PATERNITY leave in Finland have nearly doubled in length following a 2022 reform of the parental leave system to make it more equal, the government’s social benefits agency said recently.
The reform granted both parents equal amounts of leave for the first time: 160 days each of paid leave, to be used before the child turns two years old.
Sixty-three of the days can be transferred to the other parent, if desired.
The reform was aimed at providing more flexibility for families and boosting equality in working life.
Following the change, “more and more fathers take care of their child at home for a longer period”, social benefits agency Kela said.
Fathers of children born after the reform have taken 78 days of parental leave on average.
That is almost double the average 44 days taken in 2021, before the reform, when 54 days were earmarked for paternity leave.
Inside Helsinki’s buzzing City Central Library “Oodi”, a popular meeting spot for parents with small children, babies crawled on the floor next to dozens of parked prams.
“I feel like you now see more fathers coming here than before,” dad Leo Vainio said.
Spending time with his now one-year-old child Unto, Vainio said he had been on paternity leave for two months.
The 2022 reform had been “very positive”, he said.
“It is good system of enhancing equality to offer both parents the same amount of days of parental allowance”.
“I believe it will create a different bond between the child and the father when you are able to spend more time together, also with regards to the future,” Kimi Lilja said, playing with his firstborn in the library.
“The new rules emphasise values in society by aiming to even out the days of parental leave between the parents, and according to the statistics, we are moving towards this aim,” said Johanna Aholainen, Kela’s lead specialist in a statement. – AFP
