The parental leave forms referred to in the text below can be found in the right-hand margin of the Parental Leave page.
There are conditions on your right to take time off in connection with adoption. You have the right to take time off if the adoption is facilitated by an organisation approved under the Danish act on adoption, or in connection with an international private adoption approved by the National Social Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen).
Before the expected placement of the child:
In certain circumstances, the right to leave and parental leave benefits before the placement of the child may be extended if the placement is delayed beyond the expected date (see the section on salary entitlement before the placement of the child).
After the placement of the child:
You and your co-parent are jointly entitled to 48 weeks of parental leave benefits following the placement of the child.
The 48 weeks are divided equally between you and your co-parent, meaning that you are each entitled to 24 weeks of leave with parental leave benefits after the placement.
Your 24 weeks are allocated as follows:
If the child’s placement happens in Denmark:
Both adoptive parents of a child placed in Denmark have a legal right to paid leave for up to one week before the placement if the child does not already reside in the home of the adoptive parents and if the adoptive parents need to spend time in the location where the child is staying before the placement, out of consideration for the child’s wellbeing. The day on which the child is brought to the home of the adoptive parents is included in the period before the placement.
In special cases, the municipal authorities may determine that there is a need for the adoptive parents to spend a longer period of time in the location where the child is staying before the placement. In such cases, the leave may be extended by up to one week of extra leave with pay.
You should inform your manager when you intend to take leave before the expected date of placement as early as possible.
To do so, fill out and submit adoption form 1.
If the placement takes place abroad:
Both adoptive parents whose child is placed abroad have a legal right to paid leave for up to four weeks before the placement. The four weeks may be extended by an additional four weeks if the child’s placement is delayed until after the expected four weeks, and if this extension is not due to the adoptive parents’ circumstances.
The leave is calculated from the departure date, and last until the child’s placement has been formalised, i.e. when the formal requirements for taking the child out of the country have been met. After this, the adoptive parents begin their ordinary time off before the placement, regardless of whether they travel to Denmark immediately after the placement or remain abroad.
In this connection, you need to fill out and submit adoption form 1.
As a general rule, adoptive parents are entitled to take leave with pay one at a time during the first 10 weeks after the placement of the child.
In addition, one of the adoptive parents is entitled to salary for up to two consecutive weeks within the first 10 weeks if both adoptive parents take leave at the same time.
The right to salary is conditional on Aarhus University receiving full reimbursement of parental leave benefits. It is therefore important that you pay attention to the rules below regarding the allocation of parental leave benefit weeks during weeks 1–10 after the placement of the child.
Allocation of parental leave benefit weeks during weeks 1–10
As adoptive parents, you are each entitled to six weeks of leave with parental leave benefits within the first 10 weeks after the placement of the child. You may only take two of these weeks together with the other adoptive parent, and you cannot transfer these two weeks to the other adoptive parent.
The remaining four weeks, which must be taken within the first 10 weeks after the date of placement, may not be taken together with the other adoptive parent, but these weeks can be transferred to the other adoptive parent.
If you choose to take all of your leave weeks concurrently, you may, after six weeks, begin the leave entitlement that applies after the tenth week following the placement of the child (see below).
You must notify your employer of when you intend to resume work. You should do so as soon as possible and no later than six weeks after the placement of your child.
During the period after the tenth week following the placement of the child, each of you is entitled to take up to 32 weeks of leave.
As adoptive parents, you are each entitled to salary during 10 of the 32 weeks of leave available after the tenth week following the placement of the child. In addition, one adoptive parent is entitled to salary during 8 of the 32 weeks of leave after the tenth week. If both adoptive parents are employed in the state sector, however, this additional entitlement may be used for a maximum of 8 weeks in total between the two of you. You may choose to divide these 8 weeks between you. Where parental leave benefit entitlement is not transferred to one adoptive parent for the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th weeks of leave, a reduced salary will be paid corresponding to the difference between the parental leave benefit rate and the adoptive parent's regular salary.
