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Are you entitled to parental benefit?

If you are an employee and have worked in Denmark for the last four whole months, you will receive parental benefit if you meet the following conditions:

  • You have employment the day before the leave starts or on the first day of it
  • You have worked at least 160 hours within the last four whole months before you leave
  • You have worked at least 40 hours per month for at least three of those four months.

Important:

If you move to Denmark from another EU/EEA country less than four whole months before your leave, your employment in that other country counts as part of the 160 hours in total and 40 hours per month. To receive maternity/paternity benefits in Denmark, it is a condition that you are employed in Denmark prior to your leave.

If you move to Denmark after the birth of your child, you are eligible for the benefits from Udbetaling Danmark if:

  • You meet the employee-conditions above or are eligible to receive unemployment benefits
  • You no longer receive maternity/paternity benefits from the country that you arrive from
  • Your child was born less than 46 weeks ago.

If you comply with the terms stated here, you are eligible for maternity/paternity benefits until your child is 46 weeks.

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Danes and maternity leave

  • Danish fathers use in average 29,5 days of maternity leave.

  • Danish mothers use in average  296,3 days of maternity leave.

  • That means that the Danish women use 91 % of the maternity leave.

  • There is a tendency towards men using more and more of the maternity leave.

(Source: Danmarks Statistik)

Important things to do when it comes to maternity/paternity leave

No later than 3 months before the expected birth, you must inform your employer when you plan to take your leave. As a father to be, you must inform your employer no later than 4 weeks before you expect to take your paternity leave.

No later than 8 weeks after giving birth you will have to inform your employer when you plan to be back at work. This includes a plan on how many weeks of maternity leave you will use and whether you will use earned holiday in extension of your leave.

You musk ask your employer to apply for your maternity/paternity benefits through NemRefusion. Subsequently, you will receive a letter of notification in your e-boks from Udbetaling Danmark asking you to fill out a page of additional information which you have to return.