The new parental leave rules

The new legislation in brief

The new agreement means that both parents are entitled to 11 weeks of earmarked leave and can then share the remaining 26 weeks between them.

When the child is born, each parent has 2 weeks of earmarked leave, which must be taken in connection with the birth. (within the first 10 weeks after the birth at the latest.)

After that, each parent has 9 weeks of earmarked leave, which can't be shared. This means that in total, both mother and father have 11 weeks of earmarked leave (the first 2 weeks + the 9 weeks of earmarked leave), which each of them must take. If they don't take these 11 weeks of leave, the weeks will be lost.

In addition, each parent has 13 weeks of leave, which they can share between them. That is, 26 weeks of leave in total, which can be shared between the two parents as they wish.

Overview

4 weeks before the due date:

Here, the woman is entitled to 4 weeks of pregnancy leave.

The child is born:

The mother and the father/co-mother are entitled to 2 weeks of earmarked leave. The mother's 2 weeks are mandatory by law.

Leave that can be transferred:

Each parent has 13 weeks of leave, which they can freely share between them. So in total there are 26 weeks that can be shared freely.

Earmarked leave

Each parent has 9 weeks of earmarked leave. This can't be shared with the other parent.

So in total, both the mother and the father/co-mother have 11 weeks of leave, the first 2 weeks + the 9 weeks of earmarked leave, which each of them must take.

Be aware that other rules apply if one of the parents is self-employed. You can read more about this further down.

The most important things to do as an employer

You must make sure your employees are informed about the rules in the new parental leave act, and you must be aware of whether contracts need updating so they are in line with the new rules.

You can inform your employees in different ways with Zenegy

Document module:

If contracts need updating, you can upload them via the document module. You can also write your own note about the new parental leave rules and share it with selected employees or the whole company. That way, you make sure employees fully understand the terms of the updated contracts, and you also make sure employees have received the relevant information about the new parental leave rules.

Notifications on the payslip:

You can also inform employees with a message on their payslip. You write these notifications for each employee when you do payroll in Zenegy. You can also write a notification that will appear on every employee's payslip.

Course module:

If you find a greater need in the company for an explanation of the new parental leave rules, you can call an internal course via Zenegy’s course module.

Holiday:

Also remember to include holiday in the parental leave planning, so the employee doesn't come back with a lot of unused holiday.

The most important changes to know about as an employee

• Both parents have 11 weeks of earmarked leave, which can't be transferred to the other parent.
• If the 11 weeks aren't taken, these weeks of leave are lost.
• The first 2 weeks of the earmarked leave must be taken within 10 weeks of the birth at the latest.
• The remaining 9 weeks of earmarked leave must be taken before the child turns 1 and can't be transferred.

If you're self-employed

The new parental leave rules only apply to employees, so self-employed people aren't covered by the changes. Self-employed people can transfer 9 of the 11 weeks of earmarked leave to the other parent.

Solo parents or LGBTQ+ families

Under the agreement, new rules for solo parents and LGBTQ+ families take effect on 1 January 2024 and will apply to children born after 1 January 2024. Under the new law, solo parents, regardless of gender, will get 46 weeks of leave each, and solo parents will be able to transfer part of the leave to a close family member.

LGBTQ+ families will likewise get 46 weeks of leave and be able to share the leave between up to 4 parents.