Bereavement leave in Finland: law, pay and sick leave

Finnish law has no separate bereavement leave (suruvapaa). The Employment Contracts Act gives no right to paid time off because of the death or funeral of a loved one, and it sets no number of days. The right to time off and pay comes from the collective agreement, the employment contract or the company's own policy. If grief takes away work ability, the absence is sick leave, based on incapacity for work assessed by a doctor.

This guide is for a founder or manager in a company of 5–25 people when an employee says that a loved one has died. Supporting work ability is covered in the guide to grief at work. If the person who died is your own employee, read death of an employee.

Is bereavement leave statutory in Finland?

No. Chapter 4 of the Employment Contracts Act 55/2001 has three sections that come close. None of them mentions a death or a funeral.

• Absence for compelling family reasons (section 7). An employee is entitled to temporary absence if their immediate presence is necessary because of an unforeseeable and compelling reason, due to an illness or accident, that has affected their family. In the example of Government Proposal 157/2000 the employee has to go to the scene of an accident or to hospital. The section says nothing about a period of mourning or the day of the funeral.
• Absence to care for a family member (section 7 a). The employer must try to arrange the work so that the employee can be away for a fixed period for the special care of a family member or another close person. The length is agreed.
• Carers' leave (section 7 b). An employee is entitled to at most five working days off per calendar year to assist a seriously ill or injured relative or a close person living in the same household, or to take part in their end-of-life care. The leave concerns the time before the death.

The employer has no obligation to pay salary for these absences (section 8).

Where does the right to bereavement leave come from?

Most often from the collective agreement: many include a term on the death of a close relative or the day of the funeral. A generally binding collective agreement must be followed even if the company is not a member of an employers' federation (Employment Contracts Act, chapter 2, section 7), and generally binding agreements are published on Finlex. If no collective agreement binds the company, the company decides its own policy.

An example. Under clause 16 of the generally binding collective agreement for senior salaried employees in the design and consulting sector 2025–2027, a short temporary absence because of the death of a close relative is not deducted from salary or annual holiday when the employment has lasted at least a month. Close relatives are the spouse, the employee's own and the spouse's parents, the children of the family, brothers, sisters and grandparents. The agreement gives no number of days: the length is set in relation to the situation and the travel time needed. In the collective agreement for employees in the technology industry 2025–2027, the right concerns the day of a close relative's funeral. Terms vary, so check your own agreement.

Death of a loved one and absence: law, decision and pay

When is the absence sick leave?

Grief is not an illness, and the death of a loved one does not in itself entitle an employee to sick leave. What counts is work ability, and a doctor assesses it, not the manager. According to Kela, being ill and being unfit for work are two different things, and sickness allowance requires that you are unfit for work.

• Pay and account. Sick pay is laid down in chapter 2, section 11 of the Employment Contracts Act: see sick pay. On request, the employee must give the employer a reliable account of their incapacity for work. The Act does not say whether the employee's own report is enough. That depends on the workplace's self-certification policy or the collective agreement; otherwise a sick leave certificate is needed, as the guide to sick leave in Finland explains.
• Kela. Sickness allowance is paid after a waiting period, which is usually the day of falling ill and the following nine working days.
• Part-time return. According to Kela, partial sickness allowance is a voluntary arrangement agreed by the employee and the employer: working hours are reduced to 40–60 per cent for at least 12 working days on the basis of a doctor's assessment.

According to the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman, occupational health care may not disclose an employee's health data, such as a diagnosis, to the employer without the employee's consent. StartHealth's Basic package includes remote doctor's appointments by video, chat or phone, and remote psychologist appointments on a doctor's assessment. The packages are on the services page.

How else can you arrange time off?

Funerals and the affairs of the estate are largely handled during office hours. Solace Care's guides to funeral planning in Finland and what to do when someone dies show what the employee has ahead of them. When the paid days are not enough, you can agree on annual holiday, the use of a flexitime balance, unpaid leave, remote work or shorter days.

Model bereavement policy for a small company

The model is for a company that is not bound by any collective agreement. It is not a legal requirement. The number of days is left open because the law gives no figure: choose it yourself.

Absence because of the death of a loved one

When an employee's loved one dies, the employee gets [number] paid days off. Loved ones are the spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents and the spouse's parents, and any other person the employee tells us was close to them.

The day of the funeral is a paid day off when it falls on a working day.

The employee reports the absence to [whom]. No certificate is asked for. The employee decides what the team is told.

If more time is needed, we agree on annual holiday, the use of a flexitime balance, unpaid leave, remote work or shorter days. If the employee is unable to work, we follow the sickness absence instructions.

Apply the written policy to everyone in the same way: the employer must treat employees equally (Employment Contracts Act, chapter 2, section 2).

Checklist for the manager

1. Offer your condolences and ask what the employee needs now. Solace Care's guide on how to handle grief at work helps you find the words.
2. Check the collective agreement and the employment contract. If neither has a term on this, follow the company policy or decide it now.
3. Say on the same day which days are paid, and agree on the day of the funeral.
4. Agree who covers the work and what the team is told. The employee decides what is said about the loss.
5. If the employee is unable to work, direct them to occupational health care or another doctor. A manager does not assess work ability or give care instructions.
6. Agree on the return to work.

StartHealth and Solace Care: help with the practical matters

StartHealth and Solace Care, a Nordic service for support after a loss, announced their partnership on 26 October 2026. According to the press release, employees of client companies that use StartHealth's Support package get support from Solace Care when they lose a loved one: a clear task list for the practical matters after a death and help with handling them. The offer confirms what is included for each company.

Occupational health care supports work ability and coping. Solace Care helps with the practical matters: funeral arrangements, the estate inventory, notifications to authorities and banks, and closing accounts and contracts. Solace Care is not health care and does not replace occupational health care, therapy or crisis help.

The goal of the partnership is that the employee spends less time on paperwork in the middle of grief and recovers and returns to work faster, and that the manager gets support for handling the situation. This is a goal, not a measured result. The service is presented on the page Solace Care for employers. If you would like to learn more about support for your team after a loss, ask for more help at support@solace.care.

Frequently asked questions