NOVEMBER 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON
PUBLIC POLICYESTONIAEMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS AND FAMILY BENEFITS ACTS
Estonia offers some of the most extensive and well-compensatedparental support policies in the world, including the longest fully
paid maternity leave.1 Work-life balance, particularly in relation toparents, features prominently in public debates. The country subscribes to a vision that a healthy and thriving population begins withindividuals having freedom to balance their careers, hobbies andfamilies, and it supports this actively with legislation. At the same time,there is a recognition that more effort is needed to tackle stereotypical gender norms that place the burden of primary childcare on women, resulting in long interruptions to their career and other adverse
impacts, such as the motherhood pay penalty and lower employment rates.

KEY FEATURES OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS AND FAMILY BENEFITS ACTS
Under Estonian legislation, new mothers can take 140 days offully paid leave, after which they can either take another 435
days of fully paid leave or share it with a family member.
The compensation is based on 100 per cent of average earnings
calculated from the individual’s employment in the previous
calendar year without an upper limit on payments. This is fundedby the Estonian national health care programme through general taxation.

From July 2020, paid paternity leave, previously 10 working days,
has been replaced with a 30-day non-transferable parental benefit for the father, in addition to the 435-day parental benefit
period.
There are numerous other benefits and allowances, including
benefits and leave for adoption, a one-off payment at birth andadditional support for families with more than three children,families with children with disabilities, and low-income families.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • ESTONIA | 1

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Estonia has historically led the world when it comes to supporting
parents. In the 1950s, mothers were entitled to five weeks’ leave rising,in 1973, to 112 days with full pay. From 1984, they could take additional
parental leave until the child turned one and, in 1990, the Child Benefit

Act meant parental leave could be shared with another family member, usually the father.2 This is now available until the child’s thirdbirthday, with the first 85 weeks fully paid.

SUPPORTING PARENTS
Under the Employment Contracts Act and the Family Benefits Act,new mothers can take 140 days of fully paid leave, after which theycan either take another 435 days of paid leave or share it with a family
member. 3, 4 The compensation is based on 100 per cent of average
earnings, calculated from the individual’s employment in the previous calendar year, without an upper limit on payments. This is fundedby the Estonian national health care programme through generaltaxation. For mothers who did not work during the previous year
but worked before the birth of the child, the minimum wage (€584per month) is paid. After 85 weeks, the compensation moves to a standard €38 per month. This standard allowance is available to bothworking and non-working parents after the end of parental benefits,
while parents who do not work receive €540 per month. 5

Numerous other benefits and allowances are available toparents, including:•Benefits and leave for adoption.

•A one-off payment at birth.

•Various monthly allowances.

There is also additional support for families with more than
three children, families with children with disabilities, andlow-income families.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENTThe Estonian Strategy of Children and Families 2012–2020: Smart Parents,Great Children, Strong Societies6 emphasizes the need for everyone toachieve a balance between their roles as parent, spouse and worker,
and to have outside interests. Legislation continually evolves to support this. For example, from July 2020, paid paternity leave (previously10 working days) has been replaced with a 30-day non-transferable
parental benefit for the father (referred to as the ‘daddy month’), inaddition to the 435-day parental benefit period. Employed fathers
are required to take this parental leave in order to receive the benefit.
Those who are self-employed or unemployed, and fathers who are‘non-active’ do not have the right to this leave, but will receive themonetary benefit.

In 2016, a new Family Benefits Act took steps to discourage child maintenance debtors.7 Some 16 per cent of Estonian children live with asingle parent, generally the mother, and 97 per cent of absent parents
fail to pay maintenance, an obligation under the Estonian Constitution
towards those who need assistance. Under the act, the State pays
maintenance on behalf of the absent parent and claims it back using
stringent measures including publishing debtors’ names and rescinding driving licences.

CHALLENGES
Although leave is meant to be used by both parents, uptake by fathers
is low and childcare is still considered “women’s work”. However, in2008, there was a fourfold increase in fathers taking paternity leave
when compensation increased to 100 per cent of earnings, with 50
per cent of fathers taking the leave. 8 Nevertheless, in 2017, 90 per centof those taking parental leave were still women.9 In 2019, 58 per centof fathers took paternity leave.10
Parental leave is designed to minimize the disruption to mothers’careers, but there remains a significant gap in the employment rateof women with children compared to that of men. The 2012–2020
strategy aimed to reduce this gap from 38.6 to 33.0 per cent. Overall,however, the employment rate for women is high, and women makeup around 48 per cent of the total labour force in the country.11
Evidence shows that the Estonian gender pay gap, the largest in theEU at 25.6 per cent (2019)12 could partly be attributed to long interruptions in women’s careers.13

