Longer parental leave for newborns in hospital and bereavement benefit
Official title (in Danish): Lov om ændring af barselsloven (Bedre barselsvilkår til forældre med indlagte nyfødte børn og udvidet ret til dagpenge under sorgorlov)
In short
Reading time: 1 min- What changes:
- The act extends the right to leave and parental benefit from a total of 3 months to 12 months for each parent when a newborn child is admitted to hospital.
- Early home stay is treated the same as admission.
- When moving to bereavement leave, all periods in which help has been paid to cover lost earnings under the Child Act are disregarded when calculating the employment requirement.
- Who: The act applies to parents of newborn children who are admitted to hospital or in early home stay. It also applies to parents who lose a child and have received help to cover lost earnings under the Child Act, when caring for the child at home, when they move to bereavement leave.
- When: Section 1, no. 1-3 entered into force on 1 January 2026. The rest of the Act entered into force on 1 July 2025.
Written by AI from verbatim quotes from the source and checked by code and AI. Dates, tables and the fact box are calculated by fixed rules. Unofficial translation. Always read the original.
Sources and original
Read the official text (in Danish) →
The case at the Danish Parliament (ft.dk)
Source: Retsinformation.dk
Translated from Danish · The Danish version and the original source apply.
Summary by the Danish Parliament (in Danish)
Med lovforslaget bliver forældres ret til fravær og barselsdagpenge forlænget fra i alt 3 måneder tilsammen til 12 måneder for hver forælder i forbindelse med hospitalsindlagte nyfødte børn. Derudover sidestilles såkaldt ”tidligt hjemmeophold” med behandling i hjemmet med hospitalsindlæggelse. Endvidere udvides retten til dagpenge under sorgorlov for forældre, der mister et barn, og som har modtaget tabt arbejdsfortjeneste ved pasning af et sygt barn i hjemmet i mere end to år. Det sker ved, at der ved opgørelsen af beskæftigelseskravet for ret til dagpenge under sorgorlov vil kunne ses bort fra alle perioder, hvor forælderen har modtaget tabt arbejdsfortjeneste. Ændringen om bedre barselsvilkår til forældre med indlagte nyfødte børn skal træde i kraft den 1. januar 2026 og vil omfatte forældre til børn, der er født eller modtaget den 1. januar 2026 eller senere. Ændringen om udvidet ret til dagpenge under sorgorlov skal træde i kraft den 1. juli 2025 og vil omfatte forældre, der begynder en periode med sorgorlov den 1. juli 2025 eller senere. Lovforslaget udmønter to initiativer på barselsområdet, som følger af aftale af 22. november 2024 om finansloven for 2025 indgået mellem regeringen (Socialdemokratiet, Venstre og Moderaterne), Socialistisk Folkeparti og Radikale Venstre.
Source: Folketinget (ft.dk). Reproduced unchanged.
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- Introduced · 23 April 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Fremsat
- Passed · 11 June 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: 3.beh./Vedtaget
- Stadfæstet · 20 June 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet
- Partly entered into force · 1 July 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet
- Fully in force · 1 January 2026Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet