Special care allowance

Can I get special care allowance?

Special care allowance compensates for the loss of earnings, if you cannot work because you have to participate in the care or rehabilitation of your child who is ill or disabled. Special care allowance can be granted to parents of children under 16 years of age.

You can get special care allowance

• for the duration of the child’s care in a hospital or an outpatient clinic and related care at home as well as rehabilitation
• for the care and rehabilitation of your spouse's or partner's child or some other child if you effectively act as the child's parent.

If you work full-time, you can get special care allowance if you participate in the care or rehabilitation of the child for at least 4 hours (including travels).

If you work part-time, the time of participation in the care of the child is determined in the same proportion as for someone who works full-time, and therefore the time of participation can be shorter than 4 hours. 

Special care allowance can only be awarded for days that are completely unsalaried.

When is special care allowance available?

An application for the special care allowance must be accompanied by a medical certificate on form D identifying the child's illness. The medical certificate must also attest to the need of the child's parent to participate in the care.

The award of the special care allowance is affected by the age of the child, the place of care, the severity of the illness, and the stage of treatment:

• When the child is under 7 years of age, special care allowance can be granted for the time of the child’s care in a hospital or an outpatient clinic. If the child is cared for at home, special care allowance can be granted if the illness is severe and at a rapidly progressing or therapeutically challenging stage.   
• When the child is aged 7-15 years, special care allowance can be granted for both care at a hospital or an outpatient clinic and at home only if the child has a severe illness that is at a rapidly progressing or therapeutically challenging stage. 

Severe illnesses include for instance

• leukaemia or other malignant neoplasm
• a serious heart condition, injury or burn
• brittle diabetes or the initial stage of diabetes care
• severe mental disorder
• severe developmental disorder
• severe asthma
• severe rheumatoid arthritis
• other illness or disability comparable to the above in its severity.

You can also get special care allowance for the duration of a severely ill child’s school or day care on a trial basis if you have to be absent from work because of this. 

Special care allowance for the duration of the child’s rehabilitation

You can get special care allowance for the duration of the child’s rehabilitation when the child participates in rehabilitation due to illness or disability. Rehabilitation that entitles to special care allowance includes for instance

• medical rehabilitation during a period in hospital
• rehabilitation or adaptation training course based on law
• drawing up of rehabilitation assessment or rehabilitation plan.

Alternatively, you can be entitled to rehabilitation allowance for the duration of the child's rehabilitation. You can estimate the amount of the rehabilitation allowance by using the calculator (in Finnish).

There is no maximum payment period for the rehabilitation allowance, whereas the special care allowance has a maximum payment period. You should keep this in mind if there are a lot of days that entitle to special care allowance or if you estimate that there will be a lot of such days in the future.

How much is the special care allowance?

The special care allowance is calculated on the basis of the annual income.

Read more

• about the incomes that are included in the annual income
• about how the amount of the allowance can be calculated on the basis of the incomes for 3 months.

See also examples of special care allowance.

Use the calculator (in Finnish) to estimate the amount of special care allowance that you can get.

Payment of special care allowance

There is no waiting period that must be completed before qualifying for the special care allowance. It is paid in arrears for a specific number of working days at a time. In this context, working days are the days from Monday to Saturday. Mid-week holidays do not count as working days.

During hospital care, the special care allowance can be paid to both parents if the doctor considers it necessary for both parents to participate in the care.

The special care allowance can be paid to both parents at the same time also during rehabilitation.

Kela sends the data on special care allowance payments to the national incomes register within five days of the date of payment.

How to apply for special care allowance

1. Complete the form Special care allowance SV 89e (PDF).

   • Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the application directly in the browser, because some of the information may not be saved that way.
   • Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
   • Save the completed form to your device. Note that the application must be in PDF format.
   • Read our instructions for technical problems.
2. Send the application using the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish):

   • Log in to OmaKela and select Tee hakemus (File an application).
   • Select Sairastaminen ja kuntoutus (Sickness and rehabilitation) and Erityishoitoraha (Special care allowance).
   • When you send your application in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
3. Take photographs of the supporting documents and send them in OmaKela. Supporting documents you will need to enclose:

   • Medical certificate D, detailing the child’s illness and stating that it is necessary for the parent to participate in the care of the child. As an alternative to a medical certificate, you can for the time of rehabilitation file a certificate of attendance or some other documentation on participation in rehabilitation. The certificate of attendance or other documentation must include information on the rehabilitation and on the parent’s participation in the rehabilitation and indicate that the rehabilitation is based on law.
   • If you are an employee, a statement from the employer, verifying that you do not receive a wage or salary while you participate in the care of the child.
4. Visit OmaKela to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefit will be paid. You will also see reminders of, for instance, supporting documents missing from your application. The decision notice will also be sent to your home address unless you have opted out of paper mail.

If you cannot use OmaKela, send your application to Kela by post. Print out the form, sign it and send the form and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

The decision notice is only in Finnish or Swedish. If you need help with something, you can call one of our English language customer service number.

When to apply

Submit your application within 4 months of the first day of treatment for your child.

Notify Kela of changes that affect the special care allowance

Notify Kela of any possible changes to the information you have previously submitted without delay. Please inform us if

• the days of the child’s home care or hospital care change
• you no longer participate in the care of the child because you start working
• you receive annual holiday pay
• the child returns to school or day care on a full-time basis.

It is important to notify us of any changes, so that benefits are not paid without grounds. Benefits paid without grounds will be recovered from you later.

Do not forget to check how any changes in your circumstances will affect other benefits that you receive from Kela.