You have a right to parental leave when you have children
If you are going to have children, it is important that you acquaint yourself with the rules concerning parental leave from your job. You have a right to a leave of absence, and you and your husband can combine the leave in the manner most convenient to you and in compliance with the rules.
Remember to notify your employer of your pregnancy, when you expect to give birth, and whether you will be going off work before delivering, well in advance of beginning your maternity leave.
These are your rights
- You have the right to four weeks of maternity leave before giving birth.
After giving birth, you have a mandatory two-week leave, and after this period, you have the right to twelve weeks further weeks of maternity leave.
The father has the right to two weeks of paternity leave after the birth of your child. These must be taken within 14 weeks.
After the initial 14 weeks, the parents have the right to a further 32 weeks of paternity leave. The paternity leave can be divided among both parents, or one parent can take the full 32 weeks.
You can save up some weeks of leave for later. But you have to take them before your child reaches nine years of age. - You can arrange with your employer to have a gradual return to full-time work.
- It is possible to arrange a further parental leave with your employer – beyond the 32 weeks.
- During maternity and parental leave, you have the right to unemployment benefits (dagpenge). In some cases, you have the right to full pay during all or part of your leave.
- It is possible to extend the parental leave beyond the 32 weeks, but at reduced unemployment benefits (dagpenge).
Remember to notify your employer
Well in advance of going on maternity leave – and at least three months before giving birth – you should notify your employer of your pregnancy, and what date you will begin your maternity leave. Within 8 weeks of giving birth, you should arrange with your employer when and how you will be returning to work.
It is important that you notify your employer and arrange the parental leave within the time limit, since it may affect your work and your leave if your employer is not notified in good order.
Checklist
- Your employer must be informed that you are pregnant, and what time you will begin your maternity leave, no later than three months before your pregnancy due date.
- Fathers must give notice of their two-week paternity leave no later than four weeks before the pregnancy due date.
- Within eight weeks of giving birth, you should notify your employer of when you plan to return to work.
- Consequently, you must decide whether to take the up to 32-week parental leave immediately after your maternity leave or at a later point. The right to postpone a portion of the parental leave is dependent on your notifying the leave in a timely fashion.
- Should you decide to postpone the parental leave until a later date, your employer must be given a 16-week warning before the commencement of any subsequent period of leave that you have postponed.
Full pay or unemployment benefits (dagpenge)
At the very least, you have the right to unemployment benefits (dagpenge) when you are on maternity or parental leave. Whether you get full pay depends on local or collective agreements at your place of employment.
You have the right to unemployment benefits (dagpenge) 4 weeks before and 14 weeks after giving birth, and additionally for the duration of your 32-week parental leave. Combined with the father’s right to 2 weeks of unemployment benefits (dagpenge), this totals 52 weeks of unemployment benefits (dagpenge) in connection with each childbirth.
Unfortunately, few people have the right to full pay during the entire 52-week period. In general, public employees can expect four or eight weeks of full pay before birth, and up to 26 weeks after. If you are employed in the private sector, you will likely have the right to full pay four weeks prior to giving birth and up to 20 weeks after. However, there are large disparities between employers. You should therefore always acquaint yourself with the rules and practices that apply to you and your place of employment specifically.
