Graded parental leave ended

July 12th was the final day of the second round of my graded parental leave with our twins Alexander and Cecilie (now almost 2 years old).

Graded parental leave approved, six weeks in

This last Friday I finally got a formal response from NAV concerning my application for having graded parental leave from January 2017 to mid-July 2017. My application has been approved (six-seven weeks into the 50% leave).

Application for delaying parental leave

I have just applied for delaying parts of my parental leave from 1/8-2/11 2016 (100%) to 1/1-19/7 2017 (50%). I am currently in graded parental leave until July 31st.

Parental leave formally approved

Today I received the letter from NAV formally approving my application for parental leave in the period April 1st to November 2nd (graded until July 31st).

Parental leave to be approved

NAV, the Norwegian social and labour services, has informed me (orally) that my application for parental leave is being approved (ca. 10 weeks after I applied). My parental leave (for being with my twins born last autumn) starts as graded leave (40% from April 1st 2016 until June 30th, 50% in July). From August 1st until November 2nd I will be on 100% parental leave.

Application for parental leave sent

Today I have posted my application for parental leave in relation to the birth last autumn of our twins Alexander and Cecilie da Silva-Tønnessen. All I have had so far is two weeks straight after birth. I now apply for a further 21 weeks or so, with some of it taken as graded parental leave (part-time, combined with part-time work). If the application is approved as submitted, I will start part-time parental leave April 1st and have full-time parental leave August 1st to October 26th (the latter portion of leave will be rearranged if I get a position as Head of department at University of Stavanger).

Parental leave September 15-28th

Until yesterday, I was on a 14 day parental leave, at the occasion of the birth of my twin son Alexander and twin daughter Cecilie September 15th.

Plans for paternal leave 2016-2017

My wife is expecting twins - and I am expecting to be on graded paternal leave (50%) in the whole academic year 2016-2017.

End of second round of parental leave

My second round of parental leave (graded leave, 75%) at the occasion of the birth of a certain Matias Laurits da Silva-Tønnessen, my beloved son, ended yesterday, on March 13th. The next few months, however, my work routines will likely remain pretty much as they have been since New Year (he still needs being looked after, after all).

Current work routines - organization of work week in-between child care

There's been some back and forth with the organization of my work week as I have entered the second period of my parental leave. Changes include that 

• now and until March 15th, at least, I will not routinely work during the daytime at all when my son is at home. Except for during naps and days in which he is in kindergarten (without me accompanying him) during daytime, I am routinely only working after hours, after his bedtime. 
• But one day a week plus a further evening is relationship time (date with my wife).
• Thirdly, after a couple of evenings where I tried to put my son to sleep but he only cried himself to sleep (given the sudden absence of his ever-present mother) the first time and didn't sleep at all the second, I now take part in putting him to sleep EVERY evening yet for now leave the finish to my wife. As soon as he's truly calming down with me, I'll start putting him to sleep alone at times. With regard to work this implies that I get ca. 3 1/2 rather than 4 hours work time each working evening.
• In consequence of pt. 1 I do not plan for a full hour of email and incidental tasks in daytime plus a further full hour in the evening, but only 1 full hour whenever I am working. This occasionally puts pressure on my overall flexibility and ability to go through with all scheduled tasks.

See also:

Graded parental leave, part 2

Work and family life - a few new work routines

Graded parental leave, part 2

Starting today and lasting until March 14th, I'm on 75 % graded parental leave (combined with 25 % employment contract with University of Stavanger's Department of health studies - until June 30th; 10 % research contract starting March 15th).

NAV: Service compliant concerning my parental leave

I've filed a service complaint to NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (see previous posts), with regard to their handling of my parental leave. My complaint, which is personal (rather than on behalf of some other entity), has four points:

1) Unreasonably long processing

2) Inquiry not replied to

3) Inadequate guidance/information

4) Dissatisfied with follow-up/execution

I have posted my service complaint word by word (in Norwegian) in my Norwegian language, political blog Utopisk Realisme.

The NAV saga: Last chapter?

This week I was, in addition to receiving a letter from NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (see previous posts on their repeated inability to deliver on what are my rights according to Norwegian law), getting a phone call from them, notifying me that the money they have owed me since May/June has now been paid.

