The first maternity leave law was introduced in Denmark in 1901. Women working in factories were entitled to 4 weeks of leave after giving birth. Today, all mothers and fathers in the labor market have a combined right to one year of leave with unemployment benefits.

By Anette Eklund Hansen | 24.02.2003

The first law on maternity leave

In 1901, the first Danish law on maternity leave was passed. It was not an independent law, but part of the Worker Protection Act, the Factory Act of 1901.

All parties were in favor of maternity leave for women working in factories, but there was disagreement about whether women were entitled to public benefits during their leave.

Even during pregnancy, women had to look after 4 looms in German industry.

All parties were in favor of maternity leave for women working in factories, but there was disagreement about whether women were entitled to public benefits during their leave.

The law covered women employed in industrial or craft businesses with more than 5 employees.
Women were prohibited from working 4 weeks after giving birth.
Work could be resumed earlier if a doctor would certify that the mother and child were not harmed.
Poverty relief could be granted according to need and discretion – without the woman losing her civil rights.

The law only applied to the approximately 10% (30,000) of working women who worked in factories. These were mainly in the textile and clothing, tobacco and food and beverage industries.

Working women wanted longer maternity leave with the right to unemployment benefits
In 1909, LO conducted a study of how the law worked. It turned out that women did not use the leave to any great extent, partly because they could not afford to stay at home for four weeks after giving birth. In addition, the unions complained that

Women were subjected to humiliating treatment by the Poor Law Officers when they applied for benefits
Many women were unaware of the law
Maternity leave was too short. The time before giving birth was also a burden

Socialist women demanded more care for women and children. At the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen in 1910, they put forward a number of demands for improvements for mothers and children.

Proposal to the International Women’s Congress 1910 on worker protection.

When the law was to be revised, the trade union movement and the Danish Women’s Society wrote several letters to the Danish Parliament with proposals for changes.
LO proposed the following changes to the law: A fixed, legally guaranteed amount paid out from a municipal office or from the unemployment insurance fund/sickness fund. The amount should correspond to the previous income, maternity leave should be extended to 4-6 weeks both before and after birth. The Danish Women’s Society proposed that the possibility of exemption should be removed and that adequate support should be provided that was not paid by the poor.

Revision of the Factory Act in 1913

In 1913, the Factory Act was revised, but without major changes to the rules for maternity leave.

The law now covered women employed in industrial companies with more than 2 employees
Companies with more than 25 employees had to provide a heated room where the child could be breastfed
Aid could be paid by sickness or relief funds

In 1914, unemployment funds were allowed to pay unemployment benefits to their members for 4 weeks after childbirth with partial reimbursement from the state. As the law applied to all state-recognized unemployment funds, women outside the scope of the Factory Act were also given the opportunity to receive maternity benefits. This option was removed again by an amendment to the law in 1919. From then on, the sickness funds were responsible for payment.

the ‘pedamers’ at Tuborg, ca. 1910

In 1915, sickness fund members who were not covered by the Factory Act were entitled to receive 10 days’ unemployment benefit in connection with maternity leave according to the fund’s rules. However, only a small number of working women were still members of the sickness fund. All other women had to rely on public support.

Maternity leave was introduced in the Civil Service Act in 1919.
Women employed in the public sector were not covered by the Factory Act. As more and more women were employed by the state and municipalities, paid maternity leave was successfully introduced in the 1919 Civil Service Act. The Act regulated pay and working conditions for public employees, civil servants such as women employed by the post and telegraph, teachers, and state and municipal officials. Maternity leave included:

6 weeks maternity leave with ½ pay
The right to unpaid leave for 3-6 months if the mother was breastfeeding

International influence on Danish legislation

The Factory Act was not a Danish invention, but was inspired by worker protection legislation in other European countries that had already been introduced in the 1890s. In 1919, the International Labour Organization (ILO) held a conference in Washington, where Denmark also participated. At the conference, a convention on women’s work in connection with pregnancy and childbirth was adopted. The convention’s provisions were far more far-reaching than Danish legislation, but were also supported by the Danish delegation, which consisted of representatives from the state, employers and the trade union movement. For the next 50 years, the Convention became the starting point for discussions in the Danish parliament about bills on maternity leave.

