Sickness Allowance

Kela pays Sickness Allowance as compensation for loss of earnings caused by an illness. If your employer pays you salary while you are on sick leave, the compensation is paid to your employer. If your salary is smaller than the allowance, you will be paid the difference between the salary and the allowance.

Before receiving Sickness Allowance, you must complete a waiting period, which usually consists of the day of onset of work incapacity and the following 9 working days.

To qualify for the Sickness Allowance, you must be between 16 and 67 years of age and unfit for work on medical grounds. In addition, you must have been at work during the 3 months before you became unfit for work.

You can be paid Sickness Allowance if you are

  • an employee
  • self-employed person
  • full-time student
  • unemployed job-seeker
  • on sabbatical or
  • on alternation leave.

You can also receive Sickness Allowance if it is necessary for you to take a leave because of a quarantine situation or the donation of a vital organ or tissue.

Persons receiving a pension are not eligible for the Sickness Allowance with the exception of working pensioners under 68 who are medically unfit for the work they were performing.

Updated 10/22/12