If you and the other parent do not live together when the child is born, a different allocation of leave weeks will apply.
The parent with whom the child is officially registered at the same address is entitled to an additional 13 weeks of leave with parental leave benefits on top of their own 24 weeks of leave with parental leave benefits after the birth. As a general rule, these 13 weeks of leave must be taken before the child reaches the age of one.
The parent who does not reside with the child is only entitled to take the nine earmarked weeks of leave with parental leave benefits after the tenth week following the birth.
As mothers and fathers/co-mothers employed by the Danish state may be entitled to additional leave with pay, situations may arise where the mother or the father/co-mother is unable to take the final weeks of parental leave with pay because there is no entitlement to parental leave benefits and Aarhus University is therefore unable to obtain reimbursement.
In such cases, the parent is entitled to leave with reduced pay corresponding to the difference between the parental leave benefit rate and the employee's regular salary for those weeks of leave after the tenth week for which there is no entitlement to parental leave benefits.
The same applies to an adoptive parent who does not live with the child at the time of the placement.
If the parent with whom the child is officially registered at the same address is also has sole custody of the child, that parent is entitled to:
In addition, the ordinary rules applicable to the mother and the father/co-mother continue to apply.
A solo parent is a parent who does not have a known co-parent.
If you are a solo parent, you are entitled to 46 weeks of leave with parental leave benefits after the birth of the child.
In addition, solo parents may transfer the non-earmarked part of their leave to a close family member. This may be a grandparent or a sibling. If one of the parents has died, it is possible to transfer these weeks of leave to a parent or sibling of the deceased. The close family member must take this leave before the child’s first birthday.
Right to paid leave as a solo parent
Solo parents have a right to 10 extra weeks of leave with pay. The same applies to adoptive parents if the child has only one parent at the time of placement.
In addition, the general rules for the mother and father/non-birth mother also apply.
If you become the parent of a child as a result of a surrogacy arrangement, you are entitled to paid leave during parental leave – on the same terms as other parents. Your rights are set out in the parental leave agreement.
This is conditional on the surrogacy arrangement being an altruistic surrogacy arrangement in accordance with the Danish Children Act (Børneloven) and on you, as the surrogate mother, being covered by Danish social security.
Salary during parental leave
Under the Danish Maternity/Paternity Leave Act (barselsloven), parents whose parenthood has been established on the basis of a surrogacy arrangement are each entitled to six weeks of leave with parental leave benefits.
You are entitled to take leave with pay one at a time during the first 10 weeks after the birth, with six weeks allocated to each parent.
However, you are entitled to take leave with pay if you take leave at the same time for up to two consecutive weeks within the first 10 weeks after the birth of the child.
Additional paid leave after the first ten weeks:
After the first 10 weeks following the birth, a surrogate parent employed by the Danish state is entitled to:
Childcare days
You are entitled to 2 childcare days per year per child until the child’s 7th birthday.
If you are a surrogate mother
A surrogate mother is a woman who carries and gives birth to a child for others, who then take over parenthood. If you are a surrogate mother, employed by Aarhus University and covered by social security in Denmark, you are also entitled to paid parental leave.
You are entitled to paid leave during the following periods:
Regardless of whether parents are salaried employees, self-employed or unemployed, as a general rule, you are each entitled to 24 weeks of leave with parental leave benefits after their baby is born.
However, the rules concerning nine weeks of earmarked leave with parental leave benefits only apply to salaried employees. If you are not a salaried employee, you can choose to transfer up to 22 weeks of leave (24 minus 2 weeks) with parental leave benefits to the other parent.
If you have worked as a salaried employee alongside your studies or your self-employed occupation to a given extent, you will be regarded as a salaried employee and will thus be subject to the rules concerning earmarked leave.
See here for more examples of when you will be regarded as a salaried employee.
What is a social parent?
Under the Danish Maternity/Paternity Leave Act (barselsloven), a social parent is defined as:
What is a close family member?
Under the Danish Maternity/Paternity Leave Act (barselsloven), a close family member is defined as the parent's own parents and siblings over the age of 18, as well as the parents and siblings over the age of 18 of a deceased parent.
During the first 10 weeks after the birth
If, as a social parent or close family member, you have been transferred the mother's entitlement to leave and parental leave benefits, you are entitled to up to eight weeks of leave with pay during the first 10 weeks after the birth of the child.
After the first 10 weeks following the birth
If, as a social parent or close family member, you have been transferred leave with parental leave benefits after the tenth week following the birth, you are entitled to up to 10 weeks of leave with pay, but no more than the number of weeks transferred to you by the child's parent.
In addition, you may be entitled to up to eight weeks of leave with pay (shared weeks) if you have been transferred leave with parental leave benefits from a legal parent.
