Politicians Support Time Off Work to Care for Elderly

The idea of giving employees the right to adjust their working life in order to take care of elderly family members is gaining ground in government.


The idea of granting employees either shortened hours at work or short-term leaves of absence to take care of ailing elderly relatives was put forth by Finland’s Social Forum. This is an annual gathering of NGO's, professional, religious, and political groups.

In their meeting last week, they presented a report to government that urged legislators to enact changes to make this possible.

The newspaper Kotimaa reported on Tuesday that the idea is almost unanimously supported by newly elected parliamentarians.

Outgoing Minister for Social Affairs and Health says this subject should be incorporated into the next round of negotiations for national wages and working conditions.

The National Coalition’s party council chair, Sari Sarkomaa, says that implementing this type of workplace flexibility should be included in the next government's agenda.

Care for the elderly rose to become one of the main concerns of voters in the general elections. With baby boomers pushing 70 and poised to leave the workforce in droves, the government will have to come up with ways to take care of them even as income tax revenue declines.

Thanks to : YLE News, Finland.