November 21-22 is the SULF congress, during these days the response time is longer on our email.

SULF: s members´  helpline and memberships service is closed these days.

Search for:
Parental leave

Parental leave

Some people experience that, after parental leave, employees are more productive and contribute more to the workplace. This may apply to everyone, including university teachers and researchers who are mid-career. However the regulations are complicated, not least because the forms of employment for young university teachers such as doctoral candidates, associate professors, assistant professors and above all employees on various forms of fixed-term contracts or substitutes, are outside the norm which is a permanent position from which you take parental leave of absence.

In order to help our members to see how the regulations work in the higher education sector,  SULF has developed a leaflet entitled Råd inför din föräldraledighet (Advice prior to your parental leave). The leaflet is in Swedish and available when you log  into My pages.

Plan your leave

You decide when you want to tell your employer that you are going to become a parent, but it may not be later than two months prior to your leave. SULF recommends that you have a planning dialogue with your immediate manager as preparation for your parental leave.

The parent concept

According to the Parental Leave Act, a parent is defined as a:

  • biological parent or adoptive parent,
  • parent’s spouse who lives permanently with the parent,
  • parent’s co-habiting partner,
  • specially appointed guardian who is the child’s principal carer,
  • person who, with the social welfare committee’s consent, has received a child for permanent care and upbringing in order to adopt the child (a prospective adoptive parent),
  • a person who has received a child for permanent care and upbringing in a private home that does not belong to any of the child’s parents or any other person who has custody of the child, (a foster parent).

Entitlement to parental leave

According to the Parental Leave Act, all parents are entitled to leave to take care of their children.

If you are a member – log in and read more

If you are a member we have gathered everything you need to know in preparation for your parental leave in SULF Parents’ Guide. This manual includes information about parental leave and holidays, extension of postgraduate employment, scholarships, the consequences of part-time work, how to calculate your sick pay levels and more. Log on to My Pages and download the Guide.

If you have not had time to become a member, it’s easy to fill out an application here.