Family leave reform in 2022 – what is going to change?

Have you heard that the Family leave reform will enter into force in August 2022? The reformed family leave will mainly apply to families where the child’s estimated date of birth is 4 September 2022 or later. The reform aims to increase equality in working life and between parents and to take better account of different types of families.

What is included in the reform?

• The number of parental leave days will increase.
• Parents will have more flexibility to take leave. Both parents will have an equal quota of allowance days (160 days).
• Daily allowance days can be expended in several parts until the child is two years old.
• Parents will be able to transfer parental day leave of this quota to the other parent, other custodian, their spouse, or the spouse of the other parent.
• Daily allowance days can be used in several parts. Parents in employment relationships will be entitled to split the leave up to four parts.

After the reform enters into force, only pregnancy allowance days will have to be used in a single continuous period and started 14–30 days before the estimated date of birth. For the final stage of pregnancy, there will be a pregnancy allowance period of 40 daily allowance days. All in all, allowance days for parents during family leave will amount to more than 14 months. Single parents will have the right to use the quotas of both parents. Twins, triplets, and other multiple-birth
children will form an exception to this model — the quota of parental allowance days for their parents will increase by 84 daily allowance days per second child and every child thereafter.

Parents may also take part-time parental leave. In such cases, one partial parental allowance day will take up half a day of the quota. The amount of partial parental allowance is also half the amount of full parental allowance. All parents who have custody of their child will have an equal right to daily allowance regardless of whether they are biological or adoptive, custodial, or noncustodial and regardless of the gender of the parent.