You can now apply for partial care allowance for autumn 2025

Many families have a child who will soon start school. Parents can get partial care allowance for the care of their child who is in the 1st or 2nd year of school, if the parent works 1-30 hours per week. All the hours you work as an employee or self-employed person or under a service contract count as your working hours.

Agree on shorter working hours with the employer

Parents can get partial care allowance, if they agree with their employer on a maximum of 30 hours of work per week due to child care. Partial care allowance is only paid for weeks of work. If the parent does not work every week, they cannot be granted partial care allowance. Partial care allowance is not paid for a shorter period than one month. The allowance period does not have to start from the beginning of the month.

Parents can also agree with their employer on partial care leave, but partial care allowance can be granted even if the parent is not on care leave. The leave must be agreed on at least two months before the start of the leave.

Partial care allowance is paid starting from August

Kela can pay partial care allowance starting from 1 August in the year when the child starts school. For children who are within the scope of extended compulsory education, it can also be paid for the preschool year and the third year of primary school.

The partial care allowance is EUR 108.15 per month, and it is taxable income. Partial care allowance is only paid to the same parent for one child at a time even if there are several children eligible for the benefit in the family.

Both parents can be paid partial care allowance concurrently if they look after the child at different times. Partial care allowance can also be granted to a non-custodial parent.

Changing circumstances affect the partial care allowance

Partial care allowance can be paid at the same time as private day care allowance or if the child attends municipal early childhood education.

You cannot get partial care allowance if you

• are on paid leave, on sick leave, on strike or laid off, and are absent from work for a consecutive period of more than 4 weeks
• become incapable of work
• get partial sickness allowance
• get child home care allowance and look after the child yourself
• get daily allowances for parents at the same time
• get flexible care allowance. However, the other parent can at the same time get flexible care allowance for another child.
• have registered as unemployed and looking for work.

Partial care allowance can also be applied for retroactively. It can be backdated for six months. Partial care allowance is not paid for a shorter period than one month.