Parental leave by country
What the statute gives an employee who wants to stay home with a child, apart from the maternity period itself. The lengths range from twelve workweeks in the United States and twelve months in Australia to three years per child in Germany and Spain, with Sweden and Norway tying the leave to the child (eighteen months) or to the parents (twelve months each, plus a further twelve months per parent). Canada caps the leave of all employees for one birth at 86 weeks, Spain makes both of its leaves an individual right that cannot be transferred, and only Austria, Australia and the United States say in the quoted text that the leave may be unpaid.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
United States: federal law only. State law is not compared.
| Country | Length | Per parent or shared | Until child is | Paid? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Karenz to the 22nd month of the child (24th if single parent or shared) | May be shared with the father twice | 22 or 24 months | No wages from the employer during the Karenz |
| Australia | 12 months | Must start and end within 24 months of the birth or placement | Unpaid | |
| Canada | Up to 78 weeks per employee, maternity and parental leave together | Up to 86 weeks in total across employees for the same birth | ||
| Germany | Up to 3 years per child | Each parent alone or both together | 3rd birthday; up to 24 months may be taken between the 3rd and 8th birthday | |
| Spain | Excedencia of up to 3 years per child; plus a parental permit of up to 8 weeks | Individual right of each worker, not transferable | Excedencia counted from birth; permit until the child is 8 | |
| Japan | Leave for the child’s first year, extendable in two steps to 1.5 and then 2 years | Applied for by each worker for the child they raise | 1 year (1.5 or 2 years in the extension cases) | |
| Norway | 12 months for the parents together, plus up to 12 more months for each parent per birth | Twelve months shared by the parents; extra twelve months for each parent | ||
| Sweden | Full leave until the child is 18 months, then further leave while receiving full parental benefit | Right of each parent | 18 months, or later while full parental benefit is paid | |
| United Kingdom | At least 3 months per child (the regulations set the detail) | |||
| United States | 12 workweeks in any 12-month period | Spouses working for the same employer may be limited to 12 weeks combined | Entitlement for a birth or placement expires 12 months after it | May be unpaid |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Mutterschutzgesetz 1979 §§ 15 and 15a
- These sections describe the mother’s Karenz. The father’s leave sits in the Väter-Karenzgesetz, which this guide does not summarise.
- The Karenz must last at least two months, and the right depends on living with the child in one household.
Karenz gegen Entfall des Arbeitsentgelts bis zum Ablauf des 22. Lebensmonats des KindesAnspruch auf Karenz bis zur Vollendung des 24. Lebensmonats des Kindes, wenn sie im Zeitpunkt der Meldung alleinerziehend ist Die Karenz kann zweimal mit dem Vater geteilt werden. Teilen die Eltern die Karenz, so verlängert sich der Karenzanspruch bis zum Ablauf des 24. Lebensmonats des Kindes Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009 ss. 70 and 71
- Section 70 requires the employee to have or expect responsibility for the care of the child; section 67 sets a 12-month service rule, not quoted here. The leave must be one continuous period, less any flexible unpaid leave already used.
- Whether the leave is shared between parents is not stated in the quoted sections, so that column is left blank.
An employee is entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave The employee must take the leave in a single continuous periodthe period of leave must start and end during the 24 ‑ month period starting on the date of birth of the child Canada
- Rule
- Canada Labour Code s. 206.2
- Federal-sector employees only. The section caps the combined leave under sections 206 and 206.1; it does not split out the parental part, and it states neither a child age nor pay.
The aggregate amount of leave that may be taken by more than one employee under sections 206 and 206.1 in respect of the same birth shall not exceed 86 weeks, but the aggregate amount of leave that may be taken by one employee under those sections in respect of the same birth shall not exceed 78 weeks Germany
- Rule
- BEEG § 15
- Applies to employees living with the child and caring for it themselves. It cannot be excluded or limited by contract. Elternzeit is the leave itself: the parental allowance (Elterngeld) is a separate benefit and is not covered here.
- The 3-year limit counts the mother’s maternity protection period. The article does not say whether the leave is paid, so that column is left blank.
