Changes to Estonian terminology and payment of maternity benefits from 1 April

Changes to Estonian terminology and payment of maternity benefits from 1 April
A reform of the parental benefits system will enter into force from 1 April 2022. Maternity leave will be renamed in Estonian from ‘rasedus- ja sünnituspuhkus’ to ’ema vanemapuhkus’, but the name will remain unchanged in English. The new benefit will continue to be called maternity benefit in English (in Estonian, maternity benefit will be renamed from ‘sünnitushüvitis’ to ’ema vanemahüvitis’). Maternity benefit will henceforth be paid by the Social Insurance Board instead of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund.


Women who are entitled to maternity benefits (‘sünnitushüvitis’ in Estonian) before 1 April 2022 will be paid by the Health Insurance Fund under the current procedure. This means that if the baby is due before (and including) 9 June 2022, maternity benefit (‘sünnitushüvitis’ in Estonian) will be paid based on the old law. If the baby is due on 10 June 2022 or later, the mother will be eligible for maternity benefits (‘vanemahüvitis’ in Estonian) from 1 April 2022 and such benefits will be paid by the Social Insurance Board.


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