Move of household
Entitles you to paid leave for at most one (1) day.
Move of household with approved reimbursement
If moving costs will be reimbursed, the agreement entitles you to paid leave for at most three (3) days.
Rules for compensating the move of household are found in the General Agreement on Salaries and Benefits (VA and VA-T) (read the terms and conditions on the terms of employment page).
A person can receive a move of household reimbursement if the head of department determines that special grounds for this exist. See also Chapter 11 of the General Agreements on Salaries and Benefits.
Role as employee union representative, central assignment
Entitles you to paid leave for at most ten (10) days per calendar year.
This primarily refers to such assignments in central, regional or local employee organisations as are specified in the organisation's statutes and which the employee is appointed to through election or otherwise by decision that has been duly recorded in meeting minutes.
This does not apply to leave related to union activities at the person's own workplace or any other workplace where the person who is a union representative. In those situations, the agreement on union representatives applies.
This includes assignments as chair, secretary, treasurer or other member of the board of a central employee organisation, federation, department, section, club or other part of a union, assignments as a congress delegate, representative or similar, or as an auditor.
This only applies when the employee performs the exact role that the assignment applies to, for example as chair of board meetings. The employee is expected to provide documentation for the need for the leave, such as through presenting the notice for the meeting.
Family matters
Entitles you to paid leave for at most ten (10) days per calendar year.
The General Agreement on Salaries and Benefits (VA) entitles the employee to paid leave in the following situations:
- serious illness (refers to situations where death is imminent or acute illness that requires direct intervention by the employee)
- death
- funeral
- inventory or distribution of an estate from within one's own family or closest relatives. In addition to a familial relationship, you also must be a beneficiary of the estate.
Family paid leave is not intended for:
- grieving period
- planning a funeral
- dealing with the deceased's home
- funeral of a close friend
- helping a close relative move
- accompanying a family member to a medical appointment
- visiting a close relative to help adapt their home, care team, etc.
Other types of leave may be granted for these situations, such as holiday, unpaid leave, use of accrued compensatory leave time or flexitime.
Right to Leave for Urgent Family Matters Act
As per the Right to Leave for Urgent Family Matters Act (1998:209), an employee has the "right to leave from their work because of an urgent family matter related to illness or accident and that makes the employee's immediate presence essential" (Section I).
The act only regulates the right to unpaid leave.
For more serious illness, death, funeral, burial and interment, the following are considered closest family members:
- husband, wife, cohabitant or registered partner
- children, grandchildren or stepchildren
- parents, foster parents, in-laws or grandparents
- siblings, half-siblings or stepsiblings
Leave can also be taken for funerals and inventory or distribution of an estate for:
- uncles, aunts
- nieces and nephews
- sons-in-law, daughters-in-law
- brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law
Application of number of days without salary deduction
Application of paid leave for family matters at Umeå University is based on the agreement and recommendations from the General Agreements on Salaries and Benefits, parts of previous agreements that still guide government authorities, and guidance from the Swedish Agency of Government Employers provided through documents, training and individual consultations.
Consideration is to be given to the amount of time that the matter takes and travel necessary during working hours.
One day of leave is granted for the matter and potentially one day for travel time for longer distances.
Medical appointments and, in some cases, dental appointments
If necessary, an employee may take paid leave for medical or dental appointments and similar in the following cases:
- doctor connected to the cost ceiling system
- occupational health service
- outpatient care (outpatient care/daytime care for patients not admitted to overnight care can be provided, for example, by medical centres, social services and hospital wards)
- maternity care clinics
- blood donation
- examinations or treatment (within the cost ceiling system) by dentists or doctors and in case of emergency dental problems.
Advice in the General Agreement on Salaries and Benefits (VA/VA-T) for Chapter 9, Section 1 Paid leave
This paragraph specifies that leave is granted on the condition that the medical appointment (equivalent) must occur during working hours.
Example:
An employee on 50% sick leave is prescribed physiotherapy.
In this case, the appointment to the physiotherapist does not "need" to occur during working hours. Instead, it should normally be able to be arranged during non-work hours.
Appointments with the occupational health service, outpatient care or a maternity clinic do not only apply to appointments with doctors but also with district nurses, physiotherapists, counsellors and midwives.
Appointments for parents-to-be at maternity care clinics
If needed, an employee who is about to become a parent, but who is not pregnant, may take paid leave on two occasions per pregnancy to accompany their partner to an appointment at a maternity care clinic.
Notes
This provision is not applicable from the 16th day before the estimated date of birth and until the date of birth, as parental benefit during this period is paid in accordance with the National Insurance Code.