Eurofound's COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the crisis, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for case EE-2020-11/1250 – measures in Estonia
Country | Estonia , applies nationwide |
Time period | Temporary, 12 March 2020 – 31 May 2020 |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Income protection beyond short-time work
– Support for parents and carers (financial or in kind) |
Author | Ingel Kadarik (Praxis Center for Policy Studies) and Eurofound |
Case created | 06 October 2020 (updated 07 October 2020) |
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.
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.
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
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Parents in employment
|
Does not apply to businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Company / Companies Social insurance |
National funds
|
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
No views.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Allowance for parents of children with special needs, case EE-2020-11/1250 (measures in Estonia), COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19eupolicywatch
Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process. All information is preliminary and subject to change.