See particularly my post August 30th, "NAV messes up again - pay for parental leave 3 months late, AGAIN". What happened since then was that I contacted NAV to ask for news - since they had not contacted me after the University of Stavanger contacted them to let them know about their mistake. I was then, in the beginning of September, promised that an officer would call me within 2 workdays to let me know what would happen, and when the 40.000 NOK or so they owed me would be transferred to me. The result? After 3 weeks I still hadn't heard a word... And sent them yet another reminder, plus asking them for info on how I can complain about their treatment of this.

PS: The lady who called me letting me know that the money had finally, 4-5 months late, been paid, did not say anything about how I can make a formal complaint.

NAV messes up again - pay for parental leave 3 months late, AGAIN

The parental leave I have had so far, this Spring, has been rewarding - but the pay I'm entitled to according to Norwegian law has only exceptionally been paid in due time. First, it took 3 months into the parental leave before I received anything at all. In May I had some correspondence with NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, and they made some formal changes to my leave, which I had from January 1st to June 24th. The pay for the period following May 17th didn't arrive, so I called NAV, and they told me the money had been paid to my university, University of Stavanger. When I called the handling administrative at my university, I was told she was on sick leave, and that I would have to make contact with her early autumn. And so I did this week - only to hear that UiS thinks that NAV has made (yet another) mistake - the money should never have been transferred to them, but straight to me, since I had graded parental leave combined with a 20% contract at UiS. The result? That pay for some 40 days have not yet been received by me, and that UiS will now ask NAV to pay it to me, some 3 months late.

All in all this means that only the pay for April and half of May has been paid on time. Apart from that, NAV's payments have been 3 months late. And this is how I make a living...

See also:

Another round with Norwegian bureaucracy

 ¤%&NAV: Parental leave approved 3 months on overtime

 

Remaining parental leave; plans for spending time with my son

I have applied for taking what remains of my parental leave, after the birth of my son Matias Laurits October 10th 2012, January 1st - March 15th 2014, with 75% graded leave and 25% work for University of Stavanger. This amounts to 39 full days of parental leave.

Furthermore, my wife and I are making plans for the care for our son this next academic year. I want to have some time with him some weekdays at daytime as well, and will therefore alternately work on daytime and in the evening. The same goes for next Spring, both during my remaining parental leave and after. We are hoping to get a kindergarten to have him in its care for three days a week.

See also:

Another round with Norwegian bureaucracy

Another round with Norwegian bureaucracy

After receiving an acceptance letter from NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, with regard to my application for parental leave, some three weeks ago, another letter awaited me as I returned from the NoSP conference in Copenhagen. NAV now claims that either me or my wife still has the right for a number of days of parental leave, beyond what we have already applied for. They furthermore ask me to confirm that I will have the parental leave that they accepted in the letter as of three weeks ago - and - even though they have confirmed in writing that this was all settled now - whether or not my wife will have 20 % or 0 % in the periods that I take my parental leave.

Given that I'm tired of being annoyed with NAV, and that they have previously confirmed our original applications in writing, I choose this time to not regard this as a problem. We will likely reply that if we do indeed have the right to further parental leave, I will take that leftover leave in early 2014 (when I'll only have a 25 % contract).

See also: "¤%&NAV: Parental leave approved 3 months on overtime"

¤%& NAV: Parental leave approved 3 months on overtime

A few days back I received a letter from NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, informing me that my application for parental leave in the period January 1st to June 24th 2013 has been accepted. As noted earlier in this blog, I am on 80 % leave combined with 20 % workload. The answer from NAV came almost 3 months into my parental leave, and they had not paid me a penny until now - meaning they had in effect been owing me money for some 3 months. This whole story has been outrageous, and caused me a lot of concern and worries.

As if this wasn't enough, NAV has now sent my wife a letter where they seem to have misunderstood their own rules ... but enough about that.

January 1st: 20% position; 80% parental leave

I have updated my "Brief academic CV", amongst other things noting in point one that my position as Associate professor at University of Stavanger's Department of Health Studies 2012-2013 has been 25% (Spring 2012) > 100% (Autumn 2012) and is now 20% (Spring 2013). This semester I'll give the course Examen Philosophicum for the fourth time altogether (including once at University of Agder), and for the second time in the internet-based bachelor for nursing students.

Today, January 1st 2013, I further dwelve into a graded (80%) parental leave, to look after and spend time with my son Matias Laurits da Silva-Tønnessen (born October 10th 2012). My parental leave will last until June 24th.