Parental leave

Are you planning to take parental leave? The time spent at home with a child is important for both the child and the parent. Remember to notify your child’s early childhood education provider of your planned parental leave in good time.

Under the reform that entered into force in autumn 2022, parental leave can be taken over several periods so that the child can alternate between early childhood education and being at home due to parental leave. This right applies to families whose child’s due date was on 4 September 2022 or later.

If you or the child’s other guardian have parental leave days left when the child starts attending early childhood education, you can use them until the child turns two years old. The child retains their right to the same place in early childhood education during the parental leave if the absence from early childhood education does not last more than 13 weeks.

If, after the 13-week period, you or the child’s other guardian still have unused parental leave days left, the child must return to early childhood education so that the child retains their right to the same place in early childhood education during the next parental leave period.

A child for whom parental allowance is paid cannot attend early childhood education on parental leave days.

No early childhood education fee is charged for the days the child does not attend early childhood education, with the exception of one-off absences. However, for other children in the family, the early childhood education fee is charged as normal during this period and they can attend early childhood education.

How to notify the child’s early childhood education provider of absences related to parental leave

Notify the director of your child’s early childhood education unit in writing when your child will be absent from early childhood education due to parental leave. Attach Kela’s decision on parental leave days to the message.

Planned absences must be reported as follows:

An absence that lasts over 5 days but no more than 13 weeks must be reported at least one month before it starts.
A recurring absence of 1–5 days must be reported at least one week before the first day of absence.
It is recommended but not mandatory to report in advance one-off absences lasting up to 5 days. You can report absences through eVaka’s calendar while confirming your child’s hours of attendance. Please note that in case of one-off absences, the client fee is charged as usual for the duration of the absence.
If the absence lasts longer than 13 weeks, you must terminate the child’s place in early childhood education.

Part-time parental leave

Under the reform, parents can also take part-time parental leave. You can take part-time parental leave if you care for your child part-time while working part-time. You must agree on part-time work with your employer. In such cases, the daily working hours may not exceed five hours.

You can also take part-time parental leave if you are an entrepreneur. In this case, you can take care of your child part-time and work as an entrepreneur part-time. In such cases, the daily working hours may not exceed five hours.

If you have several employment relationships or work both as an entrepreneur and as an employed person, you can also receive partial parental allowance. You are entitled to partial parental allowance if your total daily working hours do not exceed five hours.

Parents may also receive partial parental allowance for the same period, which allows them to take turns caring for the child.

If you are on partial parental leave, the child for whom parental allowance is paid may participate in early childhood education. Please note that the child must be at least 9 months old in order to be granted a place in municipal early childhood education. Please also note the application and processing times for municipal early childhood education.