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Parental leave

Parental allowance and supplementary parental allowance

Parental allowance

Parental allowance is paid and administered by Försäkringskassan, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. if you would like further information or would like to plan your parental leave, contact the Social Insurance Agency or see their website:

You and your partner are entitled to receive parental allowance for a total of 480 days. In the case of multiple births, e.g. twins, you receive more days. If you have sole custody of the child, you are entitled to take all 480 days. Each parent is entitled to half of the time if they share custody of the child. A certain number of days are reserved for each parent, but the rest can be shared as you wish. These days are allocated equally from the beginning, and whoever wants to waive days in favour of the other parent must do so actively by notifying the Social Insurance Agency.

How many days of parental allowance can I receive?

Two people cannot normally receive parental allowance for the same child for the same day/period. During the child's first year, however, the parents can take 60 “double days”, when both take out full parental allowance for the same child on the same day. Two days of parental allowance are then used up for each such day.

If your child is born in 2016 or later

You are entitled to 195 days each at the sickness benefit level and 45 days each at the lowest level. You can allocate the days between the parents by transferring days to each other, but 90 days at sickness benefit level are reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred to the other parent.

If your child was born in 2014 or 2015

You are entitled 195 days each at the sickness benefit level and 45 days each at the lowest level. You can allocate the days between you by transferring days to each other, but 60 days at the sickness benefit level are reserved for each parent and cannot be transferred to the other.

For how long can I draw parental allowance?

You can draw parental allowance until your child turns 12 or until the child finishes the fifth year of compulsory school. However, from the child’s fourth birthday, there is a limit that means you can only save 96 days in total.

Supplementary parental allowance

While on parental leave, the maximum level of compensation you can receive from the Social Insurance Agency is equivalent to approximately 80 per cent of your income up to a ceiling corresponding to 10 price base amounts. The price base amount is the index of price changes that is used for calculating compensation according to insurance regulations. The price base amount is set annually. For information on the price base amount that currently applies, please see the Social Insurance Agency’s website.

If you who work for an employer that has a collective agreement, there is often a supplement to the Social Insurance Agency’s parental allowance, which means that your loss of income when you are on parental leave is reduced. The conditions vary depending on which collective agreement area you are covered by. Below, we outline the most common conditions that apply to SULF members.

State sector

In the Villkorsavtal-T collective agreement, which covers Saco-S and SULF members in the state sector, the whole of chapter 8 is devoted to supplementary parental allowance. The supplement is equivalent to 10 per cent of your daily salary if you do not earn more than the basic amount ceiling. If your salary exceeds the basic amount ceiling, the supplement is equivalent to 10 per cent of your daily salary up to the basic amount ceiling and then 90 per cent of the part of your salary that is above the basic amount ceiling.

The supplement is paid for the days during parental leave when you receive parental allowance at the basic level or above and is paid for a maximum of 360 days per pregnancy. Normally, you need to submit the payment notice from the Social Insurance Agency to your employer in order for the supplement to be paid out. If you draw 75 per cent, 50 per cent or 25 per cent parental allowance, you will receive 75 per cent, 50 per cent or 25 per cent of the supplementary parental allowance. Please note that you will not receive any supplement if you draw 12½ per cent parental allowance. If the Social Insurance Agency reduces your parental allowance for any reason, the supplementary parental allowance is also reduced to the corresponding extent. All of this applies unless otherwise regulated in a local collective agreement.

Some higher education institutions apply different rules regarding how parental pay is paid than those in the Villkorsavtal-T collective agreement. You should therefore check whether there is a local agreement at your workplace that partially replaces the Villkorsavtal-T agreement.

Private sector - the Arbetsgivaralliansen higher education agreement

In the collective agreement between Akademikerförbunden, (a cooperation between thirteen Saco unions in private sector trade and services), SULF and the Employers’ Alliance, (the federation of employers in the non-profit sector), the provisions on parental pay can be found in section 11. Parental pay is equivalent to 10 per cent of your daily salary if you do not earn more than the base amount ceiling. If your salary exceeds the basic amount ceiling, parental pay is equivalent to 10 per cent of your daily salary up to the basic amount ceiling and then 90 per cent of the part of your salary that is above the basic amount ceiling.

Parental pay is paid for the days during parental leave when you receive parental allowance at the basic level or above for a maximum of 360 days for salary up to the basic amount ceiling and for a maximum of 300 days for the part of your salary that exceeds the basic amount ceiling.

In order to receive parental pay, you must submit a proof of payment from the Social Insurance Agency to your employer. If the Social Insurance Agency reduces your parental allowance for any reason, the supplementary parental allowance is also reduced to the corresponding extent.

You can find the agreement and a list of employers it applies to here (in Swedish).

Private sector - the Fremia higher education agreement

In the collective agreement between Akademikerförbunden, (a cooperation between thirteen Saco unions in private sector trade and services), SULF and Fremia, (the employers' organisation for co-operative and popular-movement-owned enterprises, civil society organisations and partner-owned enterprises), the provisions on parental pay can be found in section 11.

Parental pay is only paid if you have been employed for a full year before taking parental leave and only if you are on parental leave continuously for at least one month. If you have been employed for more than one year but less than two years, you can receive parental pay for a maximum of two months. If you have been employed for two years or more, you can receive parental pay for a maximum of six months.

For the months in which parental pay is paid, salary deductions are made so that the amount paid corresponds to 10 per cent of your salary up to the basic amount ceiling and 90 per cent of the part of your salary that exceeds the basic amount ceiling.

You can find the agreement and a list of employers it applies to here (in Swedish).

If you are a member - log in and read more

If you are a member of SULF, we have collected everything you need to know before taking your parental leave in the SULF parental leave manual. The manual contains information on matters such as parental leave and holidays; extension of doctoral employment positions and educational grants or scholarships; how part-time work impacts parental leave; how to calculate your income that qualifies for sickness benefit and much more.

If you are not yet a member of SULF, you can find a membership application form here.

How much parental pay will you receive?

On the Saco website, you can calculate how much you are entitled to receive in parental allowance and supplementary parental allowance (in Swedish).

I am or am about to become a parent (in Swedish). Information from Saco.
Pension guide for people planning to take parental leave (in Swedish). Information from Saco.