The employee has the right to parental leave before the child is born

An employee who is pregnant has the right to take parental leave when there are 60 days left until the scheduled birth.

Expectant parents also have the right to take parental leave to visit maternity care when there are 60 days left until the estimated birth date. They can also take parental leave to participate in parental training.

The employee must:

• Notify you as an employer at least two months in advance (no time limit for parental training).
• Apply for parental benefit from Försäkringskassan.

The employer must:

• Submit a reply to the income inquiry if Försäkringskassan asks for it.

A pregnant employee may be entitled to relocation or pregnancy benefit

Certain jobs can be difficult or impossible to perform for a pregnant employee. This may be because the work is physically strenuous or that there are risks in the working environment.

You as the employer are responsible for assessing whether the employee can continue to work with the help of relocation or a change in the working environment. If this is not possible, the employee can apply for pregnancy benefit for the time that he or she cannot work during pregnancy.

What is considered high-risk work?

High-risk work can, for example, be duties or environments where the employee comes in contact with hazardous substances that may be harmful to him/her or the child. You as the employer are responsible for assessing whether the employee can continue working or not.

The Corona virus is classified as an infectious agent in risk category 3 according to the Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations (AFS 2018:4) on infectious diseases. Jobs where there is a risk of being exposed to infectious agents that pose a serious risk to a pregnant employee are prohibited and it is your responsibility as an employer to suspend the employee.

What is considered a physically demanding job?

A physically demanding job may, for instance, be a job that involves heavy lifting, difficult movements or monotonous movements that cause one-sided stress on the body.

Who does what?

1. The employee notifies you

The employee must notify you that he/she wants to be relocated to a lighter or less risky job.

2. You will examine whether it is possible to relocate the employee

If the employee has a physically strenuous job, which she is unable to perform due to the pregnancy, you as the employer should offer less strenuous duties.

If the employee has a hazardous working environment, you should eliminate the risks or offer other tasks. If this is not possible, you can suspend the employee from work according to the Work Environment Act.