Finland: parental leave reform announced to boost uptake by fathers

At a press conference held on 16 February, Finland’s Minister of Social Affairs and Health Aino-Kaisa Pekonen announced a reform of the country’s parental leave system, which would extend parental leave by one month. The primary aim of the reform push, however, is to encourage fathers to make use of their leave allowance, so as to promote professional equality among men and women.
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Under the reform, which is set to take effect from 1 August 2022, there will be one form of parental leave, ensuring strict equality between mothers and fathers. Each parent will be entitled to 164 days of leave and one parent may transfer up to 69 days of their allowance to the other parent. Any other days that go unused will be lost, as they are non-transferable. This parental leave is additional to specific leave for pregnant women in the final 40 days of their pregnancy. Under the current s

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