Childbirth and Adoption
- If you have a baby and you were not the pregnant parent, you will receive ten days of paid leave.
- If you adopt a child, you will receive ten days of paid leave.
- You must take these ten days within 60 days of the child’s birth or from the time that you began caring for your adopted child.
Parental Leave – Important Information
- Plan your leave well in advance and notify your immediate manager.
- You are entitled to full parental leave until your child is 18 months old or as long as you receive parental benefit (föräldrapenning).
- You can divide your paid parental leave into a maximum of three periods in any one calendar year.
- As a parent, you have the right to reduce your working hours by up to 25%. As a government employee, you have the right to do this up to and including the year your child turns 12.
Leave To Care for a Sick Child
Staying at home to care for a sick child is called ledighet för vård av barn (VAB), which translates loosely to leave to care for a child. If you need to stay at home to care for your child, notify your immediate manager as soon as possible. When you return to work, register your absence in Primula.
You need to apply to Försäkringskassan for temporary parental benefit (föräldrepenning) when you need to care for a sick child.
Parental Leave and Vacation – How It Works
Even if you are on parental leave for most of the year, you still need to take at least 20 vacation days. Keep in mind that the number of vacation days you receive depends on your age and the extent of your employment (full-time, percentage of part-time).
If your child was born in 2016 or earlier, your number of vacation days also depends on how you choose to take your parental benefit (föräldrepenning).
Back Tax (kvarskatt)
If you are unsure whether you might have to pay back tax (also termed residual tax) when you work part-time and take a leave of absence, you can use the Swedish Tax Agency calculating service Räkna ut din skatt.
This will help you see how much tax in total you will pay for the year. Once you have done this, send the case to hr-support@du.se with details about how much more tax should be deducted from your salary in addition to the regular tabellskatt (the tax paid according to your level of income).