How many days of child leave do you get a year in Estonia?
Three or six days — and ten more that nobody pays for. Each parent is entitled to annual child leave compensated at the minimum wage rate: three working days where they have one or two children under 14, and six working days where they have at least three children under 14 or at least one child under three. And on top of that sits a separate right: a parent raising a child under 14 or a disabled child under 18 may take up to ten unpaid working days of child leave per calendar year. These are two different things and they must not be confused.
📋 The rules
- Paid: 3 working days (1–2 children under 14)
- Or 6 working days (3+ children, or one under 3)
- Pay is based on the minimum wage
- Plus up to 10 unpaid working days
- Each parent has the right
🔓 Exceptions
- Unpaid child leave is for a parent raising a child under 14
- The same right applies to the parent of a disabled child under 18
- The parent of a disabled child has an additional child leave entitlement
⚠️ Penalties & fines
The commonest error is thinking there are ten paid days. Paid child leave is three or six working days, and it is compensated at the minimum wage rate — not at your actual salary. The ten days are unpaid child leave, an entirely separate right. If your pay is well above the minimum, each day of child leave means a real drop in income — better to know that before payday rather than after. And one right that is badly under-used: child leave belongs to each parent separately, not to the family as a whole — so the days can be split. The parent of a disabled child has a further additional entitlement on top.
📎 Official sources
- Social Insurance Board · Child leave →
- Riigi Teataja · Employment Contracts Act →
- Tööelu portal · Types of leave →
❓ Frequently asked
How many paid days are there?
Three working days where the parent has one or two children under 14, and six working days where they have at least three children under 14 or at least one child under three.
How is child leave paid?
Compensation is based on the minimum wage rate rather than your actual salary. On a higher salary that means a noticeable drop in income for each day taken.
What is unpaid child leave?
A parent raising a child under 14, or a disabled child under 18, may take up to ten unpaid working days per calendar year. It is separate from the paid entitlement.
Do both parents have the right?
They do. Child leave belongs to each parent separately rather than to the family as a whole, so the days can be split between them and taken at different times.
Does a disabled child give more days?
It does. The parent of a disabled child has an additional child leave entitlement, with its own conditions and duration, applied for separately from ordinary child leave.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “child leave days estonia”
- “child leave paid minimum wage estonia”
- “unpaid child leave 10 days estonia”
- “child leave both parents estonia”
- “disabled child leave estonia”
- “applying for child leave estonia”