Report from Another Job:

Combining Parenthood and a

Career as a Lawyer in Sweden

Part of the article was published in the Swedish Academics’ Union Journal, Jusektidningen, 17 May 2005, and was written by  Stefan Andersson, legal counsel for the local government in the region of Uddevalla, Sweden. The article has been co-edited and translated into English by Cecilia Skroder.

‘Does the child not have a mother?’ The comment made me react with anger when I sought legally accredited leave to step in as a household worker. ‘Oh, you are babysitting today?’ has made my heartbeat race, forcing an explanation that I do not ‘baby-sit’ my own children, but that I actually have ultimate responsibility for them.

These comments clearly show that it is not easy to be a father on parental leave. Even so, most comments have been positive. Many elderly gentlemen have shared with me that they were, by no means, at home when their children were little but that they were working all the while. This is something which they regret today. I have tried to find out whether there is now a great void at my workplace, since I am not there, but I have failed. What I do know with certainty is that there will be a great void within me, the day I am to leave my child to a public childcare centre, although the public childcare, second after the parents, is the best place to leave one’s children, at least here in Uddevalla.

There is a great deal of conflict resolving at my new workplace. Not worse than at my old highly paid job, but here one has to be more firm. It is good to be the highest decision maker in all matters. Sometimes there is need for a certain amount of consolidation and convincing, and at other times pure force is the deciding factor. No hearings and no justices to convince. What about judicial security? Yes, we do read the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at bedtime.

Sometimes, however, mishaps will occur. At first, my son would do things such as dip my wallet into the toilet bowl. There was no other choice but to put notes and credit cards on a warm kitchen plate to dry. I bet he was going to launder some money, and I couldn’t allow that, could I? Something like that would never happen today, after four months of intense training. Like a bodyguard working for royalty, I will scan all dangers in the vicinity before letting go of the object of surveillance. Having acquired improved mobility due to increased age, his hearing abilities seem to have diminished slightly, although a forceful NO still has the desired effect. The trick is not to use it too often, as its effect will then be lost. ‘Use with moderation’ is still a motto to follow.

It is amazing how quickly I have adapted to this, my new workplace. Contact with my children cannot be postponed to weekends, free moments or during holidays. I know what I am talking about, since I have tried all these options. When I did not make use of parental leave for my older children, I defended myself by saying that we enjoyed quality time together when I was off work. Alas, that is not the way it works. When it comes to children, quantity is more important than quality, although the latter is not to be neglected either.

So how should one position oneself in relation to one’s old workplace? Reading the paper [in Sweden] I see that I, without knowing, do the right thing when I try to stay in contact with my office job. I read my e-mails almost every day, and I answer quite a lot of mail, as well as visit the office a couple of times a month. The only mistake I make is to bring the children with me during these visits. According to the experts, this is too social, and creates barriers to discussing work. This is, however, hard to solve, since it is thanks to the children that I got the position of house worker. It is not easy to find a replacement for the well-paid job, but it is not obvious at 
home either.

Stefan Andersson

Some Comments on the Swedish Social Welfare System

About 90% of the workforce in Sweden belongs to some type of union. Hence, the focus on workers’ compensation and other social welfare schemes in the country. The unions act as a negotiating party with the employers’ organisations for standard contracts and salaries, and also publish papers dealing with the job market, work environment, legal news and other related issues.

In Scandinavia, family law and parental incentives are much different from the rest of the world, including Singapore. Parental leave, with Sweden as one example, is accorded to those having a child below the age of one and a half years. The leave may be shared between the parents: it does not necessarily have to be the mother who stays home with the baby. Parents are entitled to a maximum of 480 days of leave during this period, while retaining their position at the workplace. The parents are entitled to payment of 80% of their salary (up to a certain amount, currently approximately S$5,500 per month) for a total of 390 of the days that either of them is home with the child.

As an extra incentive for fathers to bond with their children, and support the mother who has just undergone childbirth, they are entitled to a specific paid ‘fathers’ leave’ of ten days after the birth of the child.

The cost for this extensive apparatus of parental leave is borne both by government, and ultimately the citizens, as well as by the employers. The taxes for a regular employee are around 30% (rising to a marginal taxation of 50% for those earning top level salaries) deducted directly from the employee’s salary (including public pension savings), followed by a GST level of 25%. The employer also pays extensive employment taxes for its employees, to cover, for example, work related 
social benefits.

According to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency this ‘parental insurance’ is aimed at supporting all parents in order to help them combine work and parenthood.

Lawyers and Parental Leave

The awareness of a need for flexible parenthood solutions is increasing in Sweden. Unfortunately, so is the tough working environment for lawyers. Parallels are drawn to the nightmarish hours put in by lawyers in the United Kingdom and the United States, and this, obviously, does not make increased focus on family matters easy. The Swedish Bar Association is positive towards women and men combining parenthood and a career as a lawyer. The overall view is that women and men who are parents can contribute equally well to the profession, be it as lawyers or partners, provided there is adequate support for this.

In 2004, about 35% of all active lawyers were privately insured for parental leave, through their law firms, in addition to the public benefits accorded. This helps to bridge gaps between the total salary (which is often higher than the threshold level) and what is paid by the social welfare system, and also covers the fixed costs which a partner has in relation to the law firm.

Many of Sweden’s law firms encourage parental leave in order to create personal space and a balanced lifestyle for their lawyers. In some cases, the full salary is paid for six months of parental leave, which on a short-term may be seen as an enormous economic investment. In the long-run, however, this allows the firms to keep a work force which is committed to its employer, and also contributes to a more positive working environment. Solutions such as working from home, delegation, and using private insurance for long leave are some examples of how to cope with the changing climate.

Cecilia Skroder

Intelleigen Legal LLC, Singapore

E-mail: cskroder@intelleigen.com