Parental leave, parental allowance and caring for sick child

Content on this page:

• Parental benefit
• Parental leave
  • New parental leave as of 1 July 2024: Transfer of days#when
• When you go on parental leave
• Parental benefit supplement
• Caring for a sick child (VAB)
• Pregnancy benefit

Parental benefit

Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) pays out parental benefit in conjunction with the birth or adoption of a child.

Parental leave

You are entitled to full parental leave until your child is eighteen months old. You are also entitled to reduce your working hours by up to a quarter of standard working hours until your child is 8 years old or until he or she has completed the first year of school. As a government employee, you can be granted a reduction of your working hours until the child has completed the school year in which he or she turns 12 years of age.

There is no requirement to have been employed for a certain period to be entitled to parental leave. Those employed under a doctoral studentship are also entitled to parental leave. 

While you are on parental leave, your salary will be reduced in proportion to the extent of your leave.

Remember that while you are on parental leave, you only accrue annual leave on the days you are on leave with parental benefits from Försäkringskassan at the qualifying level or above. You confirm this by logging in to Primula and adding your statement from Försäkringskassan specifying the parental benefits paid out to you.

Transfer of days (as of 1 Julyn 2024)

As of 1 July 2024, guardians can transfer parental leave to another person (maximum of 45 days/guardian and 90 days for a single guardian). For those who will take this type of parental leave, there will be a new leave reason in Primula called "Parental leave - transferred days ...". The leave will be linked to the date of birth of the child.

The absence will qualify for annual leave salary but will not give entitlement to parental allowance supplement, according to the university's central collective agreement.

More information about parental leave is available on the The Swedish Social Insurance Agency website (Försäkringskassan):

Parents - Försäkringskassan (forsakringskassan.se

Parental leave for doctoral students

Doctoral students who are employed on a doctoral studentship are entitled to parental leave on the same terms as other employees.

When you go on parental leave

The request for parental leave must be submitted to your manager at least two months before the start of the leave or, if this is not possible, as soon as possible. 

If parental leave is requested in connection with annual leave in the summer, the application must be made in connection with the application for annual leave. If parental leave is requested in connection with annual leave in the summer, the earliest it can be applied for is 1 March. All parental leave must be registered in Primula.

When you are on parental leave (except for days transferred to you), you must regularly send in payment slips from Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency) so that the absence in question can be registered as accruing holiday pay and so that the relevant parental benefit supplement can be paid. You can find out how to do this under the heading “Parental benefit supplement”. 

Parental benefit supplement

In some cases, parental benefit from Försäkringskassan is supplemented by your employer (Lund University). 

The parental benefit supplement is paid for the days of your parental leave for which you receive parental benefit from Försäkringskassan corresponding to the qualifying level and above, i.e. the qualifying level and compensation according to the sickness benefit qualifying level. The parental benefit supplement is not paid for compensation at the lowest level. 

When you take full, 3/4, 1/2 or 1/4 days of parental benefit, the parental benefit supplement is paid at the corresponding proportion. If you take 1/8 of parental benefit, no parental benefit supplement is paid.

The supplement is paid for a maximum period of 360 days for each child. You must apply for the parental benefit supplement within two years of the month to which the parental leave applies.

The parental benefit supplement from the employer, together with the parental benefit, compensates for around 90 per cent of the salary shortfall. Conditions for compensation are regulated in the collective agreement for government employees and are based on Försäkringskassan’s decision in each individual case. 

A special form in Primula

There is a special form in Primula that you fill in to receive the parental benefit supplement. You must also attach the statement from Försäkringskassan that specifies the parental benefits paid to you. 

Applying for parental benefit supplement and submitting these slips regularly is also important to ensure your leave is registered as accruing holiday pay and so that you receive the correct number of holiday days. 

You can find the form in Primula under My page → Compensation/fees → Additional parental benefit.

Log in to Primula

Once Statens Servicecenter (National Government Service Centre) has registered the days for which you are receiving the parental benefit supplement, these days will accrue holiday days.

Applying for parental leave

Applications for leave in conjunction with the birth of a child must be submitted to the workplace no later than two months in advance or, when that is not possible, as soon as possible. 

Apply for parental leave in Primula

Applications for the ten days of leave to which the other parent is entitled in conjunction with the birth of the child should also be done in Primula. Log in with your Lucat ID. The compensation for these days is referred to as ‘temporary parental benefit’.

Application for the 10 days in conjunction with the birth of a child, in Primula

Caring for a sick child (VAB)

You are entitled to leave from work for the care of a sick child (VAB) and for that period you receive temporary parental benefit from Försäkringskassan. Försäkringskassan can grant compensation for VAB from when the child is 8 months old until the day before the child turns 12. 

There are circumstances in which you are entitled to compensation despite the child being older or younger, for example if the child is covered by Swedish legislation on support for people with special needs (LSS).

Reporting care of a sick child (VAB)

If you need to take leave to care for a sick child (VAB), please notify the appointed contact person at your workplace. Register your VAB leave from the first day of absence and supplement the information when necessary. 

Apply for temporary parental benefit in Primula

Level of compensation

Temporary parental benefit is paid by Försäkringskassan. 

Read more about the level of compensation on the Försäkringskassan website

If your income is above Försäkringskassan’s ceiling, the University will pay a supplement for the income above the ceiling for ten days a year. 

Pregnancy benefit

Pregnancy benefit can be paid out by Försäkringskassan before the birth of the child if the mother has a physically demanding job or a job that implies a risk of damage to the foetus.

A condition for the pregnancy allowance to be paid is that your work duties cannot be adapted or that you cannot be reassigned to a more suitable job.

Your manager shall, as soon as the manager becomes aware of the pregnancy, initiate a risk assessment together with you.

More information about pregnancy benefit on the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website (Försäkringskassan)

Register your absence in Primula