Bill on maternity leave in 1921

The government was obliged to introduce a bill to ratify the ILO Maternity Rest Convention. the bill was introduced in 1921 and again in 1924, drafted by the Social Council (from 1924 the Ministry of Social Affairs) and largely followed the text of the Convention. There was strong opposition to the bill from the Liberals and Conservatives. The parties felt that the costs would be too high, that it would discriminate against women who wanted to start work earlier, and that the benefit should be an insurance benefit.

Female knitters and knitters at Henriques & Løvengreen, 1930

The Radical Party supported the bill, as did the Social Democrats, who also wanted the bill to apply to both married and unmarried women. The bill was then sent to committee. The bill was reintroduced several times during the 1920s without being passed.

In 1929, the Social Democratic-Radical government included the discussion on maternity leave in the committee work for the new Social Reform, which was adopted in 1933. Many more women had entered the labor market, so there was a need to improve maternity leave for working women.

The committee took the ILO Convention and the 1921 bill as a starting point. Several studies showed that the most disadvantaged working women worked until they gave birth, and that for economic reasons they started working as early as possible after giving birth. Unmarried women were the worst off. The benefits were far too low. Half of the women received 1/16th of a day’s pay and 1/4 received nothing. Women wanted longer maternity leave but could not afford it.

The social reform provisions on maternity leave 1933

The new law was an improvement, but did not comply with the ILO convention:

The law included sickness fund members, women under the Factory Act, women without benefit options
Sickness fund members were entitled to unemployment benefits for 14 days after giving birth. In case of illness, sickness benefit was then paid. Free midwifery care and medical treatment if needed.
Women under the Factory Act and members of a health insurance fund: Prohibition to work 4 weeks after giving birth with daily benefits. Possibility of exemption with a medical certificate. Possibility of extending daily allowance up to 6 weeks when the mother is breastfeeding. With a medical certificate, the pregnant woman can receive unemployment benefits for up to 8 weeks before giving birth. In 1940, unemployment benefits corresponded to about half of a working woman’s daily wage
Women without health insurance. Public benefits for one month before and after childbirth. For women under the Factory Act, assistance is provided during compulsory maternity leave. In addition, l liter of milk free for ½ year for nursing mothers.

Falling child numbers worried the state in the 1930s

The Social Democratic-Radical government wanted to counteract the declining birth rate by improving conditions for working women during pregnancy and maternity leave. The government set up a population commission to investigate how women could be given more freedom around childbirth, receive compensation for lost earnings and introduce a ban on dismissals during pregnancy and maternity leave. The law was to cover all women.

The Commission was based on the ILO Convention and the previous work of the Commission. The Commission’s proposal was quite far-reaching and close to the Convention.
The woman would have the right (but not the obligation to take leave) 8 weeks before giving birth and 8 weeks after giving birth, the right to unemployment benefits and there was a ban on dismissing women during maternity leave.

The Commission’s proposal was discussed in parliament, but never made it into law. The population began to rise and in 1940 Denmark was occupied by the Nazis, so the proposal was not taken up again. The first Salaried Employees Act was passed in 1938. Maternity leave was included in the proposal, but disappeared again with reference to the work of the population commission.

Female ceramicist who makes Jutland pots

Maternity leave included in the Salaried Employees Act in 1947

The first Salaried Employees Act was passed in 1938 without rules on maternity leave. When the law was revised in 1947, a section on maternity leave for female salaried employees was introduced

The woman had to inform her employer that she was pregnant no later than 3 months before the expected birth. If she had not done so, the employer had the right to terminate her employment if the pregnancy caused problems at work. Otherwise, the standard notice period had to be used.
The woman was entitled to 3 months’ leave before the birth and 1 month after the birth with half pay.

Regulations for office assistants 1946

During the Danish Parliament’s consideration of the bill, the proposal was justified by the fact that the HK area had had this maternity leave included in the collective agreement in 1945. The law was thus a follow-up to an agreement between the labor market parties.

