Government Proposes Extended Parental Leave for Twin Parents

The government introduces a new legislative proposal aimed at providing parents of twins an additional 13 weeks of parental leave each.

The government believes that there should be more time to manage everyday life and give twins a good start in life. Therefore, the government proposes legislation to grant parents of twins a total of 26 extra weeks of parental leave with maternity benefits.

Minister of Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen states, “Becoming a parent is a major life change, especially when it comes to twins. It is therefore an important priority for the government and the parties behind the budget agreement to assist parents of the approximately 1,000 twin pairs born each year.”

“There is already additional leave for parents having three or more children in a single birth. We are pleased that it will now also apply to parents of twins,” adds Minister of Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen.

The legislative proposal implements the political agreement reached between the government (Socialdemokratiet, Venstre og Moderaterne) and Socialistisk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance, Radikale Venstre og Dansk Folkeparti, as part of the 2023 budget. The parties in the agreement aim to enhance the opportunity for parents of twins to take more leave together in the children’s first year.

Under the proposed legislation, the 26 weeks of additional leave are divided equally between both parents, to be taken before the children turn 1 year old. The proposal also means that the rules will apply to all parents having two or more children in the same birth or adoption. This implies that the rules will replace the existing ones regarding additional leave for parents having three or more children in the same birth. The new rules apply to children born or adopted on May 1, 2024, or later.

An allocation of DKK 5 million in 2023, DKK 48 million in 2024, and DKK 95 million annually from 2025 onwards has been set aside for the proposal.