In this page, we’ll break down all you need to know about leave laws in Finland.
Read on to learn about employees’ rights in regards to paid time off/annual leave, sick leave, parental leave, national/public holidays, and more.
This page is intended for reference purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please see official government sources or consult a legal professional for actual legal advice.
Workers in Finland are entitled to at least 24 days of PTO per year.
Employees who work 14 days or 35 hours per calendar month are entitled to annual holidays (aka annual leave).
An employee who has worked for their employer for less than one year will accrue 2 days per month. If they have worked for their employer for more than a year, they accrue 2.5 days per month.
If an employee works under 14 days or 35 hours in any given month, they do not accrue holiday days for that month, unless it was because of a period of absence in which the employer was obliged to pay the employee (e.g. the employee being on sick leave or parental leave).
The leave year in Finland runs from 1st of April to the 31st of March.
The 2nd of May until the 30th of September is considered the holiday season in Finland.
Employers must grant an uninterrupted 24-day period of leave during the holiday season, unless it is essential for work continuity reasons to split holidays into smaller portions. In this case, the employee must be granted at least one uninterrupted period of at least 12 days off.
All annual holidays are required to be granted within a year – generally at least 24 days during the holiday season, and any remaining PTO days by the start of the following holiday season.
Employees who have been working for more than a month are entitled to paid sick leave.
An employee in Finland is entitled to 10 days paid sick leave from their employer, with full salary paid (if the worker has been employed for less than one month, they are entitled to 50% of salary paid during sick leave).
If the employee is still unable to return to work after this time, their sick leave is paid for by Finnish social security (assuming the worker is covered by social security).
The employee must work for at least a year until they can take paid sick leave again for the same illness. However, they can receive another 50 days of paid sick leave after working for one month uninterrupted after returning from their previous period of sick leave.
The following are public holidays in Finland:
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year’s Day |
| 6 January | Epiphany |
| 7 April | Good Friday |
| 9 April | Easter Sunday |
| 10 April | Easter Monday |
| 1 May | May Day |
| 18 May | Ascension Day |
| 28 May | Whit Sunday |
| 23 June | Midsummer’s Eve |
| 24 June | Midsummer Day |
| 4 Novovember | All Saints’ Day |
| 6 December | Independence Day |
| 24 December | Christmas Eve |
| 25 December | Christmas Day |
| 26 December | 2nd Day of Christmas |
Employees in Finland are entitled to leave for pregnancy and to care for their newborn child. This leave is not required to be paid by the employer, but Finnish social security provides an allowance to cover if one’s employer does not.
It’s split into three categories:
Employees are entitled to 40 working days of pregnancy leave. It must be started at least 14 weekdays before the due date, and usually begins 30 weekdays before the baby is due.
Both parents are entitled to take parental leave, however only one parent can be on parental leave at a time.
Parents are entitled to 320 working days of parental leave – 160 working days for each parent.
One parent can give up a maximum of 63 days to the other parent. In the case of a single parent, they may take all 320 working days by themself.
After parental leave, parents can take child care leave, until the child turns three. Employees have a right to a maximum of two periods of child care leave, and one must last at least a month.
Bereavement leave is not covered by law in Finland.
The Finnish Study Leave Act gives employees the right to up to two years of study leave in a five-year period, if the relationship with their employer has lasted longer than a year. This leave is not required to be paid.
https://www.infofinland.fi/en/work-and-enterprise/employees-rights-and-obligations
https://tyosuojelu.fi/en/employment-relationship/annual-holidays
https://www.infofinland.fi/en/work-and-enterprise/employees-rights-and-obligations/family-leave
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