Question

I would like to know how my options are for getting maternity leave benefits ("barselsdagpenge")?

Answer 1

1

Hi,

if you are on maternity leave you have two options to get maternity allowance ("barselsdagpenge"), depending on whether you are employed or unemployed up to the time you are expected to give birth:

1. You are employed. This option is not depending on A-kasse membership, and is not paid by your A-kasse, but is paid by "Udbetaling Danmark".
2. You are unemployed. This option is depending on prior A-kasse membership

Requirements for being eligible for maternity leave after option 1 (employed):

You must meet the following requirements:

1.You must be employed on the first day of your leave or the day before.

2.You must have at least 160 hours within the last four full months before the leave.

3.You must have at least 40 hours a month for at least three of the four months.

OR

If you are a member of an A-kasse: you must have been member for at least 1 year, have earned/have had an income of at least DKK 233,376 (in 2019) during the last 3 years (in total), and from January 1, 2019 must be able to meet the residence requirement. Only income obtained during A-kasse membership periods can be included.

Requirements for being eligible for maternity leave after option 2 (unemployed):

You can only get maternity leave benefits, if you meet the requirements for being eligible for Unemployment benefits ("dagpenge").

The requirements for being eligible for dagpenge, is described here: https://a-kasser.dk/benefits/.

This means that with option 2, you must have:

1. been a A-kasse member for at least 1 year, and

2. you must also meet the income-requirement, i.e. you must have earned/have had an income of at least DKK 233,376 (in 2019) during the last 3 years (in total), and

3. you must meet the residence requirement that came into force from January 1, 2019.

With option 2, you must have been paying continuously for A-kasse membership for at least 1 year before applying for benefits.

Special rules applies for graduates, students and others without connection to the labor market. 

Best regards.

Anders Weber, www.a-kasser.dk