When a baby is on the way, it's a joyous occasion for many - but there are also a lot of things to familiarise yourself with. Here we give you an overview of the leave rules when a new baby arrives.
How much maternity leave are you entitled to?
Should one of your employees become pregnant, they are entitled to four weeks of leave before the birth and then 14 weeks of maternity leave. However, some collective agreements entitle the expectant mother to more than four weeks' leave before giving birth. Therefore, it is important to check the specific collective agreement.
In addition, fathers are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave during the first 14 weeks after giving birth. The two weeks can be taken whenever the father wishes, but must be agreed with the employer. For a total of 20 weeks, parents can receive parental benefits.
At the same time, the employee is obliged to inform the employer no later than three months before the due date when she expects to give birth and when she will go on maternity leave.
How much parental leave are you entitled to?
After the first 14 weeks of parental leave, both mother and father are entitled to parental leave for up to 32 weeks. For fathers, they can start the leave within the 14 weeks after the birth if they wish.
Parents are entitled to a total of 32 weeks of parental benefit. This means that as a couple, you have a total of 32 weeks of parental leave with parental benefit that you can share between you. In addition, you should be aware that special rules apply to extending parental leave.
Each parent is entitled to extend their parental leave by eight weeks. However, working parents are entitled to extend their parental leave by up to 14 weeks.
However, the eight and 14 weeks are the options available to new parents. It is not possible to extend the leave by a number of weeks other than eight or 14 weeks. You should also be aware that you are not entitled to salary and parental benefits beyond the original 32 weeks of leave.
Can you take parental leave later?
You can choose to postpone the 32 weeks of parental leave that you are entitled to and can choose to share with your partner to a later date. However, it must be taken before the child turns nine years old. At the same time, you should also be aware that you lose the right to extend your parental leave if you choose to postpone your leave.
Are you entitled to paid maternity leave?
Whether you are entitled to paid parental leave depends on your collective agreement or employment contract.
This means that you need to familiarise yourself with what your collective agreement or employment contract says about maternity leave and pay during maternity leave. This will be what applies in the specific case.
Can you take holiday during maternity leave?
It is usually said that maternity leave is a holiday obstacle, and therefore you cannot take holiday during maternity leave.
Maternity leave is one of many different types of leave that your employees are entitled to take. However, there are different rules depending on the type of leave. You can learn more about the rules for leave here.
Be aware of the new rules
In August 2022, the new maternity leave came into force. With the new model, the weeks are distributed differently and more equally between the mother and the father/co-mother. At the same time, part of the parental leave was earmarked for both parents. As an employer, it's important that you're aware of these new rules, as they may affect your employees' working hours. You can read more about the new rules for maternity leave here.
Keep track of absence
With a digital time tracking system like Intempus, it's easy for both the employee and the employer or administrator to manage all types of absence - everything from holidays, illness and care days to time off in lieu, waiting days and of course maternity leave. The employee simply registers the hours directly on the app, after which the administrator can easily approve and get an overview of the reported (absence) hours in Intempus Web. In this way, the employee's hours and absence balances are always in order.
Are you curious about how Intempus can ease your workday and make absence tracking easy, safe and accurate for you and your organisation? Book a free, no-obligation demo here:
You are also welcome to give us a call at: +45 26390400
