Childcare

A distinction is made between two types of days off for childcare/care:

 

Days off for childcare acquired in connection with childbirth/adoption
Days off for care converted from overtime or additional work

Days off for childcare acquired in connection with childbirth/adoption

A day off for childcare is a paid day off which you are given to spend time with your child. The days off for childcare can be taken as full, half, individual or continuous days off.

Days off for childcare cannot be converted to compensation.

Two sets of rules exist which partly depend on when your child was born and partly on when you were employed by the Faculty of Life Sciences:

 

Rules for employees who have had children between 1 April 1995 and 30 September 2005 – and who were state employees in the same period

If your child was born or adopted between 1 April 1995 and 30 September 2005 and if you were employed at the Faculty (or in other state employment) in the same period, you are entitled to ten days off with pay for childcare per child.

As a mother, you can spend the days as the seventh and eighth week before the expected date of giving birth, to extend your leave after having given birth or at some other time not related to your leave.

As a father, you can spend the days in continuation of your paternal leave or at some other time not related to your leave.

If you stop working at the Faculty, any days off for childcare not taken will be lost on your resignation, unless you continue directly in other state employment.

 

Rules for employees who have had children after 1 October 2005 and employees employed after 1 October 2005 (and who were not state-employed before joining the Faculty)

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f your child was born after 1 October 2005 and if you were employed at the Faculty when your child was born/adopted, or if you have children under the age of seven years and if you were employed at the Faculty after 1 October 2005 (from non-state employment), you are entitled to two days off for childcare per calendar year.

You are entitled to the days up to and including the calendar year in which the child attains the age of seven years (i.e. your child’s first eight years – a total of max. 16 days).

You must take your days off for childcare in the calendar year of entitlement. Days not taken will be lost at the end of the calendar year, and days off not taken will also be lost in case of resignation, unless you continue directly in other state employment.

In your child’s first year, you can, however, transfer the two days from the first to the second year.

 

Transitional rules

If the due date of birth was calculated to be before 1 October 2005, the parents are entitled to days off for childcare under the ‘old’ rules. If the due date of birth was calculated to be after 1 October 2005, the days off for childcare are earned under the ‘new’ rules.

If the due date of birth was calculated to be before 1 October 2005, but the child was born after 1 October 2005, the parents are entitled to days off for childcare under the new rules – unless the parents (i.e. the mother) has already taken the days off under the old rules.

 

 

Days off for care converted from overtime or additional work

You can also save up days off for care by converting overtime or additional work into days off for care. Saving up days off for care is subject to a recommendation from your department and an agreement with Human Resources which must register the days.

The days off for care can be taken as full, half, individual or continuous days off.

By converting your own additional work, you can, e.g., ‘save up’ days off for care to spend time with your children, grandchildren or maybe your parents.

When you stop working at the Faculty, any days off for care not taken will be paid with your salary on an hour-for-hour basis.

If you transfer directly to other state employment, you can, however, subject to agreement with your new employer, transfer your days off for care thereto. If your new employer agrees to transfer the days, the Faculty will pay your new employer a sum corresponding to the hour-for-hour payment.

The employee must notify his or her department as soon as possible before taking days off for childcare.

The departments must report days taken off for childcare to HR using the usual form for absence reporting.

You can read more about childbirth and days off for childcare in the Danish State Employer’s Authority’s maternity/paternity guidelines (in Danish)

If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact HR.

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