Shared parental leave in Denmark and Sweden
Shared parental leave - how it works between Denmark and Sweden
A system is used to deduct the days so that the two countries' parental leave systems can work together. This means that the period of leave to be taken in Denmark is deducted from the time taken in Sweden, and vice versa.
If the person working in Sweden goes on parental leave first, the person who is working in Denmark should be able to document how much leave has been taken out in Sweden. The Danish authority Udbetaling Danmark inquires documentation to see how much leave remains in Denmark. In the opposite case, Försäkringskassan in Sweden wants to know how much leave has been taken in Denmark. Afterwards, the respective authorities calculate how many days/weeks remain for the parent who has not taken any leave yet or who has the right to take more days of leave.
Altogether, Swedish parental leave is of 480 days. In Sweden, the parents themselves can decide how many days per week to be paid. To get paid the maximum amount, parents must request parental allowance seven days a week. If you take full parental leave in Denmark, the total Danish parental allowance is paid weekly. One week of parental leave in Denmark corresponds to 7 days of parental leave in Sweden.
For detailed information on the rules when one of the parents works in in either Denmark or Sweden while living in the other country, please contact Udbetaling Danmark or Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency) at Øresunddirekt's Informationcenter in Malmö.
Rules for parental leave for child born on 2 of August 2022, or later
The mother is entitled to 4 weeks of pregnancy leave before the birth of the child and 24 weeks of leave thereafter.
If it is the mother who works in Denmark (and lives in Sweden), she can apply for an additional 13 weeks of leave from Denmark if it can be documented that the other parent is not entitled to the corresponding parental allowance for the same period in the other country.
In some workplaces, you have an agreement which means that you receive your salary from the employer during a certain number of weeks of parental leave.
If you are employed, your employer must report the absence via NemRefusion to Udbetaling Danmark. You will then receive a letter from Udbetaling Danmark with the option to apply for parental leave paid from Udbetaling Danmark. As a parent, you have eight weeks after the first day of leave to apply for parental allowance from Udbetaling Danmark.
If you receive a salary during your parental leave, you have eight weeks after the salary stops to apply for parental allowance with payment from Udbetaling Danmark. If the employer pays salary during the leave, the parent cannot receive parental allowance at the same time from Udbetaling Danmark. The employer instead receives compensation for the paid salary from Udbetalning Danmark. If Udbetaling Danmark receives an application after the deadline has expired, the applicant can generally only receive parental allowance from the day Udbetaling Danmark has received the application.
The parent who works in Sweden can have the right up to 480 days, minus the days taken in Denmark. If the parent working in Denmark has received compensation for 41 weeks, 287 days (41 x 7 days) will be deducted from, primarily, the father's/co-mother's 390 days based on income. The father/co-mother then has 103 days left based on income and 90 days with SEK 180/day. You who have taken days in Denmark must have a certificate from Udbetaling Danmark, which must state how many days of parental leave you have taken in Denmark (including days your employer has paid full parental salary).
The mother is entitled to all 480 days of Swedish parental allowance. As the father/co-mother is not socially insured in Sweden, he/she is not entitled to "his/her" 240 days, but instead receives Danish parental pay.
You who are a father or co-mother and work in Denmark are entitled to 24 weeks leave.
Please note that the first 2 weeks must be taken within 10 weeks of the child's birth, after these you have 22 weeks to be taken before the child turns 1. There may be an opening to extend or save leave. Read more under the sections Extended parental leave and saving parental leave.
If you are employed, your employer must report the absence via NemRefusion to Udbetaling Danmark. You will then receive a letter from Udbetaling Danmark with the option to apply for parental leave paid from Udbetaling Danmark. As a parent, you have eight weeks after the first day of leave to apply for parental allowance from Udbetaling Danmark.
If you receive a salary during your parental leave, you have eight weeks after the salary stops to apply for parental allowance with payment from Udbetaling Danmark. If the employer pays salary during the leave, the parent cannot receive parental allowance at the same time from Udbetaling Danmark. The employer instead receives compensation for the paid salary from Udbetalning Danmark. If Udbetaling Danmark receives an application after the deadline has expired, the applicant can generally only receive parental allowance from the day Udbetaling Danmark has received the application.
However, there are some important prerequisites for you to receive parental benefit in Denmark as a father/co-mother:
- You must meet the "employment requirement". You must be employed no later than the day before or on the first day of your parental leave
- You must have worked at least 160 hours during the last four full months before the leave
- You must have worked at least 40 hours a month for at least three of the four months
Udbetaling Danmark automatically receives this information from your employer.
You can be credited with working time from Sweden, but it is important to note that there must not be a single day gap between Swedish and Danish employment (weekends can be accepted).
Rules for parental leave for child born before 2 of August 2022
The Danish parental leave is a total of 52 weeks.
The mother has the right to 4 weeks before the child's birth and 14 weeks after. The father/co-mother has the right to 2 weeks in connection with the child's birth. The parents distribute the remaining 32 weeks of parental leave between themselves.
The mother who is socially insured in Denmark is entitled to 50 weeks from Denmark if the father/co-mother is not on parental leave in Sweden during the parental leave period.
Certain workplaces have an agreement that for a certain number of weeks of the parental leave, your employer pays you a salary and in turn receives the maternity benefits, which you would otherwise receive from Udbetaling Danmark. At the end of the period with a salary, Udbetaling Danmark takes over paying maternity benefits.
The father/co-mother who is socially insured in Sweden has the sole right to 480 days, including the days taken in Denmark. If the working mother in Denmark has received compensation for 50 weeks, 350 days (50 x 7 days) will be deducted from the Swedish parental allowance, those which are based on just under 80% of the sick pay qualifying income. The father/co-mother then has 40 days left with sickness benefit level and 90 days with the minimum level of SEK 180/day.
In this case, the mother is entitled to all 480 days with Swedish maternity benefits. As the father/co-mother is not covered by social insurance in Sweden, he/she is not entitled to “his/her” 240 days and instead receives Danish maternity benefits.
The father/co-mother working in Denmark may be entitled to a salary for a certain period of time during which the employer receives the maternity benefits from Udbetaling Danmark. As you are the only person covered by social insurance in Denmark, you are entitled to 16 weeks of parental leave with a salary or maternity benefits.
There are however, some important conditions for obtaining maternity benefits in Denmark as a father/co-mother: You must comply with the “employment requirement”. This means that you must have been employed in the Danish labour market for at least 13 weeks, and during that period you must have worked for at least 120 hours. Time worked in Sweden may be taken into account if you have not managed to work for a total of 13 weeks in Denmark, but it is important to note that there must not be a gap of a single day between your Swedish and Danish employment (except for weekends).
If, on the other hand, the parent who works in Sweden is claiming parental benefits after one of the parents has taken parental leave in Denmark, the days taken in Denmark (e.g. 16 weeks x 7 days = 112 days) will be deducted from the days remaining in Sweden.
