Mother's checklist for parental leave

When you get pregnant

• Inform your manager about your pregnancy at an early stage so that the time until the start of your parental leave and the leave itself can be planned in the best possible way.
• Send a notice to the parental leave team at the latest by week 24 of your pregnancy to ensure that the administrative follow-up of your parental leave will be initiated at the right time.
  Send a notice
• Note! Do not send request for leave of absence in the self-service portal
• Familiarize yourself with your rights and obligations:
  • Entitlement to parental benefit
  • Entitlement to salary from UiO during parental leave
  • What will be the length of parental leave?
  • Holiday and parental leave
  • Parental leave and periods spent abroad
• Consider whether the conditions at your workplace pose a risk to your pregnancy. Contact the Occupational Health Service Unit for advice and guidance, and discuss possible options for special adaptations and pregnancy benefit (nav.no) (Norwegian) with your manager. This is especially relevant if your job responsibilities are related to laboratories.

If you fall ill during your pregnancy

• If you have pregnancy-related sick leave during your pregnancy, you must inform your manager about this. UiO will then be able to apply for a refund from NAV. The refund form will be sent to you for signature.
• In cooperation with your manager and your doctor, you should also consider special adaptations, partial sick leave (nav.no) (Norwegian) and, if relevant, an application for pregnancy benefit (nav.no).
• In addition, follow the ordinary routines for reporting sick-leave.
  • If you use self-certified sick leave, choose the absence type self certification in the self-service portal, and add a comment if the sick leave is due to the pregnancy.
  • If a doctor has certified your sick leave, be sure to complete all sections of the declaration on sick leave form D, see instructions (pdf) (Norwegian).

Pregancy week 22-31: Parental leave meeting

• The parental leave team invites you and your manager to the parental leave meeting to:
  • inform about applicable laws and regulations pertaining to parental leave
  • clarify how the leave will be taken (holiday entitlement, flexible drawing of benefit)
  • draw up a leave agreement between you and UiO
  • assist you in completing the form for NAV
• In preparation for this meeting, you should:
  • familiarize yourself with your rights and obligations regarding parental leave
  • discuss the leave plans with your partner, if relevant
• On the basis of the leave agreement between you and UiO, the parental leave team prepares a binding parental leave letter sent to you after the meeting.

The application for parental benefit to NAV

• If the application is not sent during the parental leave meeting, submit the prepared application for parental benefit (nav.no) (online in Norwegian) or the application for parental benefit NAV 14-05.09 (nav.no) (hard copy in English) to NAV and send a copy to the parental leave team (e-mail).
• In case of graded or postponed parental leave, an application for flexible drawing of benefit NAV 14-16.05 (nav.no) must be enclosed with the hard copy in English. The information in the application must correspond with the parental leave letter issued by UiO. Any requests for changes must first be approved by UiO, see paragraph on changes of the parental leave agreement below.
• All your income must be documented for NAV to grant parental benefit:
  • The parental leave team sends the required income information for your employment at UiO directly to NAV.
  • Any other employers you must contact yourself to ensure that your income is documented to NAV.

When you receive a decision from NAV: send a copy to the parental leave team

• Send a copy of any decisions from NAV to the parental leave team (e-mail).
• If the refund from NAV fails, UiO may have to stop your salary payments. Your entitlement to salary from UiO during parental leave is subject to a positive decision on parental benefit from NAV.

If you or your child fall ill during parental leave

• When you or your child are affected by illness during parental leave, you may be entitled to other support schemes and may apply for postponement or transfer of parental leave.
• Read more about illness during parental leave.

In case of unforeseen events: change of the leave agreement 

• The leave agreement between you and UiO may only be changed in case of unforeseen events that did not exist at the time the agreement was entered.
• Send an e-mail stating the desired changes and the grounds for them to the parental leave team (e-mail). If the desired changes are due to illness, special rules apply. Read more about illness during parental leave.
• The parental leave team will discuss the changes with your manager and will invite you to a new parental leave meeting where we will change the agreement and complete a new application to NAV.

End of leave: transition back to work

• Notify your manager that you will resume your position at the agreed time, i.e. the time stated in the parental leave letter from UiO and in the decision by NAV. For your salary payments to start up again after parental leave, you must have resumed work on the agreed date.
• Register your child in the self-service portal under User profile, see user guide. This is a prerequisite for you to be able to register absence due to a child or childminder's illness in the self-service portal.
• If you wish to use your holiday entitlement before returning to work at UiO, this must be agreed with your manager and registered in the usual way through the self-service portal.
• After parental leave, special rules apply to the use of self-certified sick leave:
  • After parental leave you may not use self-certified sick leave until you have been back at work for at least one month.
  • After receiving 100% unpaid leave for over four weeks you may not use self-certified sick leave until you have been back at work for at least two months.

Questions?

• See whom you may contact.