If you become ill while enrolled in upper secondary education
If you become ill and cannot study, you can take sick leave. If your sick leave lasts for more than 10 working days (Monday to Saturday), you can apply for sickness allowance. You need a medical certificate to qualify for sickness allowance.
You can be paid sickness allowance if you are at least 18. If you were born in 2007 or 2008, you are an exception and you can be paid sickness allowance even if you are not 18 yet.
How do you apply for sickness allowance and how much can you get?
Put your school transport subsidy on hold
If your sick leave lasts for more than 2 weeks and you do not travel to your school daily during this time, tell us about it by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) or by calling 020 634 2550. We will stop the payment of your school transport subsidy either for the duration of your sick leave or completely, depending on your circumstances.
When your illness affects your study progress
If you do not make enough progress in your studies because you are ill, we may ask you to explain your lack of progress. If we do, you will need to submit a medical certificate or some other corresponding proof of your illness. You may also need to submit a medical certificate if your financial aid period ends and you have to apply for an extension to your student financial aid (linkki?).
You cannot be paid student financial aid and sickness allowance at the same time
If you apply for sickness allowance, you can be paid student financial aid right up until we grant you sickness allowance. You cannot be paid student financial aid and sickness allowance at the same time. We will stop the payment of your student financial aid automatically, so you do not need to ask us to stop paying it to you.
If your student financial aid has included the student housing supplement, you can apply to be paid general housing allowance instead for the duration of your sick leave. The housing supplement for students is part of your student financial aid. You cannot be paid student financial aid at the same time as sickness allowance. That is why you cannot get housing supplement during your sick leave.
You can be paid student financial aid if you study and work at the same time and you have to take leave from work due to your illness. We will pay your employer sickness allowance in compensation for the sick pay your employer pays you during your sick leave. The sickness allowance we pay to your employer does not affect your student financial aid. However, you must make sufficient progress in your studies if you are paid student financial aid.
From student financial aid to sickness allowance
If you are paid sickness allowance for at least 18 days (Monday to Sunday) in the first month of your illness, we will stop the payment of your student financial aid from the beginning of the month and deduct any study grant that has already been paid to you in that month from your sickness allowance.
If you are paid sickness allowance for under 18 days in the first month of your illness, we will stop the payment of your student financial aid from the beginning of the next month. The amount of study grant paid to you during the same period of time as you are paid sickness allowance will be deducted from your sickness allowance.
Example
19-year-old Aino breaks her wrist. A doctor prescribes 8 weeks of sick leave for her from 2 November onwards. Aino applies for sickness allowance immediately on 2 November.
Kela grants Aino sickness allowance from 14 November onwards after she has completed the waiting period of ten working days(?) that applies to sickness allowance.
Aino is paid both student financial aid and sickness allowance in November. Because Aino is paid the study grant and sickness allowance during the same period of time, Kela deducts the study grant from the sickness allowance paid to her. Kela also stops the payment of Aino's student financial aid from 1 December onwards because Aino will be paid sickness allowance for more than 18 days (Monday to Sunday) in December.
When Aino stops being paid sickness allowance at the beginning of January and can go back to studying full time, she applies for student financial aid again.
Studying during your sick leave
You can make some progress in your studies while you are on sick leave and get sickness allowance.
Upper secondary school
- You can complete about 2 credits or 1 course per month or 1 matriculation examination test per academic term.
Vocational school
- You can complete about 3 ECVET or competence points or 2 credit units per month.
- If your course of study is not calculated in ECVET or competence points or credit units, you can attend up to 10 hours of instruction per week.
When you are ready to go back to studying full time, tell us about it. If we have completely stopped paying you student financial aid and school transport subsidy, apply for them again.