Child leave in Estonia

How much child leave is there and who is entitled to it?

Child leave is a right of both parents: each parent has ten working days per child until the child turns 14 (TLS § 63 lg 1) [1]. If you have several children, you may use no more than 30 calendar days of child leave in total in one calendar year (TLS § 63 lg 1) [1].

• If the other parent has died or is not registered. If one of the child's parents has died, or the population register has no data on the child's father or other parent, the parent is entitled to up to 20 working days per child until the child turns 14, but no more than 30 calendar days in total for several children in a calendar year (TLS § 63 lg 2) [1].
• The year the child turns 14. In that year child leave is granted regardless of whether the child's birthday falls before or after the leave (TLS § 63 lg 4) [1].
• Who is not entitled. There is no right to child leave if the parent's right of custody has been removed or restricted, or if the parent does not perform the obligation to raise and care for the child (TLS § 63 lg 3) [1].
• Guardian, foster parent, a parent's spouse. A guardian and a foster parent (hoolduspere vanem) are entitled to child leave, unpaid child leave and disabled child's parent leave (TLS § 65 lg 1) [3]. A parent's spouse or registered partner is entitled to child leave or disabled child's parent leave if one of the child's parents has died, does not perform the obligation under the Family Law Act to raise and care for the child, or submits a written notice to the Social Insurance Board (Sotsiaalkindlustusamet) waiving child leave; child leave is available to them for the unused days (TLS § 65 lg 3) [3].

How much is the child leave benefit?

The child leave benefit for one calendar day is 50 percent of the parental benefit (vanemahüvitis) for one calendar day calculated under the Family Benefits Act (perehüvitiste seadus, PHS); the calculation follows the rule for the adoptive parent's parental benefit (TLS § 63 lg 5) [1]. This means the basis is the income subject to social tax in the 15 calendar months before the month in which the right arises, excluding the three calendar months immediately before that month (PHS § 39 lg 4) [4]. The parental benefit for one calendar day is 100 percent of the average monthly income divided by 30 (PHS § 39 lg 7) [4].

• Minimum. The benefit for one calendar day may not be less than the average daily wage rate for a month calculated from the minimum wage; for this, the minimum wage is divided by the number of working days in the calendar year divided by 12 (TLS § 63 lg 6) [1].
• Maximum. The provision on the parental benefit ceiling also applies to the benefit (TLS § 63 lg 8) [1]: the ceiling for one calendar month is twice the average monthly income subject to social tax in Estonia for the year before the previous calendar year (PHS § 40 lg 1) [5].
• Using it more than once. If you use child leave several times in the same calendar year, the benefit is not recalculated (TLS § 63 lg 5) [1].
• While receiving parental benefit. A person who is paid parental benefit under the Family Benefits Act is not entitled to the child leave benefit (TLS § 63 lg 7) [1].

What is disabled child's parent leave?

One parent of a child with a disability is entitled to disabled child's parent leave (puudega lapse vanema lapsepuhkus) of one working day per month until the child turns 18 (TLS § 63¹ lg 1) [2]. In the year the child turns 18, this leave is granted regardless of whether the birthday falls before or after the leave (TLS § 63¹ lg 5) [2].

• Benefit. Each day of leave is paid by a benefit equal to the parental benefit for one working day; the person's income subject to social tax is divided by the number of working days in the calendar year divided by 12 (TLS § 63¹ lg 2) [2]. If the leave is used several times in the same calendar year, the benefit is not recalculated (TLS § 63¹ lg 2) [2], and the same minimum applies as for the child leave benefit (TLS § 63¹ lg 2¹) [2].
• Expiry. The claim for disabled child's parent leave expires at the end of the calendar year in which it became due (TLS § 63¹ lg 6) [2].
• Limits. There is no right if the parent's right of custody has been removed or restricted, or if the parent does not perform the obligation to raise and care for the child (TLS § 63¹ lg 4) [2]. A person who is paid parental benefit is not entitled to the benefit (TLS § 63¹ lg 7) [2].

What is unpaid child leave?

Both parents raising a child under 14, or a child with a disability under 18, are entitled to up to ten working days of unpaid child leave in every calendar year (igal kalendriaastal) (TLS § 64 lg 1) [6]. The claim expires at the end of the calendar year in which it became due (TLS § 64 lg 2) [6], so it has to be used within that calendar year.

