Italy's New Law: Paid Leave When Your Pet Is Sick

Hello, dear reader. Do you have a pet? Or maybe someone close to you does? If so, I think you should share today’s newsletter with them. I have a feeling you’ll both enjoy this one.

Imagine your dog needs surgery, and you tell your boss, “I’d like to take leave because of my pet.” How do you think that would go over? At most workplaces, you’d either burn a vacation day or never even bring it up. But in Italy, this is now a legally guaranteed right.

Today, let’s talk about why this policy emerged now, and whether the same trend could reach Korea.

Opening

In March 2026, Italy became the first country in the world to formally institute paid leave for pet care. Employees can now take up to 3 paid days off per year to care for a sick pet, provided they submit a veterinary certificate. The pet must be registered via microchip, and a digital certificate from a veterinarian is required.

When I first heard this news, my reaction was something like, “Paid leave for a pet? Isn’t that a bit much?” But once you dig into the background of this policy, you realize it’s not simply an animal-welfare issue. It’s a signal that the legal concept of “family” is expanding.

🐾 Why Did Italy Create This Policy?

This policy didn’t come out of nowhere. It traces back to a 2017 case. A librarian working at Sapienza University of Rome (La Sapienza) requested paid leave to take her elderly English setter, Cucciola, to the hospital. Cucciola needed tumor-removal surgery, followed by treatment for laryngeal paralysis. For an owner living alone, there was no other option. The university, her employer, refused the request, but the Italian Anti-Vivisection League (LAV) represented her in court, and the court ruled in her favor.

The legal basis was Article 727 of the Italian Penal Code, which allows for up to 1 year in prison and a €10,000 (~₩15,000,000, ~$10,800) fine for leaving an animal in serious distress. The court’s logic was clear: if the law defines animal neglect as a crime, then an employer who prevents an employee from providing care is forcing that employee into an impossible choice between their legal obligation and their employment obligation. Italy’s public-sector labor law recognizes “serious personal and family reasons” as valid grounds for paid leave, and the court ruled that emergency pet care qualifies.

This ruling became known as the “Cucciola ruling” and set a precedent. Animal-welfare groups then pushed hard for legislation, and after roughly 9 years of debate, it was formally written into labor law in March 2026.

Here’s what’s worth noting: more than half of Italian households have a pet. This isn’t a niche hobby — it’s part of the everyday fabric of Italian society. The law is closer to catching up to a reality that already existed. Put another way, the law could only move because reality had already matured enough to demand it.