VAB (vård av barn), the temporary parental benefit for caring for a sick child, covers children from eight months to twelve years, pays just under 80 percent of your income up to a cap, and can be taken for up to 120 days per child per year. You report it to Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) the same day, and from the eighth consecutive day a medical certificate is needed. Here are the rules, and what to do on the days when neither of you can stay home.
VAB is the system that lets parents in Sweden stay home with a sick child without losing their job. But it does not cover everything: it is no help to a parent with a meeting that cannot be moved, it does not replace your full salary, and it runs out. At half past six on a Tuesday morning in Nacka, with a two-year-old at 38.6 and two calendars that are both full, the problem is not the rules but who rings their boss. Here is how it works and how you fill the gaps.
The rules in brief
| What applies | |
|---|---|
| Child's age | 8 months to the day before their 12th birthday. 12 to 15 with a doctor's statement, longer in cases of serious illness. |
| Pay | Just under 80 percent of your sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI), up to a cap set by Försäkringskassan |
| Number of days | Up to 120 per child per calendar year |
| Reporting | Through Försäkringskassan's online service, the same day you are at home. Claims can be made retrospectively within 90 days. |
| Certificate | From the eighth consecutive day, from a doctor or nurse |
| Who can take VAB | Parents, and a parent can transfer it to another person, such as a grandmother, who takes time off work |
| Part days | You can take VAB for a quarter, half, three quarters or a full day |
| Waiting day | None. Paid from the first day, unlike sick pay |
Situations that surprise many people
- The child is well but the parent who is usually at home is ill. Then the other parent can take VAB. That also applies when a parent on parental leave falls ill.
- Doctor's appointments and BVC. You can take VAB for these if the child needs a parent to go with them. BVC is the child health clinic every family is enrolled in.
- Förskola closed because of an outbreak. You normally cannot take VAB for this if the child is well. Förskola is the municipal preschool, from age one.
- One child ill, the sibling well. VAB covers the sick child. The sibling goes to förskola.
- You are self-employed. Same rules, but the pay is based on your SGI, which you need to have had established.
- The child falls ill in the middle of the day. You can take VAB for the rest of the day, a half or a quarter, and work the morning as usual.
Common misunderstandings
- "You have to be at home all day." No, VAB can be taken for parts of a day, and you can work from home during the hours the child sleeps if your employer agrees. But you are not paid VAB for hours you work.
- "The days are per family." They are per child. Two children means two accounts.
- "You need a certificate straight away." A certificate is only needed from the eighth consecutive day. For the first days your own report is enough.
- "Grandma cannot get anything." Yes she can: if she takes time off work or unemployment benefit, you can transfer VAB to her. A retired grandmother, on the other hand, gets no pay, because she is not giving anything up.
- "You cannot take VAB if the child just has a bit of a cold." It is the child's need for care that decides, not the diagnosis. A child the förskola has sent home is allowed to stay home.
How to report it
- Log in to Mina sidor (My pages) at Försäkringskassan the same day.
- Report that you are at home with the child, and which child.
- Apply for the payment once the period is over, within 90 days at the latest.
- From the eighth consecutive day: send in a certificate.
- Tell your employer as usual. Most want to know the same morning.
How to plan for the winter
The first förskola winter is the worst. A child who started förskola in August is often at home every third week until March, and if you have not agreed in advance how you share it, every morning becomes a negotiation. Sit down one Sunday in October and go through the options:
| Option | Works well when | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| VAB, shared equally | Both of you have flexible jobs and no boss who sighs | The loss of income above the cap, and that it runs out |
| VAB, the lower earner takes more days | A big pay gap and the cap hits one of you hard | Unfair in the long run, and the one at home loses out at work |
| A grandparent | They live nearby and are fit enough to handle a three-year-old with a stomach bug | They get ill too, and they have lives of their own |
| Working from home with the child | The child is lively but contagious, and the work can be done at the kitchen table | Neither the job nor the child gets all of you, and no VAB pay for hours worked |
| A nanny the child knows | A meeting that cannot be moved, day four of a cold | It costs, even with RUT, and only works if she is free |
When VAB is not enough
There are days when neither of you can stay home: an operation, an exam, a meeting that decides something. And there are children who are home for a fortnight with a cold that will not shift, when the VAB pay and your employer's patience run out at the same time. Then the options are a grandparent, a friend, or a nanny the child already knows. With us, your regular nanny can take a sick day in your home if she is free: a calm child on the sofa with an adult they trust. It is not VAB pay, it is a service with the RUT deduction (RUT is the Swedish 50 percent tax deduction for household services, taken off the invoice directly), and for many families it is what makes the week add up. Read more in A nanny when your child is sick.
A sick child with a nanny needs three things: that the child already knows her, that it is not something that needs medical care, and that you can be reached by phone all day. A nanny does not take a baby with a high Fever in children or a child who is vomiting every twenty minutes. She takes day three of a cold, a child who is too snotty for förskola but lively enough to build Lego.
How we do it with our families
Several of our families have a standing arrangement: if the child falls ill on a day when both parents have something that cannot be moved, they contact Aleksandra before seven in the morning, and we see whether the nanny or someone else can take the day. A family in Sundbyberg rang one Wednesday in February: the five-year-old had coughed all night, the father had an operation booked and the mother a court hearing. Sanna, who comes to them every Thursday, was free that morning and took the day from eight to three. She kept the child indoors, made soup, read, and wrote on the note when the medicine was given and how much the five-year-old had drunk. It does not always work, but it works more often than you would think when the nanny already knows the child.
This text is general information and does not replace advice from BVC (the child health clinic), your vårdcentral (local health centre) or 1177 (the national healthcare helpline). If you are worried about your child, call 1177. In an emergency, call 112.
Would you like a nanny who comes the same days every week and whom the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your own home, and we will work out a quote for your hours.
Read more: Fever in children · Parental leave in Sweden · A nanny when your child is sick · Prices
Frequently asked questions
How old can the child be for VAB?
From eight months to the day before their twelfth birthday. For children between twelve and fifteen, a doctor's statement that the child needs care is required, and in cases of serious illness it can apply for longer. Children under eight months are normally covered by ordinary parental benefit instead, except when the child is in hospital or the parent at home falls ill themselves.
How much do you get paid?
Just under 80 percent of your sickness benefit qualifying income, up to a cap that Försäkringskassan sets every year. If you earn more than the cap you get nothing for that part, and that is where many Stockholm families lose the most. Some employers top it up through collective agreements, so check yours. Always check current amounts with Försäkringskassan.
How many VAB days do you get?
Up to 120 days per child per year. Most families use ten to twenty, but the first förskola winter can mean more. The days are shared between the parents and can also be transferred to someone else who looks after the child and takes time off their own work, such as a grandmother. It is per child, so two children ill at the same time count on separate accounts.
Can you take VAB when the other parent is ill?
Yes. If the parent who normally looks after the child falls ill and cannot do it, the other parent can be paid to stay home with the child, even if the child is well. That also applies when the child is ill and the parent at home cannot cope, or when a parent on parental leave becomes too ill to look after the baby.
Can an employer say no to VAB?
No. The right to stay home with a sick child is in the Parental Leave Act and needs no permission, only that you let them know as soon as you can. Nor may your employer treat you less favourably for having taken VAB. What is reasonable is that you agree on how you notify them, who takes over your tasks and whether you can work a few hours from home while the child sleeps.