Graduate School, Arts Aarhus University

25.5.2016 bha

FAQs Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness Parental leave .................................................................................................................................................. 1  4+4 programme part A .............................................................................................................................. 1  Parental leave during the transition between parts A and B of the 4+4 programme ....................... 2  5+3 programme and part B of the 4+4 programme ............................................................................... 2  Pregnancy-related illness............................................................................................................................... 5  4+4 programme part A .............................................................................................................................. 5  5+3 programme and part B of the 4+4 programme ............................................................................... 5  What is the difference between pregnancy problems and pregnancy-related illness? .................... 5  Illness ................................................................................................................................................................ 6  4+4 programme part A .............................................................................................................................. 6  5+3 programme and part B of the 4+4 programme ............................................................................... 6 

Parental leave 4+4 programme part A Deadline for informing the graduate school: Parental leave form 1: Three months before expected date of birth Parental leave form 2: Eight weeks after birth Absence due to parental leave: Mother 12 months within a period starting two months before and ending 12 months after birth or adoption.

Father

Six months within a period of up to 12 months after birth or adoption.

Extensions: The PhD scholarship will be extended by a period corresponding to the above-mentioned periods of absence. Paid employment will not be extended. Double monthly payments are not made during the period of absence. The monthly payments during parental leave are used to extend part A. Example (father):  Enrolment on part A: 1.2.2013 - 31.1.2015 (transition to part B on 1.2.2015)  Parental leave: 1.5.2013 - 31.10.2013  Extension of part A due to parental leave: 1.2.2015 - 31.7.2015 (transition to part B on 1.8.2015) If you obtain your Master’s degree before the end of part A, your PhD scholarship and salaried employment end when you are awarded your degree (at the end of the month). Extensions of parental leave taken on part A may not be transferred to extensions on part B. FAQs – Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness

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Parental leave during the transition between parts A and B of the 4+4 programme The payment of a salary during parental leave depends on when you become a member of an unemployment insurance fund. See separate guidelines: Parental leave during the transition between parts A and B of the 4+4 programme

5+3 programme and part B of the 4+4 programme The right to receive a salary during parental leave depends on your employer receiving full reimbursement, see Aarhus University’s guidelines for employees regarding extended and flexible parental leave, etc. (http://www.au.dk/fileadmin/www.au.dk/fakulteter__institutter_mv_/administrationen/personal/skem a/barselvejl08_01.pdf)as well as HR’s guidelines regarding parental leave (http://medarbejdere.au.dk/administration/hr/barsel/). Deadline for informing the graduate school: Parental leave form 1 (pregnancy leave, mother): no later than three months before expected date of birth Parental leave form 1 (parental leave, father): no later than four weeks before expected date of birth * Parental leave form 2 (maternity leave and parental leave): no later than eight weeks after the birth Parental leave form 3 (deferred leave): no later than 16 weeks before the leave is to be taken * The graduate school must be informed of the child’s actual date of birth and the father’s absence as soon as possible and no later than the date the leave starts.

Absence due to parental leave: Parental leave benefit: Mother Four weeks before the birth 14 weeks after the birth 32 weeks* after the birth (shared between mother and father) * no more than 19 of these weeks with pay – the 6+6+6 weeks (father’s seven weeks, mother’s six weeks and the shared six weeks) are deducted from the 32 weeks

Salaries: Six weeks with pay before the birth 14 weeks with pay after the birth Six weeks with pay from the 15th week after the birth (can be shared with the father) Six weeks with pay after the birth (only the mother)

Father

Parental leave benefit: Two weeks after the birth 32 weeks* after the birth (shared between mother and father) * no more than 19 of these weeks with pay – the 6+6+6 weeks (father’s seven weeks, mother’s six weeks and the shared six weeks) are deducted from the 32 weeks

Salaries: Two weeks with pay immediately after the birth Six weeks with pay from the 15th week after the birth (can be shared with the

FAQs – Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness

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mother) Children born before 1.4.2015: Six weeks with pay after the birth (father only) Children born 1.4.2015 or later: Seven weeks with pay after the birth (father only)

The other parent

Deferred leave Legally based and agreement-based leave can be combined so that, for example, 20 weeks of deferred leave involve 13 weeks of legally based leave and seven weeks of agreement-based leave.