Trade union women demanded better maternity leave. They had been doing so since the beginning of the century. The demand was discussed at the Congress of the Women’s Labor Union in 1948. The resolution from the congress stated, among other things:

“When revising the Factory Act, efforts must be made to ensure that the provisions concerning maternity leave that apply to women in industry are extended to all women working in industry, and that maternity leave is extended.”

The industrialization of Denmark had changed the scope of women’s work. Around 1900, women worked in agriculture, as maids or industrial workers. by mid-century, most women were employed in industry and crafts, but many women also worked as clerks in shops and offices.

In 1950, a pregnancy commission was set up that also addressed the situation of working women in connection with maternity leave. The commission submitted its report in 1954. It recommended: or in the public sector as teachers, nurses or in administration.

That all working women should be prohibited from working for a certain number of weeks before and after childbirth.
That everyone, regardless of health insurance membership, should be entitled to unemployment benefits during the leave period.
That pregnancy and childbirth is not a legal reason for dismissal

During the 1950s, several bills were proposed to extend maternity leave and improve unemployment benefits based on the commission’s proposals, but the bills were rejected.

In 1954, the Danish Parliament passed a new Worker Protection Act, which in addition to industry and crafts also included construction, transportation, warehouse work and laboratories. The law included the section on maternity rest from the old Factory Act:

4 weeks of compulsory maternity rest and sick pay for up to 6 weeks (for sickness fund members.) A similar law was passed for agriculture, forestry and horticulture and the trade and office sector.

The law covered more areas of work than the old law from 1913, but no changes were made to the length of the leave or the number of weeks women could receive unemployment benefits.

KAD’s approach to the government in 1953.

The collective agreement in 1956

Women in the trade union movement had long been pushing for improved maternity leave. The 1956 collective agreement established a health insurance fund that also included unemployment benefits for women during maternity leave. The scheme only applied to women working within LO and DA’s collective agreement area. The trade union movement continued to work for legislation to introduce maternity leave that included all female wage earners.

14 weeks of maternity leave with unemployment benefits for all female wage earners in 1960. In 1960, a new law was passed on sick pay for all wage earners in Denmark. For the first time, the law also included maternity leave with daily allowance for all women in paid employment.

Maternity leave of up to 14 weeks for women in paid employment
Leave no earlier than 8 weeks before the expected date of birth, but always as long as required by factory law
Sick pay of the same amount as sick pay.
2 weeks of sick pay for other women (not employees)

Philips assembly plant

The law on maternity leave for all female employees was a major achievement because the scope of the leave and the amount of the allowance was a right established by law. Although the rate was still different for dependents and non-dependents, it gave working women the right and financial opportunity to stay at home with the newborn during the first weeks after the birth. The main demands that women had made in 1910 had finally been implemented.

Improving maternity leave in the white-collar sector

Within HK, women pushed for improved maternity leave. This was achieved in the 1961 collective agreement

The 1961 collective agreement between HK and employers in the trade and office sector gave pregnant women the right to 5 months leave with half pay. 3 months before the birth and 2 months after.

The Salaried Employees Act followed a few years later.

The Salaried Employees Act was revised in 1964. Female salaried employees were entitled to 5 months leave with half pay. At the earliest 3 months before birth and until 3 months after birth.

Maternity leave becomes part of the Child Allowance Act in 1967

The Child Allowance and Other Family Benefits Act was passed in 1967, but did not come into force until 1970. It was repealed again in 1973.

As something new, a maternity allowance was introduced, which all women received as soon as the municipal social services were notified of the birth.

In 1970, self-employed women were also entitled to 4 weeks of unemployment benefit.

In 1972, the rules on maternity benefits were transferred to the Act on Sickness and Childbirth Benefits. The law was created after pressure from HK, among others, to get the state to take over the payment of unemployment benefits for employers who were obligated by the Salaried Employees Act. Employers who paid wages during maternity leave could then be reimbursed an amount equivalent to the unemployment benefit.

As adopted in 1960, the leave was 14 weeks and the benefit was an amount equivalent to sickness benefit. All women in paid employment were entitled to maternity benefits, which were paid by the public authorities.
Housewives and self-employed women who were members of a health insurance fund were entitled to unemployment benefit for 4 weeks after giving birth.

