Paid absence due to sickness

The wage and daily cash benefit schemes concerning sickness vary considerably from country to country. In principle, everyone in gainful employment is entitled to compensation in the event of loss of income.

The rules governing compensation depend on the individual’s position in the labour market. Employees are usually better covered than self-employed people, and special rules apply to unemployed people.

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Employer period at the beginning of the period of sickness

At the beginning of a period of absence due to sickness, employers in all the Nordic countries have a statutory obligation to pay compensation, in the form of either statutory sick pay or sickness benefits. This is known as the employer period.

In all the countries, sickness benefits payable to employees are taxable. None offer a supplement for children.

: Sickness benefits are payable by the employer for the first 30 days, if the employee has been working for that employer for at least 74 hours during the past eight weeks prior to the absence due to sickness.
: The public authorities pay sickness benefits from the first day of absence, after which employers reimburse the Faroese social administration for the two first days of absence.
: Employers pay wages/salaries in full for the first day of sickness and for the subsequent nine working days, in accordance with the Act on Employment Contracts.
: All employees have a statutory right to sick pay for a period determined by their seniority. After one year of employment, an employee is entitled to one month’s sick pay in the event of absence due to sickness. After five years, this entitlement increases to three months.
: An employee who has been employed for at least four weeks is entitled to sickness benefits from the employer. The employer period is 16 days.
: Statutory sick pay is payable for 14 days. However, sick pay is not payable for the first day of sickness. Sick pay corresponds to 80 per cent of the wage/salary.

Sick pay under collective agreements, etc.

As a supplement to the statutory employer or sick pay period, wages/salaries are payable during absence due to sickness under collective bargaining agreements or special rules governing the public sector.

: Public-sector employees are paid in full during the entire period of absence due to sickness. Salaried employees in the private sector are typically paid in full during absence due to sickness. Other private-sector employees are paid during, e.g., the first nine weeks of absence. In some cases, they are not paid in full but only up to a maximum amount fixed by collective bargaining agreements.
: Public employees and most salaried employees in the private sector are paid in full during absence due to sickness.
: Employees in the public sector are paid in full for the first two months of absence due to sickness. In the private sector, collective bargaining agreements stipulate that full pay is payable for a period of one to three months, depending on the industry in question.
: Under collective bargaining agreements, employees are entitled to pay during absence due to sickness for a period exceeding the statutory minimum, depending on their seniority. The most favourable rules are for employees of central and local government who have been employed for more than 15 years, who may be paid in full for an entire year. Private-sector employers are obliged to pay 1 per cent of the wage costs to a supplementary daily cash benefit scheme administered by the various unions. Under those schemes, daily cash benefits are payable after the employer period (usually 120–150 days). These schemes mean that daily cash benefits from the public sickness insurance scheme are of little significance.
: Under collective bargaining agreements, public-sector employees are paid in full during absence due to sickness. They receive a supplement to the sickness benefits to compensate for the difference between the maximum amount of sickness benefits and their normal wages/salaries. In several cases, similar rules apply in the private labour market.
: Under collective bargaining agreements, all public-sector employees receive 90 per cent of their wage/salary during the first 15-90 days of the sickness period. Sickness benefits correspond to just under 80 per cent of income from work up to the income ceiling, but employers pay an additional 10 per cent, bringing the total up to 90 per cent.
Those earning more than the income ceiling are compensated at an amount corresponding to around 90 per cent of their earnings. For periods of absence due to sickness that exceed 90 days, public employees are compensated by their employers at about 80 per cent of their wage/salary – however, the employee in question may earn more than the ceiling amount.
Salaried employees in the private sector are also guaranteed compensation from their employers via collective bargaining agreements. After 90 days, these employees are entitled to compensation corresponding to 65 per cent of earnings that exceed the in-come ceiling amount specified under the sickness insurance scheme.

Paid sick leave

After the statutory employer period, paid sick leave is covered either by the public authorities or by a social insurance scheme. Those not entitled to wages/salaries or sickness benefits during the employer period are compensated according to the general rules on sickness benefits from the beginning of the period of sickness absence.

: Employees are entitled to paid sick leave from the local authorities, provided they have worked for at least 240 hours during the past 26 weeks prior to their absence. Individuals who qualify for unemployment benefits, have completed at least 18 months’ vocational training, are in paid work-training schemes, or are employed in flex jobs are also entitled to paid sick leave from the local authorities.
Self-employed people must have worked in their own business for at least six of the last 12 months, of which the latest month must be immediately prior to the period of sickness. For self-employed people, sickness benefits are calculated based on income from their own business.
: Sick leave is paid to employees and voluntarily insured people (self-employed people or those working from home). The income basis is usually the average income from the past five weeks prior to the absence. For self-employed people, the basis consists of income from their business during the past year. In both cases, sickness benefits must not exceed 80 per cent of the current agreement on wages for unskilled labour.
: Paid sick leave is payable both to those in work and to the self-employed, including students. If the annual income from work amounts to less than EUR 1 483, no income-related paid sick leave is payable. Up to an annual income of EUR 30 394, the compensation rate is 70 per cent, after which the rate is gradually reduced. People with low incomes – or none – receive the minimum paid sick leave.
: The public sickness benefit schemes are of little significance, as employers pay employees for sick leave during the first year. Employees are entitled to two days of sick leave for each month during their first year of employment. After one year, employees are entitled to two months’ sick leave per year; after five years of employment, employees are entitled to four months per year; and after 10 years, employees are entitled to six months of sick leave per year.
Employees working from home and students have a special right to public sickness benefits. Self-employed people have the same right as employees to public sickness benefits but can also take out insurance against absence due to sickness, normally for a period of six months.
: In order to qualify for sickness benefits from Folketrygden (the National Social Security Fund), the individual concerned must have been in work for at least four weeks immediately prior to falling ill. The income basis for sickness benefits must be at least 50 per cent of the basic amount of the annual income. This income ceiling does not apply to sickness benefits payable during the employer period. The maximum sickness benefit payable is six times the basic amount.
Self-employed people who lose any pensionable income due to lack of working capacity, sickness absence or injury have the same right as employees to sickness benefits. Compensation is payable from the 17th day of sickness, at 65 per cent of the sickness benefit basis.
Self-employed people can also take out sickness-benefit insurance, with coverage of either 65 per cent or 100 per cent from the first day of sickness absence, or 100 per cent from the 17th day. This entitlement ceases when sickness benefits have been paid for 250 days within the past three years.
: To be qualified for paid sick leave the individual have to be insured in Sweden, be unable to work their regular working hours and lose income due to the sickness.

: Where a paid employer period applies, there are no waiting periods for employees. For self-employed people and freelancers, there is a waiting period of 14 days, which may be reduced by voluntary insurance. A self-employed person may take out voluntary insurance in order to qualify for sickness benefits from the first or third day of absence.
The insurance premium is higher for self-employed people who wish to receive daily cash benefits from the first day of absence than for self-employed people who wish to receive daily cash benefits from the third day. For self-employed people who have taken out insurance, the daily cash benefits must total at least two-thirds of the maximum amount of daily cash benefits. Self-employed people may also take out insurance at a higher premium that entitles them to the full maximum daily cash benefit amount.
: There is no waiting period.
: Under the sickness insurance scheme, the waiting period consists of the day on which a person falls ill and the following nine working days. This corresponds to the statutory sick pay period for employees. Self-employed people with pension insurance are entitled to sickness benefits on the same terms as waged workers. However, a waiting period does apply, i.e., the day on which a person falls ill and the following three working days.
In accordance with the Farmers’ Pensions Act, farmers are entitled to sickness benefits from and including the fifth working day following the day on which they fall ill.
: The public insurance scheme stipulates a waiting period of two weeks.
: There is no waiting period. Employees are paid sickness benefits from the first day of sickness absence. Self-employed people can take out sickness-benefit insurance with coverage of either 65 per cent or 100 per cent from the first day of absence due to sick-ness, or 100 per cent from the 17th day.
: There is a minimum waiting period of one day for both sick pay and sickness benefits. However, for employees, the waiting period may be no more than 10 days over 12 months. Depending on the nature of their insurance policy, self-employed people may choose a waiting period of 7, 14, 30, 60 or 90 days.

Other conditions regarding sickness benefits

In Finland, Iceland and Norway, sickness benefits are normally payable for a maximum of one year, which may be divided into several separate periods. In Finland, it is also possible to receive partial sickness benefits for between 12 and 120 working days, provided that the individual concerned works part-time and is on sick leave from a full-time job. In all the countries, sickness benefits are taxable.

: The local authorities pay and administer sickness benefits. If an employer is paying a wage to the absent employee, sickness benefits are paid to the employer as a reimbursement. Central government reimburses the local authorities for expenditure on sick-ness benefits at a rate of 100 per cent for the first four weeks. After this period, and up to and including the eighth week, counted from the first day of absence, central government reimburses the expenditure at a rate of 50 per cent. From the ninth week, and up to and including the 52nd week, counted from the first day of absence, central government reimburses 30 per cent of expenditure on sickness benefits.

If the person who is off sick gradually returns to work during the above-mentioned period, central government reimburses 50 per cent of the local authorities' expenditure on sickness benefits from the point in time at which the person in question returns to work. After the 52nd week, the local authorities cover all expenditure. In some cases, this period may be extended beyond 52 weeks.
: Sickness benefits are payable for a maximum of 40 weeks in a 12-month period, after which social-assistance benefits are paid. For those in receipt of disability pension, the maximum period for sickness benefits has been halved to 20 weeks. Recipients of the highest level of disability pension or retirement pension, or people aged 70+, are not entitled to sickness benefits. The social administration pays the sickness benefits.
: Sickness benefits are usually payable for a maximum of 364 days over 15 months. In some cases, this period may be extended. Assessments of reduced working capacity and entitlement to sickness benefits are conducted according to what is called a “rehabilitation chain”. During the first 90 days, the assessment focuses on the insured individual’s capacity to undertake normal work. After 90 days, it is based on their ability to carry out any kind of work for their current employer. After 180 days, the insured individual is only entitled to sickness benefits if s/he is unable to do any kind of work. It is possible to defer the capacity assessment in exceptional circumstances, or if it is in some other way deemed unreasonable.
Self-employed people are compensated during the first 180 days. After that an assessment is conducted of their general fitness for work. For unemployed people, an assessment is conducted of their general fitness for work from the first day of sickness.

Length of sickness periods

The length of sickness absence periods varies considerably from country to country. Since 2010, the shortest periods have been in Iceland, the longest in Norway. The figures have remained relatively constant in Denmark and Finland. A considerable decrease in absence due to sickness has been observed in Sweden since 2003, following a change in the rules and the introduction of an activity requirement in the sickness benefit scheme. However, this has also resulted in an increase in part-time absence due to sickness.

In all countries, women account for more of the absence due to sickness than men.

Daily cash benefits in the event of industrial injury or occupational disease

In all countries, benefits are payable in the event of industrial injury or occupational disease. Short-term benefits may take the form of sickness benefits or equivalent benefits. In Finland, industrial injury benefits are payable, and usually correspond to the injured party’s normal wages.

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Editorial group for NOSOSCO welfare statistics

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