Sick Pay and Work Related Injury

Social insurance is an important part of the Swedish social security system. Swedish social insurance applies to everyone who lives or works in Sweden. It provides financial protection for families and children, for people with disability and in the event of sickness, occupational injury, and old age. Through Sweden’s membership in the EU you may also be entitled to social insurance benefits in other EU countries.

When a Worker Becomes Sick

In order to be able to get compensation from Försäkringskassan you must always fulfil certain requirements. When you apply for the benefit you should therefore provide certain information to Försäkringskassan which in its turn assesses the information and decides whether or not you will receive compensation.

Sick Pay

An employer is liable to pay sick pay to workers who cannot work owing to sickness. The right of a worker to sick pay applies from the first day of their employment. In the case of terms of employment shorter than one month a worker must, in order to be entitled to sick pay, have started the employment and thereafter been employed for a consecutive period of at least 14 days before the sickness occurred.

Note that all employment with the same employer is aggregated to satisfy the 14-day period, as long as the period between such employment does not exceed 14 days. If a worker has several employers, every employer must pay sick pay during the sick pay period. The sick pay period is computed from and including the day when your worker, completely or partly, cannot work owing to sickness and the 13 following days. Thereafter, your worker can obtain sickness benefit from Försäkringskassan. As an employer you are liable to give notice to Försäkringskassan if your worker is still sick after the end of the sick pay period.

Amount of Sick Pay

A worker has, according to the Sick Pay Act, a waiting period. This means that no allowance is paid for the first day of the sick pay period. For the allowance days 2-14 of the sick pay period, sick pay represents 80 per cent of pay and other employment benefits that the worker lost owing to the sickness.

Sick Report and Declaration

A worker should always make a sick report directly to the employer - the employer is required to report the sickness to Försäkringskassan. The worker should also provide a written declaration that they have been sick and state the extent to which they could not work owing to the sickness. However, note that this declaration need not contain details of diagnosis.

Sick for More Than Seven Days

If a worker is sick for more than seven days, they must submit a medical certificate to their employer. The certificate need not contain details of diagnosis (Note that this may not apply in certain collective labor agreements). If there are special reasons Försäkringskassan may, on the employer's request, decide that the worker should produce a medical certificate earlier than from and including the eighth day. Försäkringskassan can also on its own volition decide to require this.

Does the medical certificate mean that the worker is on registered sick leave?

The medical certificate is provided so that the employer and Försäkringskassan should be able to assess whether the worker is entitled to sick pay and sickness benefit. The certificate represents a documentary base and does not give the worker an automatic right to sick pay or sickness benefit. The doctor should state in the certificate how the worker’s medical condition affects her or his capacity to work. The tasks that the worker is not capable of performing owing to the sickness should be clearly indicated.

Can sick pay be denied?

An employer is not liable to pay sick pay from and including the eighth day if the worker does not submit a medical certificate showing that he or she is sick and cannot work. The basic precondition to be entitled to sick pay is that the worker’s capacity to work owing to the sickness or injury is so impaired that they are prevented from performing their ordinary work.

Special Rule in the Event of Recurrent Sickness

There is a rule on recurrent sickness in the Sick Pay Act. This means that if a worker started to work again after their leave and becomes sick once again within five days, the new sickness period is counted as a continuation of the earlier period. This means that the worker should not have a new waiting period and is also relevant when determining the length of the sick pay period.

Collective Bargaining Agreement

The detailed calculation of the amount of the sick pay may be governed by a collective bargaining agreement. A collective bargaining agreement must be concluded or approved on the employees’ side at federation level. By a collective bargaining agreement the employer and employee and the other parties can also agree that:

• The declaration and/or medical certificate should contain details of diagnosis, and that
• The employer can request a medical certificate already earlier than from and including the eighth day.

Travel Allowance Instead of Sick Pay or Sickness Benefit

In certain cases a worker will receive a travel allowance instead of sick pay or sickness benefit. This applies if an employer or Försäkringskassan considers that he or she can work but cannot get to work in the ordinary way. The employer or Försäkringskassan will then pay reasonable compensation for the employee's additional expenses for travel to and from work.

Benefit for Care of Closely Related Person

If a worker refrains from gainful work in order to care for a closely related person who is seriously ill, he or she can obtain compensation from Försäkringskassan in the form of ‘benefit for care of closely related person’. The worker can also receive benefit for care of closely related person if such person is cared for at a medical establishment. Relatives are regarded as closely related persons, and also other persons who have a close relationship with the worker, for example friends or neighbors. A seriously ill person means such condition of sickness which involves a manifest threat to the sick person’s life. Both the worker her/himself and the sick person must be covered by social insurance. This means that the worker must work in Sweden and the sick person must work or live in Sweden. The care must also be provided in Sweden.

How long?

Benefit for care of closely related person can be paid for at most 60 days in total for each person cared for. In the event of care of someone who has been infected in connection with the use of blood products within the Swedish health and medical care services or in certain cases if the person has been infected by their wife/husband or cohabitee, benefit for care of closely related person can be paid for at most 240 days.

Entitlement to Leave

A worker is legally entitled to leave from work during the period they receive benefit for care of closely related person.

When a Worker is Injured at Work

Occupational Injury Insurance

A worker who is injured at the workplace or on the way to or from work can get compensation from the occupational injury insurance. This insurance applies for everyone who has gainful work; employees, contractors and self-employed. Note that the insurance also applies to certain students who are subject to special risks during their education.

What is the responsibility of an employer?

The employer should report injuries to Försäkringskassan. The employee should also contact the safety officer, who should also sign the report to show that they are aware that a report has been made. The safety officer should also retain a copy of the report. It is important that all occupational injuries are reported to Försäkringskassan, who will in its turn send a copy of the report to the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Besides being used as a basis for compensation, the details contained in the report are also used for occupational injury statistics. If a worker is on registered sick leave owing to an occupational injury they will receive sick pay or sickness benefit as normal.