Der Anspruch auf Elternzeit besteht bis zur Vollendung des dritten Lebensjahres eines Kindes. Ein Anteil von bis zu 24 Monaten kann zwischen dem dritten Geburtstag und dem vollendeten achten Lebensjahr des Kindes in Anspruch genommen werdenDie Elternzeit kann, auch anteilig, von jedem Elternteil allein oder von beiden Elternteilen gemeinsam genommen werdenDer Anspruch kann nicht durch Vertrag ausgeschlossen oder beschränkt werden Spain
- Rule
- Estatuto de los Trabajadores arts. 46.3 and 48 bis
- The three-year excedencia keeps the job for the first year; afterwards the reserve is for a post of the same professional group. Large families get a longer job reserve.
- The quoted articles do not say whether either leave is paid, so that column is left blank. If two workers in the same company claim for the same child, the employer may limit simultaneous use.
Los trabajadores tendrán derecho a un periodo de excedencia de duración no superior a tres años para atender al cuidado de cada hijoconstituye un derecho individual de los trabajadores y trabajadorasDurante el primer año tendrá derecho a la reserva de su puesto de trabajo Las personas trabajadoras tendrán derecho a un permiso parental, para el cuidado de hijo, hija o menor acogido por tiempo superior a un año, hasta el momento en que el menor cumpla ocho añosEste permiso, que tendrá una duración no superior a ocho semanas, continuas o discontinuasEste permiso constituye un derecho individual de las personas trabajadoras, hombres o mujeres, sin que pueda transferirse su ejercicio Japan
- Rule
- 育児・介護休業法 第5条
- The extensions beyond one year apply only in the cases the statute lists, for example where the leave is especially needed to keep the job. Fixed-term workers qualify only if their contract is not clearly ending before the child reaches the age shown in the section.
- The section does not state whether the leave is paid, so that column is left blank.
労働者は、その養育する一歳に満たない子について、その事業主に申し出ることにより、育児休業その養育する一歳六か月から二歳に達するまでの子について Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 12-5
- The extra twelve months must follow directly after the parents’ leave, and a parent alone with the care of the child may take up to two years in total under the second paragraph. Adoptive and foster parents are covered, unless the child is over 15.
- The section says the right exists whenever parental benefit is paid by the national insurance, but it does not state whether the employer pays, so that column is left blank.
Foreldrene har rett til permisjon etter reglene i paragrafen her og i §§ 12-2 og 12-4 i til sammen tolv månederHver av foreldrene har i tillegg til permisjon etter første ledd, rett til permisjon i inntil tolv måneder for hver fødsel Sweden
- Rule
- Föräldraledighetslag (1995:584) 5 §
- An adopting employee has 18 months from the day the child comes into their care, and the right ends when the child is eight or has finished its first school year, whichever is later.
- The Act regulates the leave, not the pay; parental benefit comes from the social insurance code, so the paid column is left blank.
En förälder har rätt att vara helt ledig för vård av barn till dess barnet är 18 månaderEn förälder har därutöver rätt att vara helt ledig medan föräldern får hel föräldrapenning United Kingdom
- Rule
- Employment Rights Act 1996 s. 76
- Section 76 only directs the Secretary of State to make regulations on parental leave and sets the floor of three months. The detailed rules are in regulations that are not ingested, so the child age, sharing and pay are left blank. Shared parental leave (ss. 75E and 75G) is a separate scheme not covered here.
he is entitled to a period or total period of leave of at least three months United States
- Rule
- Family and Medical Leave Act 29 U.S.C. § 2612
- Federal law only. The 12 weeks cover birth, adoption and foster placement as well as other family and medical reasons, and only for eligible employees as defined in the Act.
an eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month periodThe entitlement to leave under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) for a birth or placement of a son or daughter shall expire at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of such birth or placementmay consist of unpaid leavethe aggregate number of workweeks of leave to which both may be entitled may be limited to 12 workweeks during any 12-month period Countries not in this table yet
France and the Netherlands are left out: no ingested section states the parental leave right (France’s Code du travail ingest has no congé parental d’éducation article, and the Dutch ingest covers Book 7 only without the Wet arbeid en zorg).
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Parental leave by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/parental-leave-by-country (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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