small shops, craft businesses and service businesses.
Why a stand-in matters for women who work for themselves
Spain already pays self-employed mothers during birth leave. Since the 2025 reform, the leave is 19 weeks, and the benefit is 100% of a daily base worked out from the contributions of the previous six months, according to the Seguridad Social. On top of that, national law gives a 100% rebate on the mother's own social security fee during the leave, and an 80% rebate for 24 months if she restarts her business within two years of the birth. If she hires an unemployed person to replace her, the employer's contributions for that contract get a flat rebate of €366 a month.
What the benefit does not solve is the business itself. A salon owner, a physiotherapist or a shopkeeper who stops for 19 weeks can lose clients for good. Madrid's €1,250 a month is meant to pay part of the stand-in's wage, so the business stays open while the owner is at home with the baby.
Spain has 1,299,677 self-employed women, 37.1% of all self-employed people, according to the Ministry of Labour's September 2026 figures.
A court ruling self-employed mothers in Spain should know
Status: Decided. On 6 October 2026, Spain's Supreme Court ruled (judgment 783/2026) that a self-employed woman in Galicia did not commit fraud when she raised her contribution base three months before giving birth. She had paid on the minimum base of €944.40 a month and raised it to €4,070.10 from 1 April 2019; her baby was born in July 2019. The social security institute (INSS) had taken away six months of her benefit as a penalty.
The court rejected the INSS appeal. Paying more to get a higher benefit "is not a pathology or an anomalous effect of the system, but follows its own logic", and the idea of fraud cannot be used as "an open clause", the judgment says (translated from Spanish). The case is about the rules of 2019, when the self-employed could choose their base freely. Since 2023, contributions in Spain depend on real net earnings.
The UK moves on paternity pay for the self-employed
Status: Proposed. Ahead of today's UK Budget, the government said on 26 October that it will extend parental pay to "more than 150,000 additional parents per year, including self-employed dads and partners who have previously missed out", with two weeks of support currently worth up to £194 a week, in a Treasury announcement. No start date was given.
Self-employed mothers in the UK can already claim Maternity Allowance: between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks, according to GOV.UK. Paid leave for the other parent matters to self-employed women too, because it is often the partner who takes over at home while the mother keeps the business going.
How Madrid compares
What a self-employed mother gets during maternity in eight European countries. EU law (Directive 2010/41/EU, article 8) asks member states to make a maternity allowance of at least 14 weeks available to self-employed women, and lets them offer access to temporary replacement services instead of, or as part of, that allowance. Madrid's aid is one of the few that pays for a stand-in directly.
Country
Maternity benefit for the self-employed
Help to keep the business running
Spain
19 weeks at 100% of her average contribution base
€366 a month off the stand-in's contributions; 100% fee rebate during leave
Spain, Madrid region
As Spain
New: €1,250 a month towards a stand-in (Proposed, 2027 budget)
United Kingdom
Maternity Allowance: £27 to £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks
None at national level
Ireland
Maternity Benefit: €299 a week for 26 weeks (with 52 weeks of Class S social insurance)
None at national level
France
Flat rest allowance of €4,005 plus up to €65.84 a day, if she stops for at least 8 weeks; 16 weeks for a first or second child
Not covered here
Italy (artisans and traders)
5 months (2 before, 3 after the birth) at 80% of a set daily wage of €58.13; no duty to stop working
Not covered here
Netherlands
At least 16 weeks, up to the minimum wage (the full minimum wage after 1,225 hours of work in the year before)
Not covered here
Belgium
15 weeks for leave from 1 July 2026: €917.33 a week for weeks 1 to 4, then €839.82
Up to 105 free household-help vouchers in exchange for 3 of the optional weeks
Germany
No statutory right; only voluntary public insurance with sick pay (70% of regular income)
Proposed by the Greens; not law
Sources: Citizens Information for Ireland (2026 rates; the weekly rate rises by €10 in January 2027), the national health insurer Ameli for France (rates from 1 January 2026), INPS for Italy (2026 rates), UWV for the Netherlands, INASTI for Belgium (rates from 1 September 2026), and for Germany the family ministry's Familienportal and our report on the Bundestag debate on maternity pay for self-employed women.
What this means for you
If you are self-employed in Madrid and expecting a baby in 2026 or 2027, keep records of any stand-in you hire now: contract, payslips and dates. The aid is meant to be backdated to 2026, but the call rules are not out yet, so watch the Comunidad de Madrid announcements.
Plan the stand-in before the leave, not during it. Write down the tasks only you can do and the ones someone else can take over. Our guide to first employee hiring mistakes shows how to define a role before you fill it, and hiring freelancers vs employees helps you choose the contract type.
Check your own cover. Outside Spain, the UK and Ireland, maternity pay for the self-employed often depends on the insurance you chose. Our overview of insurance for female entrepreneurs lists what to look at.
What is Madrid's new aid for self-employed parents?
A regional aid of €1,250 a month for self-employed people in the Madrid region who hire someone to replace them during maternity or paternity leave, while caring for a child, during a high-risk pregnancy or a long incapacity.
Is it already in force?
Not yet. It is in the 2027 budget bill that the regional government approves on 28 October 2026. The Madrid Assembly still has to pass the budget, and the call rules are still being written. The aid is meant to apply in 2027 and be backdated to 2026.
How much money is there in total?
€2 million, according to the regional economy department as quoted by El Confidencial. Total aid for the self-employed in the 2027 budget is €38.6 million, 2.4% more than in 2026.
Does it cover fathers too?
Yes. The aid covers both maternity and paternity leave, as well as caring for a child.
What do self-employed mothers get from Spain's social security?
Birth and childcare leave of 19 weeks, paid at 100% of a daily base worked out from the contributions of the previous six months, plus a 100% rebate on their own social security fee during the leave.
What changes for self-employed parents in the UK?
On 26 October 2026, the UK government announced it will extend two weeks of parental pay, currently worth up to £194 a week, to more than 150,000 additional parents a year, including self-employed fathers and partners. No start date has been given.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.