Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure LV-2020-12/831 – Updated – measures in Latvia
Country | Latvia , applies nationwide |
Time period | Temporary, 21 March 2020 – 30 June 2021 |
Context | COVID-19 |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Income protection beyond short-time work
– Paid sick leave |
Author | Kriss Karnitis (EPC) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 10 May 2020 (updated 01 December 2020) |
In the view to contrast the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government approved some amendments to the law 'On Maternity and Sickness Insurance'. The purpose of the amendment is to support employers by establishing special arrangements for the payment of sickness benefits to face the 2020 health crisis. The law was amended on 20 March 2020, in force from 22 March 2020.
A person in sick leave since affected by COVID-19, or being in quarantine from 21 March to 30 June this year, will be granted with a paid sickness benefit for the period from the second day of incapacity for work. The sickness benefit will be granted in the amount of 80% of the beneficiary's average insurance contribution salary. Doctors prescribe sickness leave to people who have been diagnosed with the disease in the laboratory and to people who have been quarantined because they have been in contact with a COVID-19 patient.
If the illness is not related to COVID-19, the sick leaves are issued and paid according to the ordinary regulation. They are issued for the first 10 days of illness and paid for by the employer. The procedure for issuing new sickness leave applies also to self-employed persons who have paid social contributions at least from the minimum wage, and thus is socially insured.
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
16 November 2020 |
On 12 November 2020 the Government approved new amendments to the law On Maternity and Sickness Insurance. The amendments extends the period in which sickness benefit for COVID-19 sickness leave will be paid by state to 30 June 2021. The Government also ruled, that state will pay the benefit from the first day (previously from the second). The benefit is also available for contact persons who are in quarantine and for carers of the child who is ill with COVID-19. |
No information to date.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Applies to all workers | Does not apply to businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Social insurance |
National funds
|
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative | Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative |
Form | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
On 17 March 2020, the social partners jointly issued statement calling for immediate payment in amount of 100% of sickness leave from the state budget.
The social partner organisations indicated their full support for the government's measures to date and called on the Saeima, the government, the Bank of Latvia and other institutions to do their utmost to ensure that as many companies as possible survive the crisis.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Sickness leave paid by state in case of COVID-19 infection, measure LV-2020-12/831 (measures in Latvia), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/LV-2020-12_831.html
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