Parental leave

General

The Parental Leave Act and the Ordinance on Leave of Absence entitle employees to the following:

• leave until the child reaches 18 months of age
• full-time leave for children older than 18 months, provided that full-time parental allowance is being received
• part-time leave until the child turns 12 years old

Planning and notification of parental leave

Notification of parental leave

Employees are encouraged to notify their department of planned parental leave at least two months before the expected birth or parental leave. This notification should cover the entire duration of the leave, including any holiday periods. The planning of leave should be coordinated with the department, ensuring that at least 20 days of annual leave is utilised. Read about annual leave.

Employees are responsible for applying for parental allowance through the the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. KI will adjust salary deductions according to the extent of the parental leave. 

Parental leave with annual leave

When taking parental leave for the majority of the year, the parental leave needs to be paused to take vacation. When applying for parental leave in the PA-web portal, enter the vacation period in Message/Notes directly in the leave case. Payroll will then allocate the vacation days during the specified period to align with your application for parental allowance at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.  

Number of periods of parental leave

Parental leave may be divided into a maximum of three periods per calendar year. If the extent of the leave changes, it counts as a new period. The purpose of the planning is to ensure that the employer's operations function properly. Additional periods may be approved by the employer, if the business allows it.

Summary

• Register your parental leave at least two months in advance in the PA-web portal
• You are entitled to up to three periods of leave per calendar year
• Ensure that you take at least 20 days of annual leave each calendar year during your parental leave

Return to work earlier than planned

If a staff member wishes to return to work earlier than initially planned, the department must be notified at least one month in advance.

Further details on parental allowance are available on the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website.

Parental leave pay from KI

An employee who is on leave for the birth of a child or the care of an adopted child is entitled to parental pay. Parental pay consists of 10% of the salary. If your salary exceeds the ceiling for parental benefits, you will receive additional compensation. 

The parental leave pay from KI is:

• available for up to 360 days per childbirth
• valid until the child is 36 months old
• parental leave pay is based on payment of current calendar day

How the parental pay from KI is conducted

Parental pay is paid on a monthly basis in proportion to the amount of leave, e.g. if the leave is 25%, parental pay is calculated at 25%.

Parental pay is paid for a maximum of 360 occasions per birth, so if more than one child is born at the same time, parental pay is paid for a maximum of 360 occasions including all children (twins, triplets, etc.). The pay can be received until the child is 36 months old. For adopted children, this means 36 months from the time the child comes into the care of the adoptive parent. The word "occasions" means that if an employee chooses to take part-time parental leave, there are seven occasions with parental pay per week.

Example:

An employee who is on parental leave every Friday is counted as a part-time employee with 80% work every day. Seven days (occasions) are consumed per week and are counted from the 360 ​​occasions.

For more detailed information read the local agreement on parental pay (in Swedish).

Sick during parental leave

For information on managing illness during parental leave, please visit the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website. 

Employees who fall ill while on parental leave will receive sickness benefits directly from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, not from KI. 

Upon receiving a sickness benefit decision from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, please forward the documentation (decision or payment notice) to payroll@uf.ki.se. The Payroll Unit will then replace the parental leave with sick leave so that the parental leave days during the sickness period can be saved for a later occasion.

Pregnancy benefits

An employee who, due to their duties, cannot continue working at the end of a pregnancy has the right to redeployment with retained salary. The employee must notify the employer at least one month in advance that she wishes to exercise her right to redeployment. If the employer does not have the possibility of relocating the employee, the employee can apply for pregnancy benefits.

Send the decision on pregnancy benefits from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency to your local HR.

When your pregnancy benefits has been approved by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the leave is registered in the PA-web portal.

More information is available on the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website.

Care of a sick child (vab)

KI reimburses employees who earn more than the basic amount ceiling by 77.6% of the excess, up to a maximum of ten days per calendar year. The basic amount ceiling is 7.5 basic amounts. 

• Notify your workplace and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency on the same day
• For children up to the age of twelve
  • If the child is aged between 12 and 16, you must submit a decision or payment statement from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
• You must be able to verify your absence with a payment statement from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, if requested by your employer. 

For information on temporary parental allowance, please visit the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website.

Leave in connection with the birth of a child

In connection with the birth of a child, the person who is the child's second parent has an independent right to leave for 10 working days per child. These days can be taken up to the 60th day after the child comes home from the hospital. Compensation is paid by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.
 

Parental Leave for Another Person's Child

As of July 1, 2024, you are entitled to take parental leave for another person's child. This must be registered in the PA portal. You will need to attach documentation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) that confirms parental days have been transferred to you. For more information Försäkringskassan

Date of signing of salary revision agreement, information to the Social Insurance Agency

All salaries are effective from October 1, 2024.

The agreements were signed as follows:

• Doctoral students: 2024-11-05
• All employees who received a new salary paid in December 2024: 2024-12-01
• All employees who received a new salary paid in January 2025: 2024-12-16
• All employees who received a new salary paid in February 2025: 2025-01-22