The white-collar union points out, among other things, that there is no lower age limit for who can take over parental days. This means that parental allowance can be handed over to people under the age of 18, which according to TCO could be abused in, for example, an honorary context where girls are forced to take care of younger children in the family or relatives.
“It is incomprehensible that the government is opening up new opportunities for welfare crimes,” says TCO’s chairman Therese Svanström.
The government has launched the proposal as an equality reform with the aim of increasing flexibility for parents. Social Security Minister Anna Tenje (M) does not share TCO’s concerns and says that it is not appropriate to pause the reform.
As for honor suppression, she believes that the new rules may actually be a way to detect it.
“If you can take care of your siblings with parental allowance, you will at least be in the state’s spotlight,” she tells DN.
The government’s objection is also that there is compulsory schooling in Sweden, which should prevent children of primary school age from being exploited.
Another risk that the TCO has pointed out is that an unemployed parent with no previous income can hand over days to a working person, who is entitled to a higher parental allowance, and that the new rules could open the door for criminals to force unemployed parents to hand over days to other persons who take the entire merit.