Reason for the bill
As part of the 2023 fiscal agreement, it was agreed in March 2023 that parents of twins should have an extra 26 weeks of leave with maternity benefits. The parties involved in the agreement aimed to improve the opportunity for parents of twins to take more leave together during the first year of their children's lives.
In June 2023, the parties behind the fiscal agreement reached an agreement on the specific implementation of the 26 weeks of leave for parents of twins. The legislative proposal, which also includes other elements related to the Danish Act on Leave and Benefits on Grounds of Pregnancy and Childbirth, was presented on 17 January 2024, and will come into effect on 1 May 2024. The rules will apply to parents who have two or more children born on the same day, born on 1 May 2024, or later.
As the rules will now cover all parents who have two or more children born on the same day or through adoption, it means that the new rules will replace the existing rules in the Danish Act on Leave and Benefits on Grounds of Pregnancy and Childbirth regarding 26 weeks of additional leave for families with triplets or more, which came into effect last year on 1 January 2023.
26 additional leave for parents of two or more children
Under the bill, parents who have two or more children born on the same day will each be allocated an additional 13 weeks of leave with maternity benefits. The rules will also apply to adoptive parents. The extra 13 weeks of leave will be allocated to the individual legal parent as earmarked weeks, meaning the leave cannot be transferred to the other legal parent.
The extra leave weeks are intended for all parents, including employees, self-employed individuals, and unemployed parents.
The purpose of allocating these extra leave weeks is to allow parents to take leave simultaneously while their children are small and require special care. Therefore, the legislative proposal suggests that the part of the extra 13 weeks of leave that may not have been taken before the children turn 1 year old will expire. For the same reason, there is no possibility to postpone the leave due to maternity obstacles until after the children turn 1 year old.
However, the bill suggests that an employee, by an agreement with the employer, can resume work fully or partially during the leave and agree to extend the leave by the period during which work has been resumed, or the leave can be taken at a later date. However, the leave must always be taken before the children turn 1 year old.
The general notification periods in the Danish Act on Leave and Benefits on Grounds of Pregnancy and Childbirth, which depend on whether the leave must be taken within the first 10 weeks after the child's birth or after the 10 weeks following the birth date, will also apply to notifying the employer of the use of the extra 13 weeks.
Social parents get the opportunity to take the extra 13 weeks of leave
The legal parent can transfer the extra 13 weeks of leave or part of the weeks with maternity benefits to a social parent, just as the legal parent can transfer leave to a social parent under current rules. A social parent can receive a maximum of 13 extra weeks of leave, and these must be taken within 1 year of the birth. The general conditions for entitlement to maternity benefits must be met when the leave is taken.
Solo parents with twins
Under the bill, solo parents, i.e., where only one legal parent have twins, are also granted the 13 weeks of additional leave with maternity benefits.
The starting point is that only 13 weeks of additional leave are granted, to be taken within a year. However, a solo parent also has the opportunity to apply for an extra 13 weeks of leave for a specific designated close family member or a social parent, after which the allocated weeks can be shared among close family members and/or social parents.
Interaction between bereavement leave and the extra 26 weeks of leave
Under current rules, both parents are entitled to 26 weeks of bereavement leave (6 months) with benefits if the child is stillborn or dies before turning 18. These rules were introduced on 1 January 2021.
This means that if one of the twin children is stillborn, both parents will have the right to 26 weeks of bereavement leave in connection with the death of one child. In this situation, parents will not have 13 weeks of additional leave, as there are not two live-born children at the same birth.
If one of the children dies at some point after birth, the legal parents retain the extra 13 weeks of leave regardless of both parents also having the right to 26 weeks of bereavement leave in connection with the death of one child.
Close family members' opportunity to take transferred leave
Under current rules, solo parents can transfer their right to leave with maternity benefits to a close family member, with the exception of the earmarked 9 weeks.
However, the current rules in the Danish Act on Leave and Benefits on Grounds of Pregnancy and Childbirth do not specify that a close family member who has been granted transferred leave, like legal parents, can choose to resume work fully or partially after an agreement with the employer, thereby extending the right to leave. The bill now clarifies that a close family member who has been granted transferred leave can agree with their employer to take the transferred leave on a reduced work schedule or resume full-time work, potentially extending the right to leave. The leave must still be taken within 1 year of the child's birth or reception.
If you want to know more...
Lundgrens closely follows the legislative process and will provide ongoing updates on the implementation of the new rules. According to the Danish Parliament, the first reading of the bill is scheduled for Thursday 1 February 2024.
