Leave of absence

You have a right to some forms of leave of absence; others can be granted if they take work into consideration. A leave of absence may be with or without pay. Regulations are stipulated through general agreements and local agreements and guidelines.

Paid leave

If necessary and in consultation with your immediate manager, you may take a paid leave of absence in the following cases (part of a day counts as a full day):

  • Doctor’s appointment, occupational health care, outpatient care (such as physical therapy or mammography) or maternity care center and when donating blood
  • Dental appointment in acute situations or if referred
  • Visits to a maternity clinic for an employee who is about to become a parent, but is not the pregnant woman, two times per pregnancy. This is not applicable from the 60th day before the estimated date of birth of the child until the date of delivery, since parental benefit can then be paid under the SFB.
  • Move to a new address, one day per calender year
  • Union representative mandate, maximum ten working days per calendar year

Matters within your own family or the closest circle of relatives in the case of:

  • Serious cases of illness (refers to life-threatening illnesses where the outcome is uncertain), one day
  • Death, one day
  • Funeral, one day
  • Estate inventory (only applies to co-owners or legal representatives of co-owners), one day

Your own family or the closest circle of relatives includes:

  • Spouse/ Registered partner/ Live-in partner
  • Children and grandchildren
  • Siblings
  • Parents/step-parents
  • Grandparents
  • Parents-in-law (includes parents of the spouse, registered partner and live-in partner)
  • Daughter/Son-in-law (includes children of the spouse, stepchild, registered partner and live-in partner)

Consideration must be given to the time needed for the matter as well as any travels that must be made during working hours. In practice this translates to one day for the matter and one day for travels that takes more than four hours one way. The leave may be taken for a maximum of 10 days per calendar year.

In order for the leave to be granted, it is a requirement that the employee is on duty and is not currently granted other leave such as vacation. 

Before a manager grants leave for a travel day the matter needs to be discussed with the institution´s HR. An employee may not be granted more than two days per matter.

Leave in addition to this can be granted in the form of vacation, flex withdrawal and leave with salary deduction.

Unpaid leave

In the event of leave without pay, salary deductions are made as follows:

  • maximum five consecutive days off = monthly salary x 4.6% per working day
  • six or more consecutive days off = monthly salary x 3.3% per calendar day
  • leave part of day = full-time salary divided by 165 per hour

Other government employment

The employee has the right to be off of work for other limited-term government employment that is regulated in the Local Term Agreement, but for a maximum of two years. A requirement is that the employee has had permanent employment for at least 12 months. The employee must notify the employer of the leave at least two months before the leave.

Care of close relative

An employee who is receiving compensation from the Social Insurance Agency for caring for a close relative that is seriously ill, are entitled to unpaid leave. Apply for the compensation at the Social Insurance Agency. KI wants a copy of the notice of payment.

Leave of absence to pursue studies

Employees have the right to "necessary leave" from their employment in order to attend an education. To be entitled to the leave of absence to pursue studies, the employee must have been employed by the employer for the last six months or a total of at least twelve months during the last two years. If the employee's leave of absence creates problems for the organisation the employer has the right to postpone the leave for six months. However, the employer must first contact the employee to try to agree on the time for the leave. If the employer still wants to postpone the leave, the employee and his/hers employee organization must be notified. 

If the employee wishes to discontinue the education and return to work, the employer must be notified of this. The employer has the right to postpone the return between two weeks and one month, depending on how long the leave is.
 

Application

  • Make your application of leave of absence via the PA web.
  • The application must be submitted before the start of the leave.
PR
Content reviewer:
Anna Sangert
11-03-2024