Global Compliance Desk – Sweden

Sweden: Amendment to the Parental Leave Entitlements 

Recently, the Swedish Parliament has approved significant changes to the parental leave regulation which shall come into effect on July 1, 2024. These changes aim to enhance flexibility and inclusivity for parents and employees involved in child care. 

Current Parental Leave Entitlements

Currently, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave for each child born or adopted. This leave is equally divided between the parents, granting each parent 240 days. In families where the child was born in 2016 or later, 90 days are reserved exclusively for each parent and cannot be transferred. Single parents are entitled to the full 480 days. 

According to Section 2 of the Parental Leave Act (1995:584), persons who equate with parents are as follows:   

• parent’s spouse who permanently lives with the parent,

• parent’s common-law partner,

• the specially appointed guardian who has care of the child,

• the person who, with the consent of the social welfare board, has received a child for permanent care and upbringing to adopt the child (prospective adoptive parent), and

• the person who has received a child for permanent care and upbringing in a private home that does not belong to either of the child’s parents or someone else who has custody of the child (family home parent).

The following changes will come into effect from July 1, 2024

Expanded Parental Leave Options for Employees

Maternity Leave Entitlement

Currently, a female employee shall be entitled to full maternity leave (14 weeks) concerning childbirth and breastfeeding.

Effective July 1, 2024, the scope of maternity leave shall be amended to include all employees who fall under the definition of persons who equate as parents (as listed above).  

Full Parental Leave

Currently, parents are entitled to receive full leave (i.e. 480 days) until the child turns 18 months old or longer if the parent has a full parental allowance.

Effective July 1, 2024, the scope of full parental leave shall be amended to include parents along with the employee who is not a parent but equates to parents ( listed above).

Partial Parental Leave with Allowance

Currently, Leave for a parent is in the form of shortening of normal working hours by 75%, 50%, 25%, or 12.5%, while the parent has 75%, 50%, 25%, or 12.5% of parental allowance, respectively. In the case of shortening of working hours, leave may be spread over all the days of the work week or be placed on certain or some of the days of the work week

Effective July 1, 2024, the reduced working hours (75%, 50%, 25%, or 12.5%) with corresponding parental allowance shall not only be available for both the parents and any person who is caring for the child who is a parent equivalent as listed above.

Transfer of Parental Leave Entitlement 

Currently, parents have the right to take full leave (i.e. 480 days) for childcare until their child reaches 18 months of age. Employees adopting a child are entitled to child care for 18 months from the date of adoption. However, these entitlements cease once the child turns eight years old or completes their first school year.  

In addition to the current requirement of 18 months of parental leave for childcare, employees eligible for parental allowance shall have the option to transfer their parental leave entitlement effective July 1, 2024. This means individuals who are not parents of the child (parent’s spouse who permanently lives with the parent, common-law partner, guardian, prospective adoptive parent, and family home parent) but are eligible for parental allowance can also take full leave of 18 months ending when the child turns eight or completes the first school year.

Transfer of Parental Allowance

Currently, both parents can receive parental allowance simultaneously for up to 30 days during the child’s first year. A parent can choose to waive their right to receive parental allowance in favor of the other parent by notifying the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in writing. A parent can also transfer up to 90 days of their parental allowance entitlement per child, or jointly transfer 90 days for multiple births.

Effective July 1, 2024, 

• The parental allowance period will increase to 60 days within the first 15 months of the child’s life.
• Parents will be able to transfer their parental allowance entitlement to another insured individual by notifying the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in writing. However, once transferred, the recipient cannot transfer or waive the benefit further.
• Each parent with joint custody of a child will be able to transfer a maximum of 45 days of parental leave to another insured person who is not a parent (parent’s spouse who permanently lives with the parent, common-law partner, guardian, prospective adoptive parent, and family home parent).
• If a parent has waived or transferred their parental allowance, they will be able to reclaim the waiver or transfer for unused days.

 

Takeaway – Employers must take proactive steps to comply with these changes before the amendment comes into effect. They must review and potentially revise their policies to align with the upcoming changes.