An employee is entitled to leave from employment for a period in which he/she is entitled to pregnancy, special pregnancy or parental allowance. An employee is eligible for child-care leave until the child reaches the age of three. Part-time and temporary child-care leave as well as an absence for compelling family reasons also count as family leave. An employer may in certain cases refuse to grant part-time child-care leave.

Under the Employment Contracts Act, the employer is not required to pay wages for the duration of family leave or a temporary absence. However, many collective agreements specify that wages must continue to be paid during maternity leave and short-term absences due to a child falling ill (temporary child-care leave).

Study leave is a flexible opportunity for employed persons to study further. The right to study leave is provided for in the Study Leave Act, which applies to both private and civil service employment relationships.

A person on study leave is exempt from work for the purpose of training or study, but his/her employment relationship continues for the duration of the study leave. Study leave is unpaid unless otherwise provided for in the relevant collective agreement or otherwise agreed by employer and employee.

Job alternation leave is an arrangement where employer and employee agree that the employee will take time off and the employer undertakes to hire an unemployed jobseeker for the duration of the leave. Job alternation leave is an opportunity for an employee to take an extended period of leave that he/she may use in any way he/she wishes.

Part-time pension is a way for employees and entrepreneurs to lighten their work load in the final years of their careers. Part-time pension must be agreed on with the employer; it is not automatically granted.

The requirements for being granted a part-time pension differ somewhat in the private and public sectors. There are also special features in part-time pensions for agricultural entrepreneurs and seamen.