Family Leaves in General

The objective of family leaves is to offer parents the opportunity to care for their child. An employee has, in accordance with the Finnish Employment Contracts Act, the right to take leave from work during the time for which they are, in accordance with the Health Insurance Act, entitled to receive a pregnancy, special pregnancy or parental allowance.

According to the Finnish Employment Contracts Act, an employer is not under the obligation to pay an employee salary for the duration of family leave. It depends on the provisions of the collective agreement whether the employee has the right to receive salary and for which duration during family leave. If there is no generally applicable collective agreement in the business sector and the employer is not unionized (in which case the collective agreement in the business sector is applied), there is no obligation to pay salary. Nevertheless, many employers pay salary for family leave based on their own practices, see According to the Finnish Employment Contracts Act, an employer is not under the obligation to pay an employee salary for the duration of family leave. It depends on the provisions of the collective agreement whether the employee has the right to receive salary and for which duration during family leave. If there is no generally applicable collective agreement in the business sector and the employer is not unionized (in which case the collective agreement in the business sector is applied), there is no obligation to pay salary. Nevertheless, many employers pay salary for family leave based on their own practices, see [The Employer’s Obligation to Pay Salary during Family Leaves]⁠.

The employer must be notified of the taking of family leave no later than two months prior to the intended starting date of the leave. If notifying two months prior is not possible due to their spouse’s return to work and the resulting child-care arrangements, the leave may take place one month after the notice if it does not cause problems to production or service operations in the workplace.

Any amendments to the date and duration of family leave must be notified at least a month before the amendment. An amendment is only possible on justifiable grounds, for example due to illness of a child or parent or a divorce. If a child is born prematurely, the parent is naturally entitled to take parental leave at an earlier date without giving a month’s notice.

The duration of family leaves in Finnish legislation is defined in working days, including Saturdays but excluding Sundays and holidays.

An employer is not allowed to dismiss an employee because of pregnancy or because the employee exercises their right to family leave. An employer is only entitled to dismiss an employee on family leave for a financial or production-related reason if the employer’s business activities seize completely. An employer may terminate an employee’s employment contract for a reason attributable to the employee’s person even during family leaves, See An employer is not allowed to dismiss an employee because of pregnancy or because the employee exercises their right to family leave. An employer is only entitled to dismiss an employee on family leave for a financial or production-related reason if the employer’s business activities seize completely. An employer may terminate an employee’s employment contract for a reason attributable to the employee’s person even during family leaves, See [Protection against Termination in the Case of an Employee Who Is Pregnant or on Family Leave]⁠.

The employer of a pregnant employee has the right to a lump sum compensation of 2500 euros for the costs caused by family leaves. The compensation is paid to the employer if the employment contract is in force for at least a year, the employment has lasted at least 3 months and the working hours have been agreed to be at least 80% of the working hours of a full-time employee. Additionally, it is required that the employee is paid pregnancy allowance or parental allowance of an adoptive parent, and that the employer has, based on the employment contract or the collective agreement, an obligation to pay salary for at least one month of the duration of the pregnancy or adoptive parent’s parental leave.

An employee returning from family leave has primarily the right to return to their previous position. If that is not possible, the employer must offer the employee work of corresponding nature. When assessing the equivalence between the employee’s previous work and the work offered, important factors are the contents of the employee’s previous position and the employee’s education and experience. If there is no similar work available, the employer must offer the employee other work which is compatible with the employee’s employment contract.