Earlier in the year, the allowance had been adjusted to 90% of salary with a certain maximum. There were no changes to the duration of maternity leave.

Sales department Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni

Adoptive parents also get parental leave

From the early 1960s, women’s share of the workforce rose sharply. In 1975, women made up 41% of the workforce. Around 60% were of childbearing age. There was increasing pressure to improve pregnancy and maternity conditions for working women.

During the 70s, many proposals were made to improve maternity leave. The parties wanted longer leave, parental leave for the father and protection against dismissal during the leave. In 1975, female employees who adopted were also given the right to parental leave.

6 weeks maternity leave on adoption benefits

Demand for better maternity leave

In 1977, a joint committee was set up between the Children’s Commission and the Gender Equality Council. The changes that had occurred in the labor market and that were taking place in families placed new demands on the legislation. It was necessary to improve parental leave and other arrangements so that families with children could manage both their work and family obligations.

In the trade union movement, there were heated discussions about gender equality, equal pay and better parental leave. At the 1979 LO congress, HK and KAD demanded better parental leave and that paternity leave should be included in collective agreements. During the 1970s, virtually all parties in the Danish Parliament had proposed better parental leave.

In 1978, the committee came up with a report that was very progressive. It unambiguously showed the need for better maternity leave so that mother and child were secured for the first months at home with sufficient unemployment benefit coverage. The report also proposed maternity leave for men. A 13-week period of care for each parent, which would not be transferable. Despite great goodwill from the political parties, no agreement could be reached on the report’s proposals. There was only a minor change in the law in 1980, but the discussions did result in an improvement. Until then, pregnant women had been entitled to go on maternity leave with unemployment benefit 8 weeks before giving birth. This was now changed to

The mother was entitled to 4 weeks of absence before the birth and 14 weeks of maternity leave with benefits after the birth.

Maternity leave for the father in 1984

In 1983, the Social Democrats proposed extending the leave to 26 weeks so that the child could be cared for by the parents for the first six months of its life. The last 12 weeks could be shared between the parents. Again, there was no consensus in Parliament, but the leave period was extended.

The law was passed in 1984.

The leave period was extended from 14 to 20 weeks, of which the last 6 weeks could be shared between the parents. It was a prerequisite for the father’s leave that the mother was entitled to unemployment benefits
The father was entitled to 14 days of paternity leave in connection with the birth with unemployment benefits

In 1985, the leave period was extended to

24 weeks of maternity leave on benefits after the birth, of which the last 10 weeks could be shared between the parents.

Women’s growing share of the workforce intensified the discussion about gender equality. Maternity leave had improved, but women still risked being fired during pregnancy or maternity leave. In 1989, the Equal Treatment Act introduced a ban on the dismissal of employees (both men and women) if they were absent due to pregnancy, maternity or adoption.

Breakthrough in the trade union movement – public sector women and men get full pay during maternity leave in 1989

Since the 1960s, improvements in maternity leave had been made through legislation. From the late 1980s, better parental leave also became a demand from trade unions.
The demand first made an impact on public sector employees. The demand was for full pay during parental leave for both men and women.

In 1985, 46% of employees were women. 39% of these were employed in the public sector. This was particularly the case in the social and healthcare sector and education and administration.

The demand for full pay during maternity leave was put forward to public employers during collective bargaining in 1987. The municipal employers were positive, but the state employers were opposed. The demand was made again in 1989, forcefully put forward by the nurses’ chairman Kirsten Stallknecht and backed by the other groups of public employees. Better maternity leave was popular, and municipal employers also saw their interest in agreeing to this demand.

When maternity leave with full pay was agreed in the municipal sector, Finance Minister Palle Simonsen had to follow suit in the collective agreement with state employees. The private employers did not want this agreement, which caused problems for the conservative finance minister.

