What your Swedish job pays when you have a baby
For couples planning leave in Sweden, time with a baby is also a decision about the household budget.
Sweden's paid parental leave makes time at home with a baby possible. For parents choosing who takes that time, the next question is how much money each of them would receive.
The answer includes money paid through the workplace as well as the state benefit. Agreements can provide extra parental pay, with different rules about qualifying employment and how long payments last. Comparing two arrangements shows why the job itself matters to a family's income during leave.
Under AFA's insurance, 12 months of qualifying employment before a birth or adoption can provide up to 60 days of extra payments. With 24 months, the maximum rises to 180 days. Someone who has changed jobs can add together covered employment with different employers during the previous four years.
For state employees covered by the central agreement, the supplement can last up to 360 days. It pays 10 per cent of salary below the state benefit's earnings ceiling and 90 per cent of the portion above it. Local agreements can provide a different arrangement.
Those limits affect how long a family can count on the extra income. The maximum under the central state agreement is twice AFA's longest payment period, though neither applies to every job in Sweden.
Under the central state agreement, employees must report the parental-benefit days they have taken so their employer can pay the supplement.
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