However, your entitlement to leave with pay cannot exceed the number of weeks transferred to you by the child's legal parent(s). Furthermore, if the legal parents, social parent or close family member are also covered by the Danish State Parental Leave Agreement, the entitlement to salary during the shared weeks may be used for a maximum of eight weeks in total between them. The eight weeks may therefore be shared between the parties concerned.
If, as a social parent or close family member, you have been transferred a leave entitlement without salary or parental leave benefits, you are nevertheless entitled to pension contributions during the leave period, even though you are not entitled to salary or parental leave benefits.
Multiple births
Parents who have two or more live-born children from the same birth are each entitled to 13 additional weeks of leave after the first 10 weeks following the birth.
A parent may choose to transfer all or part of these additional weeks to a social parent or a close family member.
If, as a social parent or close family member, you are transferred such a leave entitlement, you are also entitled to up to 13 weeks of leave with pay, but no more than the number of weeks that have been transferred to you.
Cases in which the other parent is not eligible for benefits in Denmark
As a general rule, you are eligible for benefits in the country in which you work. But in the event that only one parent is eligible for benefits in Denmark, and on condition that the parents are living together at the time of the birth, the parent who is eligible for benefits in Denmark can apply for up to thirteen extra weeks of leave with parental leave benefits in addition to the 24 weeks to which he or she is entitled.
You are entitled to extra parental leave if you can document that, in the period in which you wish to take the up to thirteen extra weeks of leave, the other parent will not be on leave with benefits (for example parental leave benefits) from the state under the laws of another country.
If the other parent receives benefits from the state under the laws of another country corresponding to parental leave benefits for less than thirteen weeks during this period, these weeks will be deducted from the thirteen extra weeks to which you are entitled.
Example: the parents live together
Thomas and Maria live together in Sweden. Thomas works in Sweden, and Maria works in Denmark. Because Thomas works in Sweden, he is eligible for benefits in Sweden. Because Maria works in Denmark, she is eligible for benefits in Denmark.
Because Thomas and Maria live together, Maria is entitled to thirteen extra weeks of leave in addition to her 24 weeks if Thomas does not receive benefits corresponding to parental leave benefits from Sweden during the period in which Maria takes the extra thirteen weeks. If Thomas receives less than thirteen weeks of benefits during this period - for example five weeks of parental leave benefits – then Maria is entitled to eight weeks of extra leave with parental leave benefits from Denmark.
Example: the parents do not live together
Eric and Karen aren’t living together at the time of the birth. Eric lives and works in Sweden, and Karen lives and works in Denmark. Since the time of the birth, the child’s officially registered address has been with Karen.
Because Eric works in Sweden, he is eligible for benefits in Sweden. Because Karen works in Denmark, she is eligible for benefits in Denmark. Because Eric and Karen are not living together at the time of the birth, Karen is eligible for an extra thirteen weeks of leave with parental leave benefits in addition to her own 24 weeks of leave with benefits.
If your child is admitted to hospital within the first 46 weeks after the birth or placement of the child, your leave may either:
You must provide documentation of the child’s hospitalisation in the form of a hospital record or a medical certificate. Treatment at home as part of an early discharge arrangement is regarded as equivalent to hospitalisation.
If the child is admitted to hospital during a period of paid leave and you do not resume work during the hospitalisation, resulting in an extension of your leave with parental leave benefits, your entitlement to salary during leave will be extended correspondingly (for a maximum period of three months).
The right to extend a period of leave with pay also applies to the father’s/co-mother’s entitlement to leave during the first 10 weeks after the birth.
If the child is admitted to hospital, or receives treatment at home as part of an early discharge arrangement, during a period of paid leave and you continue or resume work during the hospitalisation, resulting in the deferral of your leave with parental leave benefits, your entitlement to salary during leave will likewise be deferred.
Under the agreement on leave for family reasons, an employee is entitled to up to five days of paid leave per child within a period of 12 consecutive months if the employee is required to stay in hospital with a child who is under 14 years old and who lives at home. This right is unrelated to the parental leave rules described above. The same applies if the child stays at home during the period of hospitalisation or receives outpatient treatment in place of hospitalisation that requires the employee to be present.
If both parents are covered by the agreement, the total leave period with pay may not exceed five days for the two parents combined.
As the parent of two or more children born at the same time (parents of multiples), you and your partner have a legal right to a total of 26 extra weeks of leave with parental leave benefits, which are divided equally between you (13 weeks for each parent). You cannot transfer this extra leave to the other parent of your children, but you have the option of transferring your leave to a social parent (for example a spouse or partner who is not the biological parent of the children).
The extra 26 weeks must be taken before the children’s first birthday. You cannot extend or defer this extra leave. This applies regardless of any obstacles to taking leave that might arise, include such situations as the hospitalisation of one of the children.
