Parental Leave Act (Sweden)

Föräldraledighetslagen (Parental Leave Act)

The employee may be on parental leave until the child is 18 months. Thereafter, the employee is entitled to leave for as long as he or she receives compensation from the state. In addition to the parental leave, the mother can start drawing parental allowance 60 days prior to the expected birth of the child. The father of the child may also be on paternity leave for 10 working days in connection with the child’s birth.

Compensation is paid by the state for a total of 480 days per child. The compensation may be paid until the child reaches the age of twelve years, but only 96 days may remain when the child reaches the age of four years. This entitlement of parental days is divided equally between the parents, but they have the right to transfer their entitlements to each other, with the exception of 90 days. These 90 days will be forfeited if they are not transferred to the other parent, hence, one parent may use a maximum of 390 days. For 390 days the allowance is capped at 80 percent of the employee’s salary, though, the allowance can be SEK 1,006 per day as a maximum (2020). For the remaining 90 days, the compensation is SEK 180 per day. If a collective bargaining agreement applies, the employee may be entitled to certain compensation from the employer in addition to the compensation from the state.