Sickness allowances: Number of recipients and total expenditure

NIT098A

Theme

Illness / Sickness allowances

Data content

Sickness allowance is paid on the basis of incapacity for work due to illness.

The statistics on sickness allowances includes

• Number of persons who have received sickness allowances
• Amounts of sickness allowances paid out (in euro)
• Number of reimbursed days of sickness allowance
• Ratios of paid sickness allowances per reimbursed day of sickness allowance and reimbursed days per recipient

Variables and classifications

• The benefit category variable describes the act or section of law on which the payment of sickness allowance is based. The variable categories are sickness allowance, partial sickness allowance, YEL sickness allowance (self-employed persons), sickness allowance in respect of infectious disease and allowance in respect of organ/tissue donation.

  Sickness allowance and partial sickness allowance under the Health Insurance Act are paid after the waiting period or directly following sickness allowance/partial sickness allowance or rehabilitation allowance. Partial sickness allowance is paid to persons who work part-time.

  YEL sickness allowance is paid to persons insured under the Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act (YEL) for part of the waiting period for sickness allowance.

  Sickness allowance in respect of infectious disease is paid to a person who on the basis of the Communicable Diseases Act has been told to take a leave.

  Allowance in respect of organ/tissue donation is paid to a donator of a vital organ or tissue for the days when the donator has to be absent from work due to the organ/tissue donation.

• Time period. The variable states the period of sickness allowances paid out which the statistics refer to. The variable categories are month, quarter and year.
• Geographical focus. The smallest unit is the municipality, from which larger units are formed. Data on sickness allowance are included in the statistics for a certain municipality for the persons who had the municipality in question as their municipality of residence at the end of the statistical reference period.
• Sex
• Age group. A recipient of sickness allowance is included in the statistics for the age group which corresponds to the person's age at the end of the statistical reference period.
• Payee (employer, insured). The payee is the recipient of the sickness allowance (here the insured) or the recipient's employer. If the employer pays the recipient wages for the period of sickness allowance or for a part of this period, the sickness allowance for the days of sickness allowance during this period is paid to the recipient's employer.

Statistical reference period

Annual data available since 2006. Monthly data available for the current and two preceding years.

Updating frequency

Updated monthly. Annual data updated in January.

Data source

Kela – The Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Statistical registers (total material) produced from the sickness allowance benefits system.

Additional information

Additional information on sickness allowances is available at www.kela.fi under Our Services » Sickness and at the same address under About Kela » Statistics » Statistics by topic » Sickness allowance.

Contact information

Kela, Statistical Information Service
Email: tilastot@kela.fi