Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Denmark

Parents in Denmark have a right to leave from work around a birth, and many can get parental benefit (barselsdagpenge) from Udbetaling Danmark during the leave. The benefit replaces your pay up to a weekly maximum. Many employers pay full salary for all or part of the leave under a collective agreement or your contract. In that case the employer receives the barselsdagpenge while paying you. Employees, the self-employed and unemployed people with the right to dagpenge can get the benefit, under different rules. The rules below are for employed parents who live together at the birth.

How the leave is divided

• Mother: 4 weeks of pregnancy leave (graviditetsorlov) before the expected birth. After the birth, 2 weeks of leave immediately after the birth, which cannot be transferred, then 8 weeks within the first 10 weeks.
• Father or co-mother: 2 weeks of leave around the birth, to be taken within the first 10 weeks. It can be split into single days if your employer agrees.
• Each parent has 24 weeks of leave with barselsdagpenge after the birth. Of these, 11 weeks are earmarked: the 2 weeks at the birth and another 9 weeks, which must be taken within 1 year and cannot be given to the other parent. The remaining 13 weeks can be transferred to the other parent.
• Weeks can be extended by returning to work part-time, and some can be postponed until the child turns 9.

Parental benefit (barselsdagpenge)

• Employment requirement for employees: at least 160 hours of work in the last 4 full months before the leave, with at least 40 hours a month in 3 of those 4 months. It is checked at the start of each leave period.
• Amount: your normal hourly pay, up to DKK 137.43 an hour. For a full-time employee (37 hours a week) the maximum is DKK 5,085 a week before tax (2026). People on unemployment benefit get the same amount as their dagpenge, within the same maximum.
• Benefit is paid on the last Thursday of the month, in periods of 4 or 5 weeks.
• How to apply: Udbetaling Danmark writes to you when your employer reports that your pay has stopped. Your application must reach Udbetaling Danmark within 8 weeks after your pay stops. Without pay, the deadline is 8 weeks after the birth for a mother who took pregnancy leave, and 8 weeks after the first day of leave for a father or co-mother.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• If you do not meet the employment requirement when a leave period starts, you get no benefit for that period, even if you meet it later in the period.
• Check your collective agreement or contract. Paid leave depends on it, not on the law.
• Earmarked weeks are lost if you do not use them in time. They cannot be given to the other parent.
• Tell your employer in good time when you will be absent. There are notice rules for each part of the leave.

Official guidance: borger.dk: leave for employees, borger.dk: payment dates, lifeindenmark.dk: maternity and paternity benefits