Staying home from work to take care of a sick child: Here are the rules for care benefit days
When children are ill, parents have the right to be home with the child a certain number of days each year. Employees can submit a self-report for this, but the rules for such self-reports are different than the rules for self-report for their own illness.
Three care benefit days with self-certification forms
Employees in Norway have the right to be home when the child is ill, and can then provide a self-certification form for up to three consecutive days at a time. From the fourth day the employer has the right to demand sick leave certificate.
It is possible for the employer to authorize the employee to take single hours or half days to take care of sick child. Those hours are added up to make up whole days.
Ten care benefit days a year
All employees are automatically entitled to ten care benefit days per calendar year. This applies when you have one or two children under the age of 12.
For those who have more than two children, there are 15 care days per calendar year.
Employees have the right to be home with sick children for the calendar year the child reaches the age of 12.
Note that the days of care are enumerated for each calendar year, not for ongoing twelve-month periods that one does for the employee's own illness.
These are the causes employees can use care benefit days for
Parents have the right to be at home with the child in case of illness or when the child must be followed to the doctor, examination or hospitalization.
The caring days can also be used when the caregiver is sick, such as a nursing mother.
Cases where parents cannot spend caring days
Care days for sick children cannot be used to accompany the child to the dentist if the visit is not due to illness.
Nor can it be used if the child must be at home due to planned school absences, such as planning days and school holidays.
The employeers working time at the employer
In order to be entitled to care days for sick children, the employee must have worked with the current employer for at least four weeks.
If the employee has received unemployment benefit, parental benefit or sickness benefit for the past four weeks, he / she has not had four weeks' earning time.
The employer must seek reimbursement from Nav
The employer pays for the first ten days the employee is home with sick children every calendar year. From the 11th day the employer can apply for a refund from Nav.
As an employer, you must send a statement of income and state the days on which a refund is requested.
When Nav receives the income information, the employer may be reimbursed for up to three months back in time, calculated from the month before Nav received the income information.
An employee may be entitled to several days of care
The employee can submit an application for care days to Nav if he or she is alone in the care of the child, or has a chronically ill or disabled child under the age of 18. This also applies when the other parent is unable to take care of the child for a period of six months or more.
Self-employed persons at home with sick children
Self-employed persons are entitled to money from Nav from the eleventh day they are home with sick children. Then they are required to provide a medical certificate for the child or child care worker.
