As of July 2024, Sweden has expanded its parental leave laws, allowing grandparents to take paid time off to care for their grandchildren.
This initiative comes as part of Sweden’s continuous efforts to support working parents and ensure strong family networks.
Swedish parents can now transfer up to 45 days of their paid parental leave to grandparents or other caregivers, like friends or neighbours, allowing them to receive a paid allowance for looking after the child. Single parents, who often face additional challenges in balancing work and caregiving, are eligible to transfer up to 90 days. To qualify, the recipient must not be working or studying during this period.
This law is designed to ease the burden on working parents, especially during the early stages of a child’s life, by enabling trusted family members to step in. As a result, many Swedish families will enjoy greater flexibility, allowing parents to return to work sooner while keeping childcare within the family. This can be a game-changer for households where both parents are employed, as Sweden boasts one of the highest workforce participation rates globally, with nearly 90 per cent of people aged 25 to 64 working. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency told Euro News that 1,456 people in Sweden had transferred days to someone who was not the other guardian by the end of August this year.
The benefits of paid parental leave in Sweden for expats
For expatriates living in Sweden, this progressive law offers even more reason to consider Sweden as an ideal destination for family life. Whether you’re an international worker or someone with family roots in Sweden, knowing that you can rely on extended family for childcare – without losing income – can make life a little easier.
As more countries across Europe begin to reconsider family leave policies, Sweden continues to set a strong example of how governments can effectively support families. For grandparents who might have been eager to spend more time with their grandchildren, this offers not just quality bonding time but also financial support for their efforts.
