Background information

Due to the containment measures, most of the schools and other institutions were closed. This was especially hard for parents of children with special needs who need constant help and supervision, because of this their possibility to work, even remotely from home, was strongly affected. To mitigate the situation for such parents, the government decided to pay an emergency allowance to such persons. The relevant regulation was established based on the Social Welfare Act.

Content of measure

The allowance is paid for one parent of a child with special needs in case that the parent cannot work due to the need to take care of their child due to the national emergency situation. It can also be paid to the foster parent, husband or wife of the parent, or legal guardian. The person must officially be on unpaid leave to be eligible for the allowance and cannot receive any other COVID-19 related financial support or national replacement income (e.g. parental benefit).

The child with special needs is defined as a child under the age of 18:

• with severe or profound disability;

• with moderate disability with an accompanying condition (a long list of different conditions); or

• with educational special needs.

The amount of the allowance per calendar day is 70% of the previous year’s salary per calendar day. The allowance is paid monthly. The minimum rate is €18 per day (around €540 which is national minimum wage per month), the maximum rate is €35 per day (around €1,050 per month).

The allowance was paid as of 12 March 2020 and during the entire time of the unpaid leave, but not longer than 31 May 2020. The implementing institution is the Estonian National Social Insurance Board.

Use of measure

According to the data of the Estonian Social Insurance Board, altogether 1,298 people received the allowance in the total amount of €1.3 million

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Parents in employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies Social insurance	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement

Views and reactions

No views.

Sources

• 13 April 2020: Emergency support for parents of children with special needs (Erivajadusega lapse vanema erakorraline toetus) (www.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee)