Parental and Childminding Leave

Parental Leave

• In the current Danish system, ten weeks of parental leave are granted at the conclusion of maternity leave
• This leave can only be taken by either the mother or the father but not both

Childminding Leave

• Twenty-six weeks of leave time is granted for needs of a child
• This leave is for if a child is sick or other emergencies
• More leave time can be arranged with an employer, however this can not exceed fifty-two weeks

New Policies

• Denmark is still trying to improve their leave systems
• Parental leave following maternity would be changed from ten weeks to forty-six weeks
• Childminding leave would no longer exist
• It is estimated that female workers under this system will take a total of sixty weeks leave between maternity leave and parental leave

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

References:

 International Labor Office. Decent work in Denmark : employment, social efficiency and economic security. 2003. Geneva: ILO. 

OECD. Babies and bosses : reconciling work and family life. 2002. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.