If you are, or will become a parent
As an entrepreneur, you can receive compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency if you take time off to care for your child. How large the compensation will be is dependent on the salary or surplus you take out of your company.
Sole trader, trading company or limited partnership
If you are or will become a parent, the same rules apply weather you are self-employed or employed. The only difference if you own a company is that the Swedish Social Insurance Agency calculates your sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI) based on your expected income.
Your income is the company's profit after deductions and before tax. Examples of deductions made to calculate results are deductions for costs, fees and provisions for accruals. It is the Swedish Tax Agency that determines the expected income with help of your tax declaration.
Limited company
If you are or will become a parent, the same rules apply weather you are self-employed or employed. Your parental benefit is based on the salary you receive from your limited company. This means that if you take out a low salary or no salary at all, you can only receive compensation at the guarantee level.
Newly registered companies
If you have a start-up company and low income, you can receive a sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI) that corresponds to what an employee with the same tasks, education and experience would have received. It is called the start-up phase and is valid for three years. It is the Swedish Social Insurance Agency that decides whether you are entitled to a start-up phase.
The parental insurance is flexible
You do not have to take out whole days with parental benefit or care for sick child (vab). You can take parental benefit or vab for part of the day and work the rest of the day in your company. If you applied for parental benefit one day but then had to work, you can easily change your parental benefit on the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's My pages.
Advice for entrepreneurs who need to care for a sick child (vab)
- You can stay home to care for your child or “vabba” part of the day and the other parent can stay home the other part.
- If you or the other parent are unable to stay home, a neighbour or relative may stay home instead of you.
- Remember that you cannot receive compensation for “vab” from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency at the same time as you work in your company.
Care of a sick child (vab) at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
Guides and planning tools
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s “Waiting for a child guide” (Vänta barn-guide) contains easy-to-read articles and tips on parental benefits, child allowances and the 10 days at the birth of a child. The guide gives you a personal checklist and reminds you when you need to register and apply. The guide is made for both the pregnant person and the partner. You must log in to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website to access the guide.
On the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website you can use the tool Calculate parental benefit to see how long you can be on leave and how much money you get every month. The tool is in Swedish.
Tools and services for parents to be at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
Calculate parental benefit at forsakringskassan.se (in Swedish)