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employed under the same rules on parental leave: the six shared weeks are shared between mother and father

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not employed under the same rules on parental leave: you have all six shared weeks, and your partner has the number of salaried weeks to which they are entitled under their parental leave rules.

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Legally based leave o Between eight and 13 weeks of the 32 weeks can be deferred and taken in a single period up until the child’s 9th birthday. o The right to defer absence can only be used by one of the parents. o This right does not apply to extensions of the leave to 40 or 46 weeks or in connection with the partial resumption of work with extensions. o The right to take deferred leave with parental leave benefit is retained with a new employer (outside Aarhus University). The right to a salary will lapse.

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Agreement-based leave o Up to 32 weeks of the 32 weeks can be deferred. o Leave can be taken intermittently until the child’s 9th birthday. o Both of the parents may agree to defer their leave. o This does not apply to extensions of the leave to 40 or 46 weeks. o If you change jobs, weeks that have not been taken will be lost, unless the new employer accepts the agreement.

This means that you only risk losing seven of these weeks if you change jobs.

 Without an extension Partial This option can be used in the following periods: resumption of  pregnancy leave (mother’s six weeks prior to the birth) work 

the first 14 weeks after the birth (except for the first two weeks after the birth as far as the mother is concerned)  the 32 weeks from week 15 (from week 3 as far as the father is concerned) o This option applies when leave is extended to 40 or 46 weeks. o The option applies when leave is deferred (both legally based and agreement-based deferrals)

Partial resumption means any working hours that are shorter than normal working hours before the leave period.

Example: Without extensions means that 12 weeks with parental leave benefit will still be 12 weeks, even though the person concerned resumes work on a half-time basis (18.5 hours/week). A salary will be paid for the hours work is resumed in these 12 weeks (in this example 18.5 hours/week). The 12 half weeks (= six weeks of full-time work) that are left remain, and can be taken if an agreement can be reached on this issue with the employer concerned. 

With an extension This option can be used in the following periods:  the first 14 weeks after the birth (except for the first two weeks after the birth as far as the mother is concerned)  the 32 weeks from week 15 (from week 3 as far as the father is concerned) o This option does NOT apply when the leave is extended to 40 or 46 weeks.

FAQs – Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness

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o This option does NOT apply when there is a legal right to defer the leave o The agreement is subject to the approval of the municipality. Example: With an extension means that 12 weeks with parental leave benefit is extended to 24 weeks of half-time work (18.5 hours/week). A salary will be paid for the hours work is resumed in these 24 weeks (in this example 18.5 hours/week).

40 or 46 weeks

The 32 weeks can be extended to 40 or 46 weeks. It is the parental leave benefit period which is extended, since total payments may only amount to 32 weeks. To be taken before the child is 54 and 60 weeks old respectively.

Childcare days

Two days each year up to and including the calendar year of the child’s seventh birthday (a total of 16 days). PhD fellowships are not extended by childcare days.

Parents who are not Danes Non-Danish nationals are covered by the Danish parental leave rules if they are employed in Denmark. This also applies to people who are employed in Denmark but live abroad. However, special rules apply if the other parent is not covered by Danish social security legislation (sections 9 and 10 of the ministerial order on the right to parental benefits). For instance, these special rules apply when the child’s mother is employed at Aarhus University (and thus covered by Danish law), while the child’s non-Danish father is not employed in Denmark (and is therefore not covered by Danish law). Number of weeks of leave with parental leave benefit when only one of the parents is covered by Danish legislation:  If the parents do not live together:  32 weeks of parental leave if the child lives with the parent who is covered by Danish legislation  16 weeks of parental leave if the child does not live with the parent who is covered by Danish legislation. However, this requires that your parental leave is spent together with your child.  If the parents do live together:  16 weeks of parental leave for the parent who is covered by Danish legislation.  Max. 32 weeks of parental leave if the parents can prove that between the 14th and 46th weeks after the child’s birth the other parent receives a public benefit during the parental leave for a period shorter than 16 weeks. In other words, max. 32 weeks when the parental leave of both parents is added together.

