Children and parental leave

Parents who live together at the time of birth are each entitled to 24 weeks of parental leave with parental benefits after the birth. In addition, the mother is entitled to four weeks of pregnancy leave before the expected due date.

Many employees are entitled to salary during their leave. You should therefore check your collective agreement and employment contract to get an overview of which periods are paid and which are unpaid. Read more under Salary during parental leave.

You have the opportunity to plan your parental leave in a way that suits your work and family life. This means you can choose to transfer some of the leave weeks to each other. One parent may therefore take more than 24 weeks of leave with parental benefits if the other parent has transferred leave to them.

Pregnancy leave

The mother is entitled to four weeks of pregnancy leave before the expected due date, as stipulated by the Parental Leave Act. Some collective agreements grant additional leave, meaning the mother may be entitled to up to eight weeks of pregnancy leave:

• Public sector (state): 6 weeks
• Municipal or regional employee: 8 weeks
• Private sector: Depends on the specific collective agreement, but minimum 4 weeks.

Transfer of leave

The weeks with parental benefits that are not earmarked can be transferred between parents.

If you are employed, you can generally transfer up to 13 weeks with parental benefits to the other parent.

If you are not employed – for example, if you are self-employed, unemployed, or a student – you are not covered by the earmarking rules. Different rules apply for transferring leave.

• If the mother is unemployed or a student, she can transfer up to 14 weeks of leave to the other parent
• if the mother is self-employed, she can transfer an additional 8 weeks, for a total of 22 weeks (8 + 14).
• If the father or co-mother is unemployed, self-employed, or a student, they can transfer up to 22 weeks of leave to the other parent.

When can leave be transferred?

Leave can only be transferred after the child is born. Both parents must be registered as legal parents before leave can be transferred.

If you are not married at the time of birth, you must register as the father or co-mother of the child.

Fathers can register as a parent before the child is born. Read more here.

If both parents are employed

Each parent is entitled to 24 weeks of leave with parental benefits after the birth. Of these, 11 weeks (2 + 9 weeks) are earmarked, while the remaining 13 weeks can be transferred to the other parent.

Postponing leave

Out of the 24 weeks with parental benefits, each parent may postpone up to 5 weeks to be taken later, before the child turns 9 years old. 

Additionally, both parents may agree with their employer to postpone a number of weeks for later use. Note that this agreement is made with the current employer, and a future employer is not obligated to honor it.

Extending leave

 It is important to distinguish between the right to absence and the right to parental benefits. Each parent is entitled to 24 weeks of parental benefits.

However, parents may take more than 24 weeks of leave without receiving parental benefits.

Right to absence

•  A mother is entitled to 10 + 32 weeks of absence after birth, totaling 42 weeks.
• A father or co-mother is entitled to 2 + 32 weeks of absence after birth, totaling 34 weeks.

This period of absence can be extended by up to 14 weeks, but only if the full absence entitlement is used. The extended leave must be taken consecutively.

If you are unemployed, you may only extend the leave by up to 8 weeks.

Paid leave – whether salary or parental benefits – must always be taken before unpaid leave.

Part-time return to work

 It is possible to return to work part-time and extend the leave by the amount of time worked. If you extend your leave by returning to work part-time, you cannot also extend your leave by up to 14 weeks. This means the leave is stretched by working fewer hours per week or taking specific days off.

You are generally entitled to parental benefits for the hours you are on leave. This allows the leave to be extended by the time spent working. An agreement with your employer is required.

Note: The 9 weeks of earmarked parental benefits for employees must be taken within one year of the child’s birth, unless special circumstances prevent this.

As a mother, you can extend the leave starting from the third week after birth, plus any transferred leave from the father or co-mother, by returning to work part-time. As a father or co-mother, you may work part-time throughout the entire leave period.

If you are self-employed, you may only return to work for up to half of your normal weekly working hours.