Falling ill

If you are prevented from doing your job by an illness or accident, you are entitled to sick pay. If requested, you must provide your employer with a reliable explanation of your incapacity for work.

If you have been employed for at least one month at the time of falling ill, you are legally entitled to sick pay for the day of falling ill (if it is a working day) and the workdays in the following nine weekdays. If your employment has lasted less than a month, half of your salary is paid for the same period. Collective agreements always contain better provisions on sick pay than legislation, so check your collective agreement first.

If your illness continues and the employer’s obligation to pay wages ceases, you can apply for a daily allowance paid by the Kela social insurance institution in accordance with the Health Insurance Act. The employer’s obligation to pay wages under the Employment Contracts Act ends when the employee is entitled to a daily allowance under the Health Insurance Act at the latest.

An employee is not entitled to sick pay if they have caused the incapacity for work intentionally or by gross negligence.

At the request of your employer, you must provide a reliable statement of your incapacity for work, such as a certificate issued by a doctor or nurse. Stipulations of collective agreements and the company’s practice influence the kind of statement is required from the employee. For example, you might have to present a clarification on your incapacity for work that your employer approves as a prerequisite for the sick pay. The employer can also have their own practices on presenting clarifications that concern all employees.

You have the right to postpone your annual leave from the first day of sickness if you are incapable for work at the beginning or during your annual leave due to an illness, accident or childbirth.

If you fall ill during your holiday, ask your employer to postpone the holiday immediately. Provide the employer with a proper clarification of the illness or accident, such as a medical certificate. You should also check your collective agreement’s provisions related to illnesses.

The period of incapacity for work due to an illness may coincide with another reason for absence. Absence is primarily considered to be caused by the first reason. For example, in the case of layoffs, your absence is considered to be due to an illness and you are paid sick pay if you were ill at the time of the layoff notification and still unable to work when the layoff period begins.

If you fall ill after the start of the layoff period, the layoff is the reason for your absence and your employer will not pay sick pay for overlapping periods of illness and layoff. If you fall ill after the layoff notice, you will receive sick pay until the layoff begins.

Can I apply for Kela’s partial sickness allowance?

If you are employed and your work ability has been reduced due to illness, but according to a doctor’s assessment you are able to work reduced hours, you may apply for Kela’s partial sickness allowance.
In addition to reduced work ability, granting the allowance requires that you agree with your employer on reducing your working hours for the period for which the partial sickness allowance is applied, i.e. for a fixed term. The agreement on reduced working hours must be conditional, meaning that it only enters into force if Kela grants the partial sickness allowance.

What if I am not eligible for partial sickness allowance?

If your reduced work ability is assessed as long-term, you may apply for a partial disability pension from your earnings-related pension provider. A partial disability pension is granted based on a medical assessment made by the pension provider, either as a fixed-term partial rehabilitation allowance or as a permanent partial disability pension.

Are Kela and the earnings-related pension provider bound by the treating physician’s assessment?

Kela and the earnings-related pension provider are not bound by the treating physician’s assessment of the reduction in work ability or its duration. They may reject an application for partial sickness allowance or partial disability pension, or grant a positive decision for a shorter period than applied for.

How should the employer arrange work when I need to reduce my working hours due to a partial disability pension or partial sick leave?

The employer must primarily arrange work so that you are able to reduce your working hours in order to move to a partial disability pension or to work part-time during a period of partial sick leave, i.e. during the partial sickness allowance period.
When agreeing on reduced working hours, both your needs and the employer’s production and service requirements must be taken into account (Section 15, subsection 3 of the Working Hours Act).

The reduction in working hours must be agreed so that your part-time work stays within the working time limits of the partial sickness allowance or the earnings limits of the partial disability pension. During the partial sickness allowance period, the reduction in working hours is agreed using a form confirmed by Kela, which is submitted to Kela.

Is it possible to reduce my working hours in order to continue working longer?

Under Section 15, subsection 3 of the Working Hours Act, the employer has an obligation to seek to enable part-time work also when you wish to move to a partial early old-age pension, or if you have reached the age of 55, have been employed by the same employer for at least three years, and wish to reduce your regular working hours.

Partial sickness allowance
Partial rehabilitation allowance and partial disability pension
Partial early old-age pension