Estonian Leave Policies
2014 Tallinn seminar
Katre Pall
Historic overview
• Right to maternity leave 1913
• Fully paid 10 week leave for civil servants 1920
Soviet Estonia – full female
employment
• 1946: 11 weeks of paid maternity leave
• 1959: + 6 months of unpaid leave
• 1982: 1 year leave compensated at minimum
wage level
• 1989: paid leave 18 months,
unpaid leave up to 3 years
Entitlements for women only
Second Estonian Republic since
1991
• Maternity leave + 2 weeks
• Childcare leave 3 years paid throughout
• 2 weeks unpaid leave for parents of children
under 14
• Childcare leave available for fathers
• 2 week paternity leave flat rate payment
Decrease of birth rates from 2.2 to 1.3 (19902002)
New paradigm: Swedish model
• 2004 fully paid parental benefit for 225 days
• Maternity + parental benefit = 1 year of fully
paid leave
• Right to 3 year childcare leave maintained
• 2006: + 90 days of full payment
• 2008: + 120 days of full payment
Current leave scheme
• 140 days of maternity leave 100% + 435 days
of parental benefit 100% = 575 days / 19
months fully paid leave
• Childcare leave until the child reaches 3 years;
flat rate benefit
• Speed premium if children born within 2 and
half years
Entitlements
• Maternity leave – employment contract; self
employment
• Parental leave – employment contract
• Parental benefit - everyone is entiteled
• Calculation based on average earnings of a
previous calendar year;
• Base rate for those who have not worked
Father and Son
• Paternity leave 10 working
days
• Benefit depends on
economic situation
• Restrictions to
parental benefit were abolished in 2007
Flexibility
• Parents can switch benefit recipient every
month
• Working and receiving benefit on reduced
amount is possible
• Working for another employer during leave
allowed
• Parents cannot take leave simultaneously
(part-time work is rare, especially for men)
Impacts
• Men’s share among benefit receivers is 6%
• Around 8 % of benefit recipients have income
from work
• Speed premium effect – more children are
born within 1.5 – 2.5 years
• Children under 3 years are least affected by
poverty
Impact analyses
Policy impacts are monitored regularly
(2006; 2009; third study being planned for 2015)
• Share of parents employed before birth of a
child has grown
• Scheme has impact on employed women
giving birth to third, second and also first child
• Share and number of women with higher
education, higher income and in employment
giving birth has grown
Current policy debates
• Child poverty
• Childcare availability for children under 3 yrs.
• How to make working during leave more
appealing
• Not much interest by politicians in father’s
quota
• No debates around 3 year childcare leave
• Employer’s role – no issue
Thank You
For more information:
Katre Pall
katre.pall@sm.ee
Marre Karu
marre.karu@praxis.ee