Becoming a father/co-mother

Notice of leave

• No later than 4 weeks before expected birth
  You must notify your manager and Corporate HR of when you plan to take paternity/co-mother leave, whether you have received transferred maternity leave from the mother, and whether you plan to take additional parental leave within the first 10 weeks. This is done by completing and uploading the relevant form in DTU Fusion.

• No later than 2 weeks after birth
  You must email hr-compensation-and-benefits@dtu.dk with information about the child’s date of birth and the first day of paternity/co-mother leave.

• No later than 6 weeks after birth
  You must notify Corporate HR if you wish to take parental leave. You must provide the start date of the leave and the date you plan to return to work. This is done by completing and uploading the relevant form in DTU Fusion.

Note: As a general rule, you cannot change a leave after expiry of the deadline, and already commenced leave cannot be changed.

2 weeks of paternity/co-mother leave

As a father or co-mother, you are entitled to 2 weeks of paid paternity/co-mother leave within the first 10 weeks after the birth, provided that the employment requirement is met.

The paternity/co-mother leave must be taken consecutively and immediately in connection with the birth or the child’s return from the hospital. By special agreement, the leave may be taken at another time within the first 10 weeks after the birth. The leave cannot be transferred to the other parent.

Parental leave

In addition to paternity/co-mother leave, you as a father or co-mother are entitled to 32 weeks of parental leave. You are entitled to paid parental leave for up to 16 weeks, provided that DTU receives reimbursement of your parental benefits:

• 10 weeks of parental leave for the father/co-mother.
• 6 weeks of shared parental leave, which may be divided between the parents.

Rules for the shared weeks:

• If both parents are employed by the state, you may agree on the distribution of the 6 shared weeks.
• If only one parent is employed by the state, that parent may take all 6 weeks.

Entitlement to paid leave is conditional on DTU receiving reimbursement of parental benefits. The paid weeks you take will be deducted from your weeks with parental benefit weeks, as DTU will claim reimbursement for the period.

In addition to the paid weeks, you may take the remaining parental leave without salary, possibly with parental benefits, depending on your available parental benefits weeks. You also have the option to extend the leave by up to 14 weeks, bringing the total leave period to a maximum of 46 weeks.

Earmarked leave

9 weeks of leave are earmarked and must be taken within 1 year of the child’s birth, unless special circumstances prevent it. Earmarked leave cannot be transferred to the other parent.

Transferable leave

13 weeks of leave can be transferred. These weeks must, as a general rule, be taken within 1 year of the child’s birth. You may choose to transfer some or all of these weeks to the other parent, who may receive parental benefits during the leave if the conditions are met at the time the leave is taken.

Special situations

Be aware that there may be special situations that could affect your leave, for example if you do not live with the other parent, if the child is born abroad, or if you have twins. Read more about special situations at Lifeindenmark.dk.