These rules apply to children born on and after 1 May 2024.
As an Aarhus University employee, you are covered by the state-sector parental leave agreement. This means that you have a right to full pay during your 13 extra weeks of leave as a parent of multiples. This right applies to the parents of twins born on or after 1 May 2024. The same applies to parents of three or more children born at the same time on or after 2 April 2024.
In addition to the above, the standard rules apply to both the mother and the father/non-birth mother.
You are not allowed to take holiday while you are on maternity/paternity leave and adoption leave (holiday obstacle). This means that you cannot take days of holiday while you are on leave.
If you are prevented from taking holiday leave throughout the holiday period, the first to fourth holiday weeks will automatically be transferred to the next holiday period, whereas you will have to make an agreement about transferring the fifth holiday week.
You can only transfer the days of holiday from the first to fourth holiday weeks that you will not be able to take before the holiday period expires (31 December). Therefore, it is important that you plan your holiday in connection with your return from leave, as unused holiday from the first to fourth holiday weeks, which could have been taken before expiry of the holiday period on 31 December, will otherwise lapse.
Holiday must be taken as full days. This means that you cannot take holiday on days on which you both work and are on leave (e.g. in the event of partial resumption of work or agreed deferred leave taken as part of the days).
If you are on leave on some days and at work on other days during a week, you are not prevented from taking holiday on the days on which you work. So, you can take holiday on these days. Furthermore, your manager can tell you to take your remaining holiday on these days in accordance with the general rules. However, in this situation you cannot be told to take your main holiday, as this must usually be taken as a consecutive period of three weeks.
Special holidays may be taken as fractional days. You can therefore take special holidays on days on which you both work and are on leave.
You earn the right to holidays and special holidays with pay in all leave periods.
During unpaid periods of leave in which pension entitlement is not earned, you will generally not earn holidays and special holidays either.
However, salaried employees covered by the state’s holiday agreement will earn paid holiday and special holidays during the first six months of an unpaid period of leave without pension entitlement (this is considered as leave without pay).
However, this is on condition that:
• the employee returns to work before the end of the holiday year in which the holidays/special holidays have to be taken, and
• the holidays/special holidays are taken before the end of the holiday year in question – unless the holidays/special holidays are postponed in accordance with the holiday agreement’s special provisions on holiday obstacles, transfer or postponement of holiday.
If the conditions are not met, the days will lapse.
During periods of paid parental leave, Aarhus University continues to make the ordinary pension contributions to the employee’s pension scheme.
In addition, ordinary pension contributions are paid during unpaid leave periods within the 32 weeks of leave following the tenth week after the birth or placement of the child, regardless of whether parental leave benefits are paid during this period.
Furthermore, ordinary pension contributions will also be paid during any statutory extension of unpaid leave, up to and including the 46th week of leave
Biological parents, non-birth mothers, adoptive parents and persons holding parental custody are entitled to two childcare days per child in each calendar year up to and including the calendar year in which the child turns seven. The child must be staying with the employee.
A childcare day corresponds to 7.4 hours for a full-time employee. If you are employed part-time, you will be granted a number of childcare days specified in hours proportionate to your employment rate.
The childcare days cannot be taken before the birth.
As a general rule, unused childcare days are lost at the end of the calendar year. This applies irrespective of whether the employee was unable to use the days owing to leave or long-term illness, for example.
However, childcare days for the calendar year in which the child is born/received can be carried over to the next calendar year. This applies regardless of when the child is born/received during the calendar year. Similarly, childcare days that an employee is prevented from taking because the employee in question has been on maternity/paternity leave or adoption leave for a whole calendar year can be carried over to the next year.
The employee is not entitled to take the childcare days in association with the leave. The employer should accommodate requests in this respect, however.
If an employee transfers to employment with another employer within the area covered by the agreement within a calendar year, unused childcare days are transferred to the new employment relationship. The new employment relationship does not have to follow directly after the other.
There are no notice rules for taking childcare days. A request to take childcare days should be made as early as possible, however.
Parental leave form 1 - Mother (This form must be filled out and submitted no later than three months before the expected date of delivery)
Parental leave form 1 – Father/Non-birth mother (This form must be submitted no later than four weeks before the estimated date of delivery)
Parental leave form 1 - Adoptive Parent (Information about the expected reception of the child)
Parental leave form 2 - Mother (This form must be submitted no later than six weeks after the birth)
Parental leave form 2 - Father/Non-birth mother (This form must be submitted no later than six weeks after the birth)
Parental leave form 2 - Adoptive Parent (This form must be submitted no later than six weeks after the date of placement)
Parental leave form 3 - Mother and Father/Non-birth mother (Notification of deferred leave)