Small improvements to maternity leave in the 1990s

In 1990, maternity leave included 4 weeks before birth and 24 weeks after birth. The first 14 weeks were reserved for the mother, while the last 10 weeks could be shared between the parents. Fathers were entitled to 2 weeks of leave at the birth of the child.
The laws also applied to adoption.
The mother was entitled to unemployment benefits during maternity leave.
The father was only entitled to unemployment benefits if the mother was entitled to unemployment benefits. In 1991, this difference was removed as part of the Equal Treatment Act.
In 1989, the first collective agreement with full pay during parental leave for both parents was signed between public employees and municipal and state employers.
The 1990s saw minor improvements in the collective agreements for pregnant women and parents with young children.
From 1992 – 2000, several laws were made about childcare leave on unemployment benefits that both parents could use. The legislation was intended to both help struggling parents with young children and take the edge off the high unemployment that existed in the early 90s.
In 1994, compulsory maternity leave again became part of the Working Environment Act as a result of an EU directive. Compulsory maternity leave was not included in the Working Environment Act in 1976. According to the law, the mother was prohibited from working for the first 2 weeks after giving birth.

Demand for full pay during maternity leave in the private labor market in 1995

On the initiative of LO’s family policy committee, full pay during maternity leave was put on the agenda as a demand for collective bargaining in 1995. There was broad support from the unions, so the demand was included as one of LO’s collective agreement demands

LO proposed that a central parental leave fund be set up, to which all employers would contribute. The central fund was chosen because it would equalize costs between industries that employ many women compared to industries that employ more men. If maternity pay was included in the collective agreements without a maternity fund, it would also cause equal treatment problems because women would be a more expensive labor force than men. LO and DA could not agree on a central fund for maternity pay during the collective bargaining negotiations. However, CO-industri and the Confederation of Danish Industry succeeded in reaching an agreement on maternity pay in the industrial sector. A central fund was established in the industrial sector from 1 March 1997. The agreement was as follows

Wages during the first 14 weeks of maternity leave with a maximum amount
Wages for men during the 2-week paternity leave with a maximum amount

This was a decisive step in the private collective bargaining area. In the following years, collective agreements were signed in many areas of the private sector that included pay for the first 14 weeks of maternity leave for mothers and 2 weeks for fathers. The maximum amount has also been increased in later collective agreements to provide full pay or almost full pay during maternity leave.

More leave for fathers in 1998

At the end of the 20th century, there were 935,000 employees in the public sector. The state had become a major employer.

In 1997, the Social Democrats and the Radical Party proposed that fathers should have more parental leave. The proposal was both a continuation of the parties’ family policy and gender equality policy. The proposal received broad support in the Danish Parliament from Enhedslisten, SF and Centrumdemokraterne. In 1998, fathers were given the right to

2 weeks of maternity leave with unemployment benefit after the 24 weeks of maternity leave. (25th – 26th week)

Most parties wanted to extend maternity and childcare leave in some form, but there were different considerations. In addition to gender equality and family policy, leave was also seen as an instrument for regulating the labor market. By the end of the 90s, there was a labor shortage in the health and care sector, which is traditionally dominated by women. Longer leave would increase this trend. It would also harm the integration of immigrants and their children if leave periods were significantly longer. Improving maternity and childcare leave became a popular theme among families with children, which is why it also became an issue in the 2001 election campaign.

52 weeks of parental leave in 2002

Soon after forming the government, the conservative government introduced a bill to extend parental leave. This came into force in March 2002. The law now looks like this.

Parents are entitled to a total of 52 weeks of maternity leave with unemployment benefit.
The mother is entitled to be absent from work no earlier than 4 weeks before the birth and 14 weeks after the birth. During the first 2 weeks after the birth, work is prohibited.
The father is entitled to 2 weeks’ absence within the child’s first 14 weeks of life.
The parents can then divide the remaining 32 weeks as they wish: taking leave together, in extension of each other, or part-time. Part of the leave can also be postponed until later.

In addition, the Equal Treatment Act states:

Female employees have the right to be absent from work for pregnancy examinations during working hours.
Employees may not be dismissed in connection with pregnancy, maternity or adoption.
A female employee must notify her employer 3 months before the expected date of birth and, before the child is 8 weeks old, state how long she intends to take maternity leave.
A male employee must notify his employer 4 weeks before he wants to use his paternity leave, and before the child is 8 weeks old tell for how long he wants to take parental leave.

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