According to a study carried out in 2003 by the Employers’ Confederation of Service Industries [1] (Palvelutyönantajat - PT), fathers spent 0.2%-0.8% of their official working time on family or parental leave (a period off work of up to 158 days - see background information below). Results show that more fathers are taking care of children full time at home.[1] http://www.palvelutyonantajat.fi/kj.nsf/english/home_page
A new study shows that fathers took more family leave in the services sector in 2003. In social and health services in particular, but also in the hotel and restaurant sector, men took significantly more family leave as a proportion of regular working time compared with previous years.
According to a study carried out in 2003 by the Employers’ Confederation of Service Industries (Palvelutyönantajat - PT), fathers spent 0.2%-0.8% of their official working time on family or parental leave (a period off work of up to 158 days - see background information below). Results show that more fathers are taking care of children full time at home.
In the retail sector, men availed of parental leave the least (0.2% of working time) while, in social and health services, they availed of it the most (0.8% of working time). In social and health services and in the hotel and restaurant sector, men took home care leave more often than ever before during the previous 10 years. In the IT sector too, fathers are taking family leave more often than average. Previously, the average proportion of men’s family leave ranged from 0.2% to 0.4% of official working hours, depending on the sector.
However, the uptake of parental leave is still significantly higher among women: 2.7%-8.0% of official regular working time. In the financial sector, mothers took family leave the least (2.7%) while, in the hotel and restaurant sector, they took it the most (8.0%). On average, men’s family leave amounts to only around one tenth that of women.
A total of 408 companies responded to the PT questionnaire (162 kb, pdf; in Finnish). The results represent around 78,750 employees. The time use survey has been carried out each year since 1993.
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Services | ||
| Retail | 5.5 | 0.2 |
| Hotel and restaurant | 8.0 | 0.6 |
| Financial | 2.7 | 0.3 |
| Insurance | 5.2 | 0.3 |
| Other services (including social and health) | 5.3 | 0.8 |
| Manufacturing | ||
| Blue-collar workers | 4.7 | 0.4 |
| White-collar workers | 7.6 | 0.4 |
Source: Time use report 2003, PT
Sharp increase in parental leave among men
According to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, an organisation which represents the entire population, the proportion of fathers using at least some form of family leave has increased from 67.6% in 2002 to 68.4% in 2003. The vast majority of these (34,770 men) take the standard paternity leave of 18 days. However, there has been a remarkable increase in full-time parental leave among men. Within one year, from 2002 to 2003, the number of fathers taking such leave more than doubled from 1,399 to 3,095. Two-thirds of these men also availed of the ‘bonus days’ scheme that was introduced in 2003 (see background information below).
Nevertheless, only 4.3% of all parental leave days are taken by men. In addition, the proportion of fathers who were receiving the child home care allowance was only 3.1% of all those receiving this allowance in 2003. Thus, even if the trend in the numbers of men using family leave is positive, mothers still have the major responsibility for childcare.
The education and labour market position of the mother strongly influences whether the father takes family leave. Men are more likely to take leave from work in families where both spouses have a high level of education (Lammi-Taskula, 2004, in Finnish).
Background information
The mother’s entitlement to a maternity allowance begins 30-50 days before the due date of confinement and the allowance is paid for 105 working days. The entitlement to parental allowance begins immediately after payment of the maternity allowance ends. Parental allowance is normally paid for 158 working days and it can be paid either to the mother or the father. Since 2003, parents of a small child who are working part time have been entitled to a partial parental allowance. This means that they can take turns in caring for their child by working split shifts as arranged with their respective employers.
Fathers who take leave from work to participate in childcare are entitled to a total of up to 18 working days during the maternity or the mother’s parental allowance period. During this paternity leave, fathers are paid paternity allowance. Since 2003, it has been possible for fathers to extend the parental leave by a ‘bonus’ of one to 12 working days if the father takes the last 12 days of the parental allowance period. The extension must be taken in a single period immediately following the parental allowance period.
Maternity, paternity and parental allowances are taxable income. They are based on income, up to 70% of salary. The minimum allowance is €11.45 (2004) per day, which is paid if the recipient has no or very low income, according to the Statistical Year Book on Social Welfare and Health Care 2003.
More information about family allowances in Finland is available from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2004), More men availing of family leave, article.