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • ESTONIA | 2The Estonian Welfare Development Plan for 2016–2023 aims to target
the root causes of the persistent gender pay gap and gender stereotypes, and includes plans such as raising awareness of gender-neutral
recruitment, job evaluations and payment systems, as well as educational activities to promote girls’ uptake of science and technology

subjects.14 More stringent measures, such as compulsory pay disclosures and labour inspections, were recommended by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, concluding
observations on the third periodic report of Estonia in 2019.15

EUROPEAN LEGISLATION
Estonia, as a member of the European Union, is subject to the EU Work-life Balance Directive,16 which aims to improve families’ access to family leaveand flexible work arrangements. The directive entered into European Union law in August 2019. Member States have three years to adopt the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the directive.
Measures under the directive include:•Introducing paternity leave, with fathers entitled to takeat least 10 working days of paternity leave around the timeof birth of their child, compensated at least at the level ofsick pay.

•Ensuring that two out of the four months of parental leave
are non-transferable between parents and compensatedat a level that is determined by the Member State.

•Introducing carers’ leave, with workers providing personalcare or support to a relative entitled to five days of leave
per year.

•Extending the right to request flexible working arrangements to carers and working parents of children up toeight years old.

CONCLUSION
Estonian care policies allow parents to continue their careers and beinvolved in their child’s critical development years.
Family-friendly policies which apply to both women and men, andaffordable, good quality childcare play a key role in enabling mothers
to return to work and in minimizing the gender pay gap. Equally important is tackling the stereotype of a woman’s role as primary caregiver, for example, with measures such as the “daddy month”, andreintegration programmes – training, retraining and upskilling.

The Government’s current focus is on increasing flexibility in parentalleave, for example more part-time working, so parents are not absent
from the labour market for extended periods. This supports thecountry’s ambition to make raising children an easy, supported andhealthy process.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY • ESTONIA | 3

ENDNOTES
1. UNICEF. June 2019. Are the world’s richest countries family friendly? Policy in the OECD and EU.
Available at www.unicef-irc.org/family-friendly, https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/FamilyFriendly-Policies-Research_UNICEF_%202019.pdf
2. Mare Ainsaar, “The Development of Children and Family Policy in Estonia from 1945 to 2000”, Finnish
Yearbook of Population Research, vol. 37, (Tartu University, Estonia, 2001).
3. https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/521062017014/consolide?leiaKehtiv
4. https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/523092016001/consolide?leiaKehtiv
5. Pall, K. Estonia. 2020 www.leavenetwork.org/fileadmin/user_upload/k_leavenetwork/country_notes/
2020/PMedited.Estonia.with_supplement.31aug2020.pdf
6. Ministry of Social Affairs, Strategy of Children and Families 2012-2020: Smart Parents, Great Children,Strong Societies, (Republic of Estonia, 2011). Available at https://www.sm.ee/sites/default/files/
content-editors/Lapsed_ja_pered/lpa_fulltxt_eng_83a4_nobleed.pdf
7. European Commission, New scheme to support single parents and punish maintenance allowance
debtors in Estonia, ESPN Flash Report 2016/48. Available at www.researchgate.net/publication/
320685571_New_scheme_to_support_single_parents_and_punish_maintenance_allowance_
debtors_in_Estonia
8. International Labour Organization, Maternity and paternity at work: Law and practice across the world.
(Geneva, 2014). Available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf

Funded by:

9. European Commission, Estonia: Reform of the parental leave and benefit system to better reconcile
work and family life. ESPN Flash Report 2017/62, (July 2017).
10. Pall, K. Estonia. 2020 www.leavenetwork.org/fileadmin/user_upload/k_leavenetwork/country_notes/
2020/PMedited.Estonia.with_supplement.31aug2020.pdf
11. World Bank, “Labor force, female (% of total labor force)”, Labour force database. Available athttps://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=EE
12. European Commission, “Equal pay? Time to close the gap!” (no date). Available at https://ec.europa.
eu/info/sites/info/files/factsheet-gender_pay_gap-2019.pdf
13. Sten Anspal and Tairi Rõõm, Gender Pay Gap in Estonia: Empirical Analysis, (European Commission,no date). Available at www.sm.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/Ministeerium_kontaktid/Valjaanded/gender_pay_gap_estonia_analysis.pdf
14. Ministry of Social Affairs, Welfare Development Plan 2016–2023 (Republic of Estonia, no date). Available at www.social-protection.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action;jsessionid=-4nHCKtiwMNk9EeMEy-7
rvWrVvuTPWbe-17DlIN-o2JgQyy0JNTX!445242879?id=55820
15. E/C.12/EST/CO/3.
16. European Council, “Work-life balance for parents and carers”, (Council of The European Union, no date).
Available at www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/work-life-balance/

weps.org@WEPrinciples

weps@unwomen.org@Empower_Women

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DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union, UN Women, International Labour Organization or the United Nations
and their Member States.