What the law says

• „Lapsepuhkusele on õigus mõlemal vanemal kümme tööpäeva ühe lapse kohta kuni lapse 14-aastaseks saamiseni.“ [1] (translation: both parents are entitled to child leave of ten working days per child until the child turns 14; TLS § 63 lg 1) – the ten working days are per child, and each parent has their own.
• „Kui vanemal on mitu last, on vanemal õigus kasutada kokku kõige rohkem 30 kalendripäeva lapsepuhkust ühes kalendriaastas.“ [1] (translation: if a parent has several children, the parent may use no more than 30 calendar days of child leave in total in one calendar year; TLS § 63 lg 1) – with several children an annual cap applies.
• „Puudega lapse ühel vanemal on õigus saada puudega lapse vanema lapsepuhkust üks tööpäev kuus kuni lapse 18-aastaseks saamiseni.“ [2] (translation: one parent of a child with a disability is entitled to disabled child's parent leave of one working day per month until the child turns 18; TLS § 63¹ lg 1) – this right belongs to one parent, not to each.
• „Lapsepuhkuse hüvitisele ei ole õigust isikul, kellele makstakse vanemahüvitist perehüvitiste seaduse alusel.“ [1] (translation: a person who is paid parental benefit under the Family Benefits Act is not entitled to the child leave benefit; TLS § 63 lg 7).

What to do

1. Work out how many days you have: ten working days for each child under 14 (up to 20 if the other parent has died or the population register has no data on them), but no more than 30 calendar days a year in total with several children (TLS § 63 lg 1 and 2) [1].
2. Tell your employer. An employee gives 14 calendar days' notice of using leave not entered in the leave schedule, in a form that can be reproduced in writing (TLS § 69 lg 3) [7]. If you want to use child leave not entered in the schedule for more than 15 consecutive calendar days, give at least 30 calendar days' notice unless agreed otherwise (TLS § 63 lg 9) [1].
3. Apply for the benefit to the Social Insurance Board (Sotsiaalkindlustusamet) (PHS § 6 lg 1) [8]; this provision applies to the child leave benefit (TLS § 63 lg 8) [1] and to the disabled child's parent leave benefit (TLS § 63¹ lg 3) [2].
4. The Board informs your employer of your application for child leave or disabled child's parent leave, including its start and end dates; if the employer does not agree with those dates, it informs the Board within five calendar days (PHS § 46 lg 8) [9].
5. The Social Insurance Board decides whether to grant the benefit within 30 working days of a proper application (PHS § 8 lg 1) [10]; this provision also applies under TLS § 63 lg 8 and TLS § 63¹ lg 3.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer dismiss me for taking child leave?

No. The employer may not terminate the employment contract because the employee performs important family obligations, including using leave under TLS §§ 60–65¹ (TLS § 92 lg 1 p 2) [11]. If, within a year before the termination, the employee applied for or used leave under TLS §§ 63–65¹ and the employer does not prove a permitted ground, the contract is deemed terminated for a prohibited reason (TLS § 92 lg 2 p 2) [11]. An action with a court or an application to the labour dispute committee to establish that the termination is void must be filed within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice of termination (TLS § 105 lg 1) [12].

Do the ten days start again every year?

Going by the wording of the Act, no. For child leave, the Act says „kümme tööpäeva ühe lapse kohta kuni lapse 14-aastaseks saamiseni“ [1] (translation: ten working days per child until the child turns 14; TLS § 63 lg 1); the calendar year is mentioned there only in the 30-calendar-day cap for several children. The Act does not provide ten working days of child leave for each calendar year. For unpaid child leave, by contrast, it says the leave is available in every calendar year (TLS § 64 lg 1) [6].

Are both parents entitled to child leave?

Yes, both parents are entitled to child leave (TLS § 63 lg 1) [1], and to unpaid child leave (TLS § 64 lg 1) [6]. Disabled child's parent leave, however, belongs to one of the child's parents (TLS § 63¹ lg 1) [2].

Can a day of disabled child's parent leave be used later?

The claim for this leave expires at the end of the calendar year in which it became due (TLS § 63¹ lg 6) [2].

What if the child is already an adult with a profound disability?

An adult employee is entitled to up to five working days of care leave (hoolduspuhkus) per calendar year to care for an adult with a profound disability if they are, for example, a relative in the direct ascending or descending line, a brother or sister, a spouse or registered partner, a guardian or an appointed carer (määratud hooldaja) of that person (TLS § 65¹ lg 1) [13]. All those entitled have five working days in total per calendar year for one person with a profound disability (TLS § 65¹ lg 2) [13]; the leave is paid at the minimum wage (TLS § 65¹ lg 3) [13] and reimbursed from the state budget (TLS § 66 lg 2) [14]. For the reimbursement, the employer applies to the Social Insurance Board within three months of the month in which the leave was used (TLS § 66 lg 4 and 5) [14].