Omsorgspermisjon page drops right to postpone leave timing

Fathers and co-mothers now take their two weeks of care leave (omsorgspermisjon) in the period from two weeks before birth until two weeks after the mother has come homeArbeidstilsynet, without the former reservation that the timing of the leave could be postponed when family considerations indicated itArbeidstilsynet. The deleted sentence read «Dersom omsynet til familien tilseier det, kan far eller medmor forskyve tidspunktet for permisjonen», and the current page carries no replacement wording on postponementArbeidstilsynet. Employers and advisers who schedule the two weeks should therefore plan within the stated window: two weeks before birth until two weeks after the mother has come home.

The unchanged frame around that window still governs. Parents have the right to two weeks of care leave at birth or on taking over care of a child. The leave is in principle unpaid («i utgangspunktet ulønt») unless the employee has an agreement with the employer or a collective agreement granting better rights. That unpaid starting point matters for payroll: unless an individual agreement or a collective agreement grants pay, the two weeks are taken without salary, and any pay during the absence must be found in contract or tariffavtale.

Where the parents do not live together, the right to leave may be taken out by someone else who helps the mother. The statutory rule behind this is that where the parents do not live together, the leave right may be exercised by another person who assists the mother. For workforce planning this means the stand-in absence is the same two-week right, not an additional entitlement, and the condition is that the person assists the mother.

Adoptive parents and foster parents of children under 15 years have the right to two weeks of leave in connection with taking over care of the child. The statute states the same two-week right on taking over care of the child, and excludes stepchild adoption (stebarnsadopsjon) and children over 15 years. The age ceiling and the stepchild-adoption exception therefore still delimit who can claim the leave on placement.

In practice, the removal narrows what the guidance can be cited for. A father, co-mother or co-parent who previously pointed to the postponement sentence for leave outside the window can no longer do so on this page, and an employer who previously accepted later timing on that basis has no stated criterion left in the guidance for when later timing applies. The page does not state that postponement is forbidden in all cases; it states no postponement rule at allArbeidstilsynet. The page does not state where, if anywhere, leave outside that window may be taken; the guidance text itself therefore offers no stated basis for taking the two weeks outside it.

Legal basis: omsorgspermisjon under arbeidsmiljølova § 12-3.