In Sweden, parents can now transfer days of paid parental leave to people who are not legal guardians, such as grandparents and friends.
Sweden was the first country to introduce paid parental leave for fathers in 1974.
According to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, today fathers take about 30 percent of paid parental leave.
Now, 50 years later, grandparents in Sweden can receive money for caring for their grandchildren.
The parental leave reform introduced by the Swedish government on July 1 allows for the transfer of paid parental leave days to relatives or friends.
Better work-life balance and promotion of gender equality
The Swedish social insurance agency Försäkringskassan says the new scheme should provide families with more flexibility.
The new parental leave rules allow parents to transfer up to 45 days of their paid leave to a person who is not the child’s legal guardian, provided that the person is insured for childcare benefits, and most people in Sweden are insured. Single parents can transfer up to 90 days for each child out of a total of 480 days of paid leave.
“The purpose of the new law is to provide parents with more flexibility and more opportunities, as well as to make it easier to combine family responsibilities with work. In addition, the new reform provides more opportunities, for example, for single parents, and makes parental leave available to a greater variety of family types, which is likely to contribute to gender equality,” Stefan Forsberg, Director of Parental Insurance Operations at Försäkringskassan, told Euronews Next.
The new rule allows even pensioners to take parental leave, for example, in which case the compensation is based on the person’s pension. The recipient of parental allowance cannot look for a job or study during the time he or she is receiving parental allowance.
Maria Karlsson, who lives in Stockholm with her three-year-old son Liam, says she was happy to hear about the new law. Karlsson is a working single mother who often receives help from her parents.
“My mom has been helping and supporting me since he [Liam] was born. She has been very helpful. And even now, she helps me two days a week and picks him up from kindergarten, which allows me to work a little bit more at work because I work part-time (80%) to support the economy,” Maria told Euronews Next.
“It’s good that with this [new scheme] I can postpone my maternity leave so that she still gets some compensation,” she added.
Maria’s mother, Jora Karlsson, used to work for the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and is now retired. She believes the new scheme is “something good for everyone.”
“For example, I help out twice a week. It’s almost like a routine. But if I take care of him for a whole week, if he gets sick, it’s good that you get this childcare allowance,” said Zhora.
Once the days have been transferred, recipients who are caring for a child can apply for the childcare allowance.
Maria transferred about ten days to Zhora through the Social Insurance Administration website to try the new scheme in August.
“The next time they start using it, well, if mom wants to stay home with Liam sometime or if he gets sick and she’ll relieve me by staying home with Liam one day and I’ll do it the rest of the time,” Maria said.
Critics raise concerns about childcare outsourcing
When the proposal was introduced in September 2023, several trade union organizations in the country criticized the policy for potentially creating a “nanny system” by effectively outsourcing childcare to relatives or professional caregivers.
During a Swedish government hearing in October 2023, Anna Thénier, Minister of Senior Citizens and Social Affairs, stated: “The risk that the transfer option will allow for the systematic use of parental allowance as a means of paying for services provided, for example, to a hired nanny is assessed as low.”
“We are also, as always, ready to take very strong action against welfare fraud and criminal acts against the social security system. So this is something that is on our agenda,” Tenier said in an interview with Euronews Next.
Tenier also emphasized that the goal of the new law is to enable parents to combine their work life with an active family life and choose what is best for their children.
Around 1,456 people in Sweden have handed over their days to someone who is not a second caregiver by the end of August, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency told Euronews Next.
