Factsheet for measure
SE-2020-14/562
–
Updated
– measures in Sweden
Central government assumes sick pay responsibility
Staten tar sjuklöneansvaret
Background information
The central government will temporarily assume the entire cost of all sick pay during April and May. The aim of the measure is to ease the financial pressure on Swedish employers, who would normally bear the economic burden for the first two weeks of an individual employee's sick leave compensation. The measure is regulated in the Act (2020:190) on changes in the Act (1991:1047) on sick pay (Lag (2020:109) om ändring i lagen (1991:1047) om sjuklön).
Content of measure
Swedish employers are, under normal circumstances, protected against high costs for sick leave. Normally, employers are reimbursed for sick pay costs exceeding a certain share of the wage costs (maximally SEK 250,000 per year). But due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the parliament and government have decided to relieve all employers of the entire sick pay responsibility during April and May 2020.
Under the new system, employers pay out sick leave compensation as usual to their employees. They do not need to apply directly for the reimbursement but declare sick pay costs in their usual PAYE tax return for these months. The Swedish Tax Agency then forwards the information to the Social Insurance Agency, which then compensates the employer.
Self-employed persons will also be compensated in that they can receive standardized sick pay for days 1-14.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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07 December 2021
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Due to a new wave of COVID-19 cases, the Government proposes that the state will assume higher sick pay responsibility than in normal circumstances. The measure will be in force until the end of March 2022 and it can be applied retroactively to December 2021.
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17 September 2021
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The Government has decided to end this measure since 70% of the population is now vaccinated. As of 1 October 2021, the central government no longer assumes sick pay responsibility.
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31 March 2021
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The new form of the measure introduced in September 2020 (whereby employers are compensated for sick pay exceeding what would be expected under normal circumstances) has been extended until 30 April 2021. A proposal on extension to include also May and June 2021 is currently pending.
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25 September 2020
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Between 31 August 2020 and 31 December 2020, the state will no longer cover the entire costs but it will continue to cover a higher part of the sick pay than it normally would. The compensation rate is dependent on the employer's total salary costs and it is higher in the case of small companies.
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Use of measure
All employers in Sweden are covered by this measure. It is too early to say how many will be receiving compensation, but the number is expected to be very high.
Target groups
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Workers
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Businesses
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Citizens
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Does not apply to workers
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Applies to all businesses
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Does not apply to citizens
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Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Social insurance
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Informed
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Informed
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Form
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Not applicable
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Not applicable
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Unknown
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Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level
Involvement
No information available.
Views and reactions
No information available.
Sources
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15 April 2020: Ersättning för sjuklönekostnader
(www.forsakringskassan.se)
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25 September 2020: Measures that reinforce social security during the COVID-19 pandemic (Åtgärder på socialförsäkringsområdet med anledning av nya coronaviruset)
(www.regeringen.se)
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13 January 2021: Åtgärder inom sjukförsäkringen med anledning av nya coronaviruset
(www.regeringen.se)
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17 September 2021: Fortsatt beredskap för att hantera COVID-19 pandemin [Continued preparedness to handle the COVID-19 pandemic]
(www.regeringen.se)
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07 January 2022: Regeringen presenterar åtgärdsplan för införande av fler smittskyddsåtgärder från och med 8 december 2021 [The Government proposes new support measures]
(www.regeringen.se)
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11 January 2022: Regeringen förlänger krisstöd till företag [Government extends crisis support for companies]
(www.regeringen.se)
