Maternity leave and leave
Here you can read about leave and maternity leave.
- What is the new parental leave?
- Deadline for employer - reimbursement for leave with pay
- What are the rules for care leave?
1. What is the new parental leave?
As of August 2nd, 2022, new parental leave regulations came into effect in Denmark. Both parents are entitled to 11 weeks of earmarked parental leave and can then distribute the remaining 26 weeks between them.
After the child is born, each parent has two weeks of earmarked parental leave, which must be taken no later than within the first 10 weeks after birth.
Following this, each parent has 9 weeks of earmarked parental leave that cannot be distributed between the parents. If the parents do not take the 11 weeks of parental leave, the weeks are lost. The 9 weeks of parental leave must be taken before the child turns 1 year old.
In addition to the 11 weeks of parental leave, parents have 13 weeks of leave that can be freely distributed between them. In total, this amounts to 26 weeks of leave.
When an employee goes on parental leave, the employer must report the leave, regardless of whether the employee is the mother, father or co-parent. This is done at the earliest on the employee's first day of leave. If the employee receives any pay during the leave, the employer must report when the pay ceases. The employer has the opportunity to seek reimbursement for the pay the employee receives during maternity leave, if the employee meets the conditions for parental benefits from Udbetaling Danmark. This request is made through Nemrefusion.
Read more about reimbursement for parental leave here.
If the employer does not pay the employee during parental leave, the employee can apply for parental benefits.
2. Deadline for employer - reimbursement for leave with pay
For leave with pay during parental leave, paternity leave or parental leave, the case must be reported no later than 8 weeks after the end of the leave with pay.
Reimbursement for leave without pay - in this case, the case must be reported as soon as possible, and no later than 8 weeks from the first day of absence.
Azets can help your company with reimbursement applications - see more here
3. What are the rules for care leave?
New rules regarding care leave have come into effect. Employees are entitled to five days of unpaid care leave each calendar year, applicable from January 1, 2023. The right to care leave can be given to an employee, who wishes to provide personal care or support to a family member, such as parents, children or siblings, or a person living in the same household as the employee, such as a stepchild. Care leave can be taken as individual days or as a continuous period. It is required that there is a need for significant care or support due to a serious health condition, and the employer may require medical documentation for the need. Care days cannot be accumulated or transferred - unused care days expire at the end of the year.
If you need advice regarding leave, maternity leave, vacation or other employee/HR-related matters, Azets can help.