Extensions: The PhD degree programme is only extended for the part of the period of leave that lies within the enrolment period/period of employment. The extension is placed after the parental leave has been taken.

FAQs – Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness

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Pregnancy-related illness The deadlines for informing the graduate school are the same as for general illness.

4+4 programme part A Pregnancy-related illness is not included in the max. four months of absence due to illness within a continuous period of 12 months. So it is important that you inform the graduate school as to whether your absence is due to ordinary illness or pregnancy-related illness. When you contact the graduate school about pregnancy-related illness, please state the expected date of birth. Extensions owing to pregnancy-related illness during part A may not be transferred to extensions on part B.

5+3 programme and part B of the 4+4 programme It is important to distinguish between ordinary illness and pregnancy-related illness, because we need to apply for reimbursement of pay from two different government agencies and institutions (this only applies to PhD students employed at Aarhus University). If we are told initially that ordinary illness is involved which later turns out to be pregnancyrelated illness, we risk losing the reimbursement up until this change of status occurs owing to our failure to comply with the deadlines for applying for reimbursement. When you contact the graduate school about pregnancy-related illness, please state the expected date of birth.

What is the difference between pregnancy problems and pregnancyrelated illness? A basic distinction is drawn between two types of absence and illness during pregnancy: 1. Ordinary illness and ordinary pregnancy problems (e.g. nausea, discomfort, vomiting, mild anaemia, slightly increased blood pressure). 2. Pregnancy-related illness such as: o The threat of having an abortion. o Pregnancies involving twins or triplets, for instance if there is an increased risk of having an abortion or giving birth prematurely. o Pre-eclampsia involving increased blood pressure, protein in the urine and/or water retention in the body. o Special cases of serious and/or frequent vomiting affecting the way you normally feel, for instance involving weight loss which renders you incapable of working. o Vaginal bleeding, premature loosening of the placenta. o Pelvic joint pain. o Serious psychological problems connected with pregnancy.

FAQs – Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness

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Illness PhD students are not entitled to extensions due to long-term illness. If the graduate school is informed of absence owing to illness in good time, the graduate school will generally extend the enrolment/employment in accordance with the absence occurring before the end of the period of enrolment/employment.

4+4 programme part A Deadline for informing the graduate school: The school must be notified at the start of the first day of illness. In the event of long-term illness, you must also inform the graduate school after three weeks of absence. Absence owing to illness: No more than four months of absence within a continuous period of 12 months. If the absence lasts more than four months, payments will stop until you report fit for full-time work.

Extensions: The application form including a doctor’s certificate must not be submitted until you are 100% fit for work and can resume your PhD degree programme. The PhD grant is extended by a period corresponding to the period of absence – but by at least one month and no more than four months. Paid employment will not be extended. If you obtain your Master’s degree before the end of part A, your PhD scholarship and salaried employment end when you are awarded your degree (at the end of the month). Extensions owing to illness during part A may not be transferred to extensions on part B.

5+3 programme and part B of the 4+4 programme Deadline for informing the graduate school: The school must be notified at the start of the first day of illness. In the event of long-term illness, you must also inform the graduate school after 14 days of absence. The graduate school will apply for a reimbursement in respect of the pay for the PhD students who are employed at Aarhus University. If we fail to comply with the deadlines for applying for a reimbursement, we lose the reimbursement and thereby the funding needed to extend the PhD scholarship. Extensions: The PhD degree programme is only extended by the part of the period of leave that lies within the enrolment period/period of employment. If the enrolment/employment ends during the period of sickness leave, salary payments will stop on the same day that the employment ends. The application form including a doctor’s certificate must not be submitted until you are 100% fit for work and can resume your PhD degree programme full time.

FAQs – Parental leave, pregnancy-related illness and ordinary illness

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