You may choose to take paid leave that would otherwise be taken after the tenth week following the placement of the child within the first 10 weeks after the placement.
Of the 32 weeks of leave to which you are entitled, 18 weeks are covered by parental leave benefits, provided that you have only taken six weeks of leave within the first 10 weeks following the placement of the child. Nine of these weeks with parental leave benefits are earmarked and cannot be transferred. The remaining nine weeks may be transferred from one adoptive parent to the other. You may therefore receive up to nine weeks of parental leave benefits from the other adoptive parent.
Please note that it is your own responsibility to apply for parental leave benefits through Udbetaling Danmark.
No later than six weeks after the date of placement, you must report when you are taking time off within the first ten weeks after the placement by filling out and submitting form 2.
Subject to agreement with your manager, you may resume work fully or partially with or without an extension of your leave. If you resume work on a part-time basis, you must submit the parental leave form together with your manager’s approval by mail to HR or to the PhD administration team (if you are a PhD student).
You have the option of extending your time off after the tenth week after the placement from 32 weeks to 40 or 46 weeks. However, it isn’t possible to reduce the amount of parental leave benefit you receive in order to cover the additional weeks, so any leave taken after the 32 weeks will be without pay. If you choose to extend your leave, the entire period of leave must be taken consecutively.
You have a legal right to defer up to five weeks of your time off after the tenth week after the placement with parental leave benefits. In addition, one of the adoptive parents has the right to defer five weeks of their time off after the tenth week after the placement. This deferred leave may not be taken before the child’s first birthday and must be taken before the child’s ninth birthday, after which your right to deferred leave lapses. You will retain the right to take your deferred leave even if you change jobs.
If you decide to defer your time off after the tenth week after the placement, you must inform your manager at least eight weeks before your leave starts.
Subject to agreement with your manager, you may also opt to defer as many weeks of your leave as you like to take later. You must take your leave before the child’s ninth birthday. Both adoptive parents can make agreements to defer leave. Leave deferred by agreement can only be taken at Aarhus University. If you defer leave by agreement with your manager, you must submit the parental leave form together with your manager’s approval by mail to HR or to the PhD administration team (if you are a PhD student).
If you decide to defer your time off after the tenth week after the placement, you must inform your manager.
The right to salary during leave is conditional on Aarhus University receiving full benefit reimbursement corresponding to the maximum benefit amount in relation to your employment rate, cf. the Act on Entitlement to Leave and Benefits in the Event of Childbirth (barselsloven).
The condition regarding full benefit reimbursement does not apply if:
You must meet the following conditions:
You must also spend time with your child on a daily basis. The time you spend with your child must be in person.
Udbetaling Danmark – the Public Benefits Administration can check your eligibility for parental leave benefits in the online income register to determine whether you meet the employment requirements.
The employment requirements can be met in other ways– see section 27 of the Act on Entitlement to Leave and Benefits in the Event of Childbirth (Barselsloven).
If you receive pay from more than one employer during your time off within the first ten weeks after the placement, each employer must reimburse the university proportionate to the amount of state benefit the specific employment relationship entitles you to, cf. section 39(2) of the Act on Entitlement to Leave and Benefits in the Event of Childbirth (barselsloven). The total disbursed benefit amount cannot exceed the maximum benefit amount, regardless of whether your total number of working hours amounts to more than full-time employment. You do not lose the right to your salary, even though the university in this case will not receive full benefit reimbursement.
If your employment relationships combined exceed full-time employment, and if you start working for one of your other employers during your leave, this may lead to a reduction in the benefit reimbursement amount to the university, resulting in an amount less than the proportionate share of the benefits related to your employment at the university. Your legal right to salary during leave will not be affected by such situations.
However, you may not begin working for a new employer during your leave if this would result in a reduction of the reimbursement amount to the university or if it means that the university would longer receive reimbursement. In addition, you may not take any other action that would result in the loss of the university’s right to benefit reimbursement under the Act on Entitlement to Leave and Benefits in the Event of Childbirth (Barselsloven). Such action would have consequences for your legal right to salary during your leave.