Swedish parental leave is built on 480 days of föräldrapenning (parental benefit) per child: 390 at the income-based level and 90 at the minimum level, split equally between the parents, with 90 days reserved for each of you. You have the right to be off work until the child is 18 months old regardless of how many days you use, the right to drop to 75 percent until the child turns eight, and since 2024 the right to transfer up to 45 days each to someone else. Here are the rules, and the part nobody talks about: what happens when the leave runs out.
Few things in Sweden are as generous, and as hard to understand, as the parental insurance system. Here is what actually matters for a family trying to plan, without the jargon of Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency), and with the part that is rarely mentioned: everyday life after the leave, when förskola (municipal preschool, from age one) closes at five and your job does not.
A Sunday in February, a kitchen in Spånga. A seven-month-old is asleep in the pram in the hall, and the parents are sitting over a spreadsheet with three tabs: days, money and the preschool queue. Mum has been at home since the birth, Dad takes over in May, and neither of them quite knows how many days are left after the double days they took at the start. It is a perfectly ordinary Sunday conversation. This is how it all fits together.
The days
| Number | Payment | |
|---|---|---|
| Income-based level (sjukpenningnivå) | 390 days | Just under 80 percent of your income, up to a cap |
| Minimum level (lägstanivå) | 90 days | 180 kronor per day |
| Total per child | 480 days | |
| Reserved per parent | 90 days | Cannot be transferred to the other parent |
| Transferable to another person | Up to 45 days per parent | Since 1 July 2024, to a grandmother for example |
| Double days (dubbeldagar) | Up to 60 | Both parents at home at the same time, during the child's first 15 months |
Your right to be off work
- Full leave until the child is 18 months old, whether or not you draw föräldrapenning.
- Leave with föräldrapenning after that, on the days you claim. Days can be saved until the child turns 12, but after the age of four you may only have 96 days left.
- Part time down to 75 percent until the child turns eight, without drawing föräldrapenning.
- Give your employer two months' notice, and you have the right to split your leave into three periods per year.
Three ways to split it, and what usually happens
| Arrangement | What it looks like | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| One at a time, roughly half each | One parent for the first six months or year, then the other, then preschool | The child gets a long stretch with each of you, and only one parent is away from work at a time | Whoever is at home last gets the settling-in period and the first preschool year with all its infections |
| One long, one short | One parent takes most of it, the other their 90 reserved days and a little more | Easy to plan, one career is disrupted less | The days run out sooner, and the parent who was home for the short stretch often feels afterwards that it was too short |
| Both part time | From around age one, both work three or four days a week and the child has shorter days at preschool | A gentle transition, and the days last a long time | Requires two employers who say yes, and both incomes drop |
You can combine them. The double days, up to 60 during the first 15 months, are often used in the first few weeks and during the settling-in period at preschool, when it is a relief to be two.
The ten days at the birth
On top of the 480 days, the parent who did not give birth has the right to ten days of temporary parental benefit in connection with the birth, to be used within 60 days of the baby coming home. They are known simply as tiodagarna, the ten days; they are not taken from the 480, and you apply for them through Försäkringskassan. With twins they are doubled. We describe the first weeks at home in Newborn.
Part time, weekends and saving days
- Föräldrapenning can be claimed as a full, three-quarter, half, quarter or eighth day, so it can be combined with part-time work.
- Days can be claimed on Saturdays and Sundays too, which many people do to raise their monthly income during leave. It uses up days.
- Days are saved until the child turns 12, but after the fourth birthday only 96 days may remain. Plan your claims before the age of four, otherwise they disappear.
- Part time down to 75 percent until the age of eight is a legal right, regardless of how many days you have left.
- The income-based level is based on your income, and there is a cap. The exact amounts for this year are on Försäkringskassan's website, not here.
Holiday and money
120 days of parental leave per child count towards paid holiday, 180 for a sole custodian. Many collective agreements also give föräldralön, a top-up from the employer that fills in from 80 percent to 90 for a number of months. Ask HR, it is often tens of thousands of kronor that nobody tells you about.
Notifying your employer
- Give at least two months' notice, in writing, with start and end dates.
- You have the right to three periods per year. Your employer can agree to more, but does not have to.
- Say which date you will be back and at what percentage, so there is a schedule to plan around.
- Ask about föräldralön under the collective agreement, and whether there are conditions attached.
- Book a catch-up a few weeks before you return. A lot has happened at work, and it is easier to come back to something that has been prepared.
The day the leave runs out
The child starts preschool, usually at somewhere between one and one and a half, and the first thing that happens is that the week does not add up. Preschool closes at five, the commute takes forty minutes, and two full-time jobs rarely finish at four. This is where most families discover that the parental insurance was designed for the first year, not for the ten that follow. The options are part time, a relative, or a nanny who takes the afternoons. Our guide to How much does a nanny cost in Stockholm in 2026? does the sums, and Settling in at förskola describes the first weeks.
Four ways to solve the afternoons
| Solution | Works when | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Part time for one parent | The employer says yes and the finances can take it | Pension and career are affected, often for the same parent for several years |
| Grandma, Grandpa, a relative | They live nearby, want to, and have the energy every week | Rarely lasts ten years, and it is hard to speak up when it is not working |
| A nanny who picks up two or three days a week | Both of you work full time and the commute is long | Costs from 165 kronor an hour after RUT (the Swedish tax deduction for household services, taken off the invoice directly), and the child has to like the person |
| Preschool until closing every day | Work is close by and finishes on time | Most children cannot manage ten hours, five days a week |
What it is like to have Grandma as the childminder, and what tends to go wrong, has Grandparents as babysitters. The whole juggling act, with commuting, VAB (paid leave to care for a sick child) and two jobs, is described in Juggling work and small children.
Two things to do before the leave ends
- Join the preschool queue in time. The four-month guarantee counts from your preferred start date. Read Preschool in Stockholm.
- Decide how the afternoons will be covered before you both go back to work, not after. The first month of preschool is not the time to be finding solutions.
How we do it with our families
Most families who contact us do so at the end of parental leave, when the preschool place is sorted and the calendar does not add up. One family in Spånga did the opposite: they rang in March, three months before Dad's leave ended. Aleksandra visited them one afternoon, the baby asleep in the pram, and they talked through the hours: preschool until four, commute into the city centre, home at half past five at the earliest. They met Doaa two weeks later, one morning, with the baby awake and Dad at home. By June, when preschool started, she had already been there three times. The first Tuesday preschool closed at five she was in place, and nothing was new for the child. Book the first meeting during your leave, while you have time to meet the nanny without stress. It is the one thing we keep going on about.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week, someone the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will work out the hours with you.
Read more: VAB · Settling in at förskola · Preschool in Stockholm · Prices
Frequently asked questions
How many days of parental benefit do you get?
480 days per child, of which 390 are at the income-based level, just under 80 percent of your income up to a cap, and 90 at the minimum level, 180 kronor a day. The days are split equally between the parents from the start. With twins you get extra days. On top of that, the parent who did not give birth gets ten days at the birth, which are not taken from the 480.
How are the days divided between the parents?
Half each, 240 days per parent. 90 of each parent's days are reserved and cannot be transferred to the other. The rest can be transferred with a form or through Försäkringskassan's online service. Since 2024 it is also possible to transfer up to 45 days per parent to someone else, such as a grandmother or a close friend.
How long can you be on leave?
You have the right to be fully off work until the child is 18 months old, regardless of how many days you claim. After that you can be off on the days you draw föräldrapenning. You have the right to drop to 75 percent until the child turns eight, without föräldrapenning. Give your employer at least two months' notice, and you have the right to three periods of leave per year.
Do you earn holiday during parental leave?
Yes, 120 days of parental leave per child count towards paid holiday, 180 for a sole custodian. That means roughly ten days of paid holiday earned during the leave. Many collective agreements also give föräldralön, a top-up from the employer for a number of months. Ask HR before the leave starts, not after.
Can both parents be at home at the same time?
Yes, with double days: up to 60 days during the child's first 15 months when both of you draw föräldrapenning for the same day. The days come out of each parent's share of the 480. Many families use them in the first weeks after the birth and during settling in at preschool. The ten days at the birth